NickTrop
Veteran
You're looking for a vintage japanese fixed lens rangefinder. You know all about the Yashica GSNs, the various Minolta Hi-Matic incarnations, the coveted Olympus RDs and RC, the Konicas and the Canons. You're a little dismayed because you want one of these things - especially one of the compact ones, something a little smaller that the GSN you have, but you don't want to spend too much money...
You're liking the RD or the Yashica CC, or the Konica Auto S3. But manual control would be nice. You're not liking the price for one in working, film-tested condition on the auction sites. You stumble upon a never before heard of Fujica model - the "Compact Deluxe". Hmmmmmmmm... interesting specs:
- Fast 1.8 - f22(!) 45mm lens
- A true rangefinder
- smaller than the GSN
- 1 second to 1/500 + Bulb Citizens leaf shutter
- X-shutter syncs flash at all speeds
- Full manual capabilities
- Shutter priority
- Full /metered/ manual
- Exposure Lock
Oh... $15 reservere, NO BIDDERS!
To the net! Very few english language posts... No photo samples at all... Several hits on japanese sites, Google translation worthless as always. One forum post asks, do you know anything about this thing? No answers. Photo repair blog post.... "Know how to fix this thing? It's completely unconventional"... A few others but relatively scant info, like I said.
Well, if you've stumbled upon this rare beast, let me tell you about the one I got a couple days ago...
Arrived in "fair" condition. The lens was grimy. Dust, including something that looks like mold or a "clump" of dust in the inner element. This was a "battery included" model - that is, a 20 year old mercury cell - nice and corroded, was in the compartment. Crumbling light seals. Film counter broken. Odd, this. It's not that it doesn't rotate - it does, it seems the lettering -er, "numbering" has somehow worn off. The lens barrel has a nice dent. Hope it can accept a filter, and the little knob is missing from the film rewind handle.
Click
Well, at least the shutter works. Nice. Can I thread a filter (52mm)? Yep, no problem. Double nice.
At first I thought the meter was FUBAR. But after repeated scrubbings with Q-tip and white vinegar, eurika! We have light meter lift off! Despite the deteriorated light seals, I eagerly loaded a roll. I chose a roll of color Kodak Max Versitility 800 I had laying around. Not a fan of this particular film, I like Fuji's 800 speed much better but for testing purposes, it would do. Although the max film speed rating is 400 (and you can get around this limitation easily with this camera, I'll explain in a bit...) one stop lower than the film speed, it's only a stop and shouldn't matter. Besides, the higher speed films alway seem to like that extra stop of light any ways. Although the camera was designed for mercury button cells, I ran it on a common LR44 1.5v alkaline, which is the same size as its long gone mercury counterpart, and it metered close enogh for government work (or print film).
This sure is a quirky little camera. Focus is achieved by rotating a thumb-wheel on the rear of the camera. I quickly got used to that, a nice ergonomic touch imo... one less ring on the lens barrel to have to fumble for. Subject distance is displayed on a little ring that rotates in sync with the focusing wheel. Unfortunately, there is no depth of field scale.
The film advance lever is on the bottom of the camera, lower right corner. That takes a little getting used to. It's a slight inconvenience over its traditional spot on your upper right hand corner, because you have to sort of slide your hand down into position to reach it. My thumb instinctively reached for the film advance where it's "supposed to be" on a couple frames.
However, the reason the Fujica engineers tucked the film advance in its unconventional spot is to make room for an independent light meter. Yep, right were the film advance should be is a little window with a little needle and f-stops 1.8 through 22. Although when you take the camera out of "auto" mode (shutter priority) the needle in the f-stop scale in the viewfinder is deactivated and remains stationary, this side meter stays active and meters the scene independent of camera mode. Verrrry nice. It's probably a good idea to keep a lens cap on the camera when it's not in use or remove the battery, as there is no "on/off" switch and this meter is sure to drain the battery.
The camera's ancillary meter makes it possible to meter using higher film speed values than the camera allows. If using 800 speed film for example, set the film speed value to 400, shoot in manual mode, then set your aperture one stop smaller than indicated in the meter, two stops for 1600, 3 stops for 3200. Granted, you'll have to forgo shutter priority auto, but that's no biggie. Nice to have this option and not be forced to carry a separate light meter around if you want to travel light - which is what these compacts are all about.
Well, I quickly shot 24 exposures of this and that, with a flash, without, indoors, outside... and dropped my film off at a nearby one hour photo lab. Went to a nearby Starbucks and wasted an hour reading a book. I was impressed with the camera's bright contrasty rangefiner, which I thought slightly better than the GSN. After an hour, I picked up my waiting film.
Nice! The photo quality is right up there with the rest of the excellent 60's-70's japanese fixed lens leaf shutter rangefinder genre. Nice color rendition, pretty bokeh, sharp stopped down. This lens has a very pleasing quality that's difficult to articulate... like the Yashica GSN, the images pop. Despite the sorry state of the soon to be replaced light seals there were no light leaks, and the clump of dust or lint (it's not fungus, fortunately) or whatever it is I see in the inner element does not affect the images. Kodak Max Versitility 800 never looked so good.
So, in conclusion, I set out to find me an el-cheapo street shooter, an old more compact (than the GSN) rangefinder capable of taking high-quality images... a "devil may care, take anywhere" camera without sacrificing the excellent image quality of my GSN. I think I hit a home run. Not the best condition camera in my collection, but I consider this an unheralded little classic of the genre. It seems to have all the features of the more sought-after models but nobody knows about them. I also like this cameras quirky coolness (hangs head in shame) and eccentricities, like its metered manual mode.
I think that instead of searching the auction sites to pay top dollar for an Olympus RD or one of the compact Minoltas, or the Konica Auto S3 next time I have "GAS" (gear acquisition syndrome), I see if I can't steal me another one of these beauties on the cheap.
EDIT 6/19/06: This is a japanese site I found with some sample photos. All the photos are from this camera. They're nothing special or artistic but I think they can attest to the sharpness of the 45mm/ f1.8-f22 lens:
http://urawa.cool.ne.jp/hiroa/S_COM_DELUXE.htm
EDIT 6/19/06 Was reading about another Fujica rangefinder, and the author stated that they were designed so that the photographer does all the manipulation with his right hand, and holds the camera steady with his left. That's why it incorporates a thumb-wheel for focus on the right side for focusing.
Edit 7/6/06 Camera also has exposure lock.
Note - the viewfinder is /not/ parallex corrected.
This rangefinder is truly a find.
You're liking the RD or the Yashica CC, or the Konica Auto S3. But manual control would be nice. You're not liking the price for one in working, film-tested condition on the auction sites. You stumble upon a never before heard of Fujica model - the "Compact Deluxe". Hmmmmmmmm... interesting specs:
- Fast 1.8 - f22(!) 45mm lens
- A true rangefinder
- smaller than the GSN
- 1 second to 1/500 + Bulb Citizens leaf shutter
- X-shutter syncs flash at all speeds
- Full manual capabilities
- Shutter priority
- Full /metered/ manual
- Exposure Lock
Oh... $15 reservere, NO BIDDERS!
To the net! Very few english language posts... No photo samples at all... Several hits on japanese sites, Google translation worthless as always. One forum post asks, do you know anything about this thing? No answers. Photo repair blog post.... "Know how to fix this thing? It's completely unconventional"... A few others but relatively scant info, like I said.
Well, if you've stumbled upon this rare beast, let me tell you about the one I got a couple days ago...
Arrived in "fair" condition. The lens was grimy. Dust, including something that looks like mold or a "clump" of dust in the inner element. This was a "battery included" model - that is, a 20 year old mercury cell - nice and corroded, was in the compartment. Crumbling light seals. Film counter broken. Odd, this. It's not that it doesn't rotate - it does, it seems the lettering -er, "numbering" has somehow worn off. The lens barrel has a nice dent. Hope it can accept a filter, and the little knob is missing from the film rewind handle.
Click
Well, at least the shutter works. Nice. Can I thread a filter (52mm)? Yep, no problem. Double nice.
At first I thought the meter was FUBAR. But after repeated scrubbings with Q-tip and white vinegar, eurika! We have light meter lift off! Despite the deteriorated light seals, I eagerly loaded a roll. I chose a roll of color Kodak Max Versitility 800 I had laying around. Not a fan of this particular film, I like Fuji's 800 speed much better but for testing purposes, it would do. Although the max film speed rating is 400 (and you can get around this limitation easily with this camera, I'll explain in a bit...) one stop lower than the film speed, it's only a stop and shouldn't matter. Besides, the higher speed films alway seem to like that extra stop of light any ways. Although the camera was designed for mercury button cells, I ran it on a common LR44 1.5v alkaline, which is the same size as its long gone mercury counterpart, and it metered close enogh for government work (or print film).
This sure is a quirky little camera. Focus is achieved by rotating a thumb-wheel on the rear of the camera. I quickly got used to that, a nice ergonomic touch imo... one less ring on the lens barrel to have to fumble for. Subject distance is displayed on a little ring that rotates in sync with the focusing wheel. Unfortunately, there is no depth of field scale.
The film advance lever is on the bottom of the camera, lower right corner. That takes a little getting used to. It's a slight inconvenience over its traditional spot on your upper right hand corner, because you have to sort of slide your hand down into position to reach it. My thumb instinctively reached for the film advance where it's "supposed to be" on a couple frames.
However, the reason the Fujica engineers tucked the film advance in its unconventional spot is to make room for an independent light meter. Yep, right were the film advance should be is a little window with a little needle and f-stops 1.8 through 22. Although when you take the camera out of "auto" mode (shutter priority) the needle in the f-stop scale in the viewfinder is deactivated and remains stationary, this side meter stays active and meters the scene independent of camera mode. Verrrry nice. It's probably a good idea to keep a lens cap on the camera when it's not in use or remove the battery, as there is no "on/off" switch and this meter is sure to drain the battery.
The camera's ancillary meter makes it possible to meter using higher film speed values than the camera allows. If using 800 speed film for example, set the film speed value to 400, shoot in manual mode, then set your aperture one stop smaller than indicated in the meter, two stops for 1600, 3 stops for 3200. Granted, you'll have to forgo shutter priority auto, but that's no biggie. Nice to have this option and not be forced to carry a separate light meter around if you want to travel light - which is what these compacts are all about.
Well, I quickly shot 24 exposures of this and that, with a flash, without, indoors, outside... and dropped my film off at a nearby one hour photo lab. Went to a nearby Starbucks and wasted an hour reading a book. I was impressed with the camera's bright contrasty rangefiner, which I thought slightly better than the GSN. After an hour, I picked up my waiting film.
Nice! The photo quality is right up there with the rest of the excellent 60's-70's japanese fixed lens leaf shutter rangefinder genre. Nice color rendition, pretty bokeh, sharp stopped down. This lens has a very pleasing quality that's difficult to articulate... like the Yashica GSN, the images pop. Despite the sorry state of the soon to be replaced light seals there were no light leaks, and the clump of dust or lint (it's not fungus, fortunately) or whatever it is I see in the inner element does not affect the images. Kodak Max Versitility 800 never looked so good.
So, in conclusion, I set out to find me an el-cheapo street shooter, an old more compact (than the GSN) rangefinder capable of taking high-quality images... a "devil may care, take anywhere" camera without sacrificing the excellent image quality of my GSN. I think I hit a home run. Not the best condition camera in my collection, but I consider this an unheralded little classic of the genre. It seems to have all the features of the more sought-after models but nobody knows about them. I also like this cameras quirky coolness (hangs head in shame) and eccentricities, like its metered manual mode.
I think that instead of searching the auction sites to pay top dollar for an Olympus RD or one of the compact Minoltas, or the Konica Auto S3 next time I have "GAS" (gear acquisition syndrome), I see if I can't steal me another one of these beauties on the cheap.
EDIT 6/19/06: This is a japanese site I found with some sample photos. All the photos are from this camera. They're nothing special or artistic but I think they can attest to the sharpness of the 45mm/ f1.8-f22 lens:
http://urawa.cool.ne.jp/hiroa/S_COM_DELUXE.htm
EDIT 6/19/06 Was reading about another Fujica rangefinder, and the author stated that they were designed so that the photographer does all the manipulation with his right hand, and holds the camera steady with his left. That's why it incorporates a thumb-wheel for focus on the right side for focusing.
Edit 7/6/06 Camera also has exposure lock.
Note - the viewfinder is /not/ parallex corrected.
This rangefinder is truly a find.
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