Hello, allow me to introduce myself!

G

GregB

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Hi there!
Just thought I would take a moment to introduce myself. My name's Greg, I'm 24 and I'm from London UK. After lurking around the forum for a few days I felt I should pop my head up and say hello. From what I've seen, there are a lot of knowledgeable and talented people here, so I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two. I'm new to this rangefinder lark, and I've managed to get off to a rather bad start what with purchasing three less than fully functional cameras. Any tips on getting into rangefinder photography the right way?
Cheers,
Greg
 
Don't buy stuff off ebay. Buy here. And to begin in RF photography, you might do very well to consider the Yashica GSN or Canonet QL17 models.

I owned a Voigtlander R3A once - viewfinders are often out of alignment - but a nice camera otherwise and the lenses are fantastic.
 
Welcome Greg.
I suggest to buy here one camera and one lens maybe a 35mm or a 50mm lens. If your budget is tight, get a Zorki with a J-8 lens or similar. I would just request from the members here to send you a pm with a reasonably priced combo (camera plus lens).
 
Welcome to the forum, Greg! You see what happens when you lurk around here. Before you know it you start to accumulate the fixed lens starters like the Yashicas (GSN, GT, 1000, 5000), Oly's (XA, 35SP), and the Canon Qseries . The next step in GAS (i.e. gear acquisition syndrome) is rationalizing that it's time for a camera like one of the Russian rangefinders so many of our members love (Kiev, Zorki, Fed). A Voightlander (T, L, R2, R3) is the next step, and eventually you convince yourself that it's time to step up to the plate and spend ungodly amounts of filthy lucre on a ZI or a Leica, or if you have it really bad and are too lazy to develop film anymore, an RD1. Just kidding! I'm describing my own illness. In any case welcome!
 
nice off you... welcome!

I am lurking here for a month, and was so brassy not to introduce myself 🙂
So... hello, my name's Nikola, I'm 23 and I'm from Split, Croatia.

as you can see from my sig, quite a collection for a starter.... 😀

as Shuterflower suggested, Yashica is nice, and i'm just waiting for one... my friend will lend me her for some time to mingle 🙂))
 
Hi Greg. There isn't just talented and knowedgeable people here, welcome from your Scottish chums here too! What cameras have you already gone for?
 
Trevor Hare said:
Oh h*ll the average household debt in the UK is about 10 trillion quid so buy a brand new Leica M7. By the time you have a mortgage and wife and kids the cost of an M7 is insignificant.
Click to expand...


boy do I understand that thinking!

Scary logic, though. It's true that in the long run, you'd be better off just starting at the top since you're going to get there some day anyway. Might as well skip all the sketchy used cameras and fixed lens cameras and just buy a camera that you can love for hte rest of your life. Over a ten year period, if you buy a nice Leica now, you'll probably spend less.
 
Well, if you already have 3 cameras you may want to get into some DIY repairs and cleaning. If you can't already find info on how to repair what ailed your equipment just post what you got and what the problem is and someone will jump in and let you know if, how or where to fix it.

Welcome...
 
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Hi Greg,
Welcome to another Brit. There is an RFF meet in London on the 18 Jun in London if you are interested details here http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22873

As to the cameras, what is wrong with the cameras you bought and what are they? Also what sort of RF camera are you interested in. No promises but I might be able to help with both. I am sure some of the other members will vouch for me.

Kim
 
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

shutterflower: Thanks for the tip. My first disasterous purchase was a QL17 G-III from Ebay with a sticky shutter. Luckily the seller is refunding me for it, but I'll lose the postage costs 🙁

raid amin: That sounds tempting, but I think I'll start off with a fixed lens camera and see how I get on.

JeffGreene: This GAS sounds frightening and harmful to the wallet. I think I can feel it coming...

Trevor Hare: Fortunately I live at my Mum's house so I don't have to pay rent making the Leica a very tempting proposition! However, for now I think I'll resist the urge and try something a little bit nearer the bottom of the price range. 70 miles in which direction?

nikola: I'm sure noone minded that you didn't introduce yourself. They seem like a friendly bunch here. Indeed, you do have a nice collection of cameras for a beginner. Are you enjoying using them?

Duncan Ross: What you may lack in talent and knowledge I'm sure you make up for in good humour! As I said above, first I went for the QL17 G-III, then today I went to a camera fair in Victoria and got a Yashica GS and a Vivitar 35ES. The Vivitar seems to be reading many many f-stops to low, but I think there may be hope for the Yashica. However, my gut feeling is that the meter will underexpose the shots. I think it's worth running a roll through it to see.

kmack: That's a great suggestion as I love tinkering with screwdrivers and soldering irons. I've already seen what a good resource this forum is for repair tips.

If anyone fancies selling me a good starter kit, feel free to drop me a message. Maybe a nice Bessa R-series? This idea of starting off with a good quality kit is really growing on me...

p.s. I forgot - I also have a Polaroid 450 Land Camera with a Zeiz Ikon RF - It's so much fun to use and a great conversation piece.
 
Kim: The meet sounds great. I'm a huge fan of speakers' corner. It's a great place to take pictures with all the commotion and exitement.
Over the next few days I'll give these cameras a good looking over and see how I get on. It may well be that I'm just being paranoid and they're in good order. I'll keep you posted. I'm definitely starting to consider something like a Bessa R though!
 
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Greg:

hell yeah! 🙂

but i kinda have problem with digitalizing them... need to buy some scanner but my budget curently doesn't alow one 🙂 in my wet dreams i often romance about dedicated 35mm scanners, but in the end it will probably be Canon 8400f

now i'm shooting negs with Olympus u800... :bang:
 
Welcome, Greg! If you're starting out with rangefinders, I think the best options are either a fixed-lens compact rangefinder or a fully functional Former-Soviet-Union rangefinder. Both are cheap and guaranteed to give you much satisfaction.

I'm in London as well. Plenty of opportunities for street photography every day and everywhere.

Clarence
 
Heh, Greg has only been here a few days and already he is on the road to financial ruin!

Go for a nice Fed 2 with a Jupiter 8 lens for starters! Should be able to get a good one on eB*y for about £20 - 30. At least you'll be able to see if you like RF photography!

Welcome to a fellow Londoner!
 
Kim Coxon said:
Hi Greg,
Welcome to another Brit. There is an RFF meet in London on the 18 Jun in London if you are interested details here http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22873

As to the cameras, what is wrong with the cameras you bought and what are they? Also what sort of RF camera are you interested in. No promises but I might be able to help with both. I am sure some of the other members will vouch for me.

Kim
Click to expand...

I'm another newbie who's been lurking and decided to make the step to posting; name's Joe and i'm 18

I noticed you live in Lincoln! I was there just this weekend as i have several friends there, I live in Scunthorpe (I assume you've probably heard of it). If not, it's rather less glamorous than Lincoln, and I can't say i'd recommend visiting either!
 
That now makes either 4 or 5 Lincolnshire members. Maybe we need a Lincoln meet rater than a London one. 😀

I have heard of Scunthorpe, in fact I fly by there quite frequently. Not sure I want to visit though.

Kim

alecto said:
I'm another newbie who's been lurking and decided to make the step to posting; name's Joe and i'm 18

I noticed you live in Lincoln! I was there just this weekend as i have several friends there, I live in Scunthorpe (I assume you've probably heard of it). If not, it's rather less glamorous than Lincoln, and I can't say i'd recommend visiting either!
Click to expand...
 
Welcome to the forum. I just got into it last year and bought an M3. If you buy from a member here the descriptions are honest and the prices are good for what you are getting. You can usually resell used items in here for around what you paid if you are willing to wait. 🙂
 
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