Has using a rangefinder camera changed your photography?

[noisycheese]

Last evening, I had this question pop into my mind with regard to the direction my photographic endeavors have taken in recent years.

My question is simple: Has making images with a rangefinder camera changed your photography?

Has it influenced your choice of subject matter or photographic genres? How about your way of seeing photographs, both before you press the shutter release and afterword when you see the image on screen or on photographic paper?

Has rangefinder photography changed the course of your photography? Is there more to the Tao of the rangefinder than is evident at first glance or is it a myth in your mind? This poll is multiple choice, so check all that apply.

Sometimes simple questions will generate complex answers - and lively discussions. Let the fun begin. 😀

 

[furbs]

Using a rangefinder has definitely revolutionized my photography. An SLR user for about 15 years, I only started using rangefinders early this year. Looking at my Flickr stats, out of 250 total images from the past 7 years, 10 of my 20 most "popular" images were made with rangefinders just this year.

Rangefinders seem to get me interested, involved, and engaged in photography enough for me to put forth the effort needed to make better photos. Rangefinders don't make my photos "better," but they do make it easier for me to be a better photographer. I think this is due to their relatively small size, which encourages me to carry them; their tendency toward fast primes over zooms, which help me frame more easily; their viewfinders with frame lines and everything in focus, which help me compose; and the ease of rangefinder focusing, which helps me forget the camera and be more present in the moment.

I just took out my F2 this morning, and I love it and will never sell it. But I think I'll give it to a friend to use for a while, because rangefinders are where my photography is at nowadays.

 

[DougK]

I think rangefinders made me more technically proficient because I had to be more involved in the whole process: I had to visualize the depth of field in my head, I learrned how to zone focus, I had to operate all the controls. This of course spilled over into how I use all cameras, which was a very good thing.

I also really enjoyed not carrying a big brick around my neck and a heavy bag on my shoulder.

I don't have any operational rangefinders right now, but the lessons I learned are still with me no matter what camera I'm using.

 

[thejameskendall]

I voted "The mystique of rangefinder cameras is all a load of hogwash IMO" despite having a Leica M6 and a Mamiya 7 - both excellent cameras but only better from me in that they're easier to focus. If I didn't wear glasses I'd probably save the money and use a OM-1 or something. They're all just cameras really, with their own benefits and flaws.

 

[Rodchenko]

I don't think it's affected the sort of photography I do, or the images I aspire to, but it has made it easier for me to achieve those.

 

[Monochrom]

Hi i couldn´t find the correct choice.

That would be

A rangefinder has made me match with my subjects

This is why before i even know there were RF i wanted one...i had many SLR´s and was never happy woth them...when i first saw a leica m6 i knew it was the camera for me.

So i kept 15 years without taking pics until i could get me one m6...then i never went back to a reflex...never again...

🙂

 

[lam]

After years of dSLR's pigeonholing my vision of what photographing was like, the rangefinder was a fresh new lease on that..

 

[jsrockit]

For me, and I'm currently not a RF user, it made using the camera funner and I just like the size and shape of the Leica M. Outside of that, there was no revolution for me. The revolution has been mirrorless... rangefinder size and the OVF/EVF gives me options to make the camera feel like a rangefinder /slr hybrid.

 

[Katie]

What I photograph made getting a rangefinder a no brainer for me. Once I got one, I slowly sold out on all other formats and now only shoot rangefinders exclusively. PJ and documentary photogs will naturally follow the rangefinder path as the camera is designed for these uses. The elegance and ease of use makes them perfect for me - and I found that I NEVER used the options that an SLR has of telephoto, macro, million frames per second. If you are an observer and a spontaneous shooter - a rangefinder is the way to go.

 

[micromontenegro]

Nope. I didn't have money for a SLR back in the day, so it was always rangefinders for me.

 

[williams473]

I use a medium format rangefinder because it is the cheapest and easiest way for me to carry a 6x7 in the field. I find it is slow to use in terms of catching fleeting moments - my results with a TLR or SLR are far better for passing action. But when I have time to compose with a willing subject or a landscape I really enjoy the simplicity of using it. It's just not the most intuitive for me - maybe with more practice...

 

[redisburning]

I was born to shoot RF. Ive been able to shoot everyone Ive ever owned more easily than any slr.

of course I don't own one anymore and have a ton of slrs lol.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Yes: Using a rangefinder has revolutionized my photography

My parents, after I keep asking about photography, let me get my first camera.
It was some weird, USSR made, scale, lomo like, plastic, MF camera. I failed with this first attempt.
It was self-developing 120 film, but no pictures.
Only after they let me family FED-2 RF, I made it with visible, in focus, pictures.

Twenty five years or so later, I ventured to street photography. 5D DSLR with 17-40L zoom on it wasn't any good, small digital Rebel with 28mm OM. Zuiko prime was still too big to enjoy for hours of walking and b/w pictures were flat.
It is all changed last year September. Our daughter and her BF gave me AMEX gift card and I purchased on these money the XA RF. It was soo small and not in the best shape, I wasn't confident if it working, but I loaded right at the store and... it was how street photography finally begins for me...

 

[John Bragg]

My Leica M6 Classic has indeed changed the way I photograph things for the better. I now seldom use flash and I am far more confident with low light shots. I also seldom use an Slr these days as the Leica is, for the most part, my Ideal camera. Yes I will reach for a compact or Slr as the need arises, but I can honestly say that if I had to choose one camera, it would be a rangefinder.

 

[farlymac]

I didn't find a selection to use. I've owned and used many cameras, because I'm always curious about what it is that makes any one particular model better than any other (it's the glass).

For some types of photography, I'll use a higher end camera, while for others, I'll just grab what ever is working at the time. I've taken great photos with my lower end cameras, and crappy shots with my higher end ones.

And it doesn't matter whether it's an SLR, or a Rangefinder. I just try to match the equipment with whatever the shoot will entail. I always try to do good work, but not every outing is successful.

So, no, rangefinder use has not made much of an influence in my photography.

PF

 

[lukitas]

I've used the ground glass on a sinar, the mirror image in a Hasselblad, the rangefinder and viewfinder of a linhof technika, and a load of nikons : F2, Nikkormat, F1, FM2...
I fell in love with the viewfinder on a M2, but the M3 takes the cake.
Yes, the F1 and the F2 have 100% full-frame viewfinders, and they are very nice indeed, but nothing beats the ease of rangefinder focusing, and being able to see the shot while it's being taken is priceless.
But I don't think it changed the way I take photos really all that much.

 

[squareshooter]

A rangefinder is just another tool. I happen to enjoy taking photos with them but if they are not appropriate I use something else. In the late 1950s had a Leica 3F with a 127mm Wollensak lens which was for the birds. I just bought two rangefinder cameras this week, a Yashica J and a Minolta AF.

 

[squareshooter]

Make that a Minolta AL. Sorry. This is a camera that is new to me and I am anxious to give it a whirl. I already have one Yashica J and it is really nice.

 

[johannielscom]

It has improved my photography.

It has taught me to pre-visualize and it has also taught me to zone focus and use the DOF scales on the lenses.

My digital camera's now nearly always are in manual mode and are pre-focused when I bring them.

And yet I think the rangefinder mystique is hogwash, anyone with half a wit can handle a rangefinder, it's easy as pie😀

 

[Roger Hicks]

Hard to tell after 40+ years using both RF and reflex -- to say nothing of the ground glass on large format since c. 1974.

Cheers,

R.