dagabel
Established
I'm new to RFF and I've been enjoying reading some of the posts here over the last week; you all seem like a great, supportive group.
I had been thinking about getting into RF, and had even been doing some research on gear, when I stumbled into some great luck this evening at my In-laws' house. At my mention of a new interest in rangefinder photography, my father-in-law pulled an old Agfa Ambi Silette and a Canon GIII QL17 out of his closet, both of which I now have on extended loan.
The Canon seems in great shape - foam seals are good and shutter speeds seem accurate - except that the vertical RF is slightly out of alignment. I'm just going to use it without its meter for now. The vertical alignment on the Agfa is more severely out of alignment, and the shutter speeds below 1/8 or 1/15 are definitely sluggish, but I absolutely love the finder on this camera, with the 35, 50 and 90 viewfinder frames. It seems much brighter to me than the one on a Leica IIIc I looked at just this afternoon in a local camera shop (which, by the way, they want $300 for the body only after full CLA but including a 6 month warranty).
Nevermind that the Agfa lenses look like they're pricier and harder to find than their FSU counterparts, and I'm sure both of these will need a CLA. For now, I'm just going to enjoy my good fortune and put a couple of rolls of film through each, and then decide if I'm going to invest more $$ in these specific cameras.
I had been thinking about getting into RF, and had even been doing some research on gear, when I stumbled into some great luck this evening at my In-laws' house. At my mention of a new interest in rangefinder photography, my father-in-law pulled an old Agfa Ambi Silette and a Canon GIII QL17 out of his closet, both of which I now have on extended loan.
The Canon seems in great shape - foam seals are good and shutter speeds seem accurate - except that the vertical RF is slightly out of alignment. I'm just going to use it without its meter for now. The vertical alignment on the Agfa is more severely out of alignment, and the shutter speeds below 1/8 or 1/15 are definitely sluggish, but I absolutely love the finder on this camera, with the 35, 50 and 90 viewfinder frames. It seems much brighter to me than the one on a Leica IIIc I looked at just this afternoon in a local camera shop (which, by the way, they want $300 for the body only after full CLA but including a 6 month warranty).
Nevermind that the Agfa lenses look like they're pricier and harder to find than their FSU counterparts, and I'm sure both of these will need a CLA. For now, I'm just going to enjoy my good fortune and put a couple of rolls of film through each, and then decide if I'm going to invest more $$ in these specific cameras.
Fedzilla_Bob
man with cat
Bingo! You've done well for a song! Good for you man.
Now you can do a camera and coffee shot, always popular on Sundays!
Now you can do a camera and coffee shot, always popular on Sundays!
dagabel
Established
Oops, looks like I posted in the wrong forum, though!
Fedzilla_Bob
man with cat
You mean the "ragefinder" forum?
F
FrankG
Guest
dagabel, you are one lucky guy! Welcome to RFF!
Gordon Coale
Well-known
Gandy likes the Agfa.