Hello from a new Fuji 35EE owner

[Hiding_Pup]

Taking some very slow, very tentative steps out of my digital comfort-zone into the strange new world of 35mm rangefinders so thought I'd just introduce myself, say hello to you all. I've recently picked up an Olympus XA2, a Ricoh 500G and, this week, a peculiar-looking thing called a Fujica 35EE:

The focusing's done by thumb-wheel (parallax correction in the viewfinder), the wind-on crank is on the bottom, the shutter speed dial's built into the lens, the exposure meter reading's on the top and the rewind crank is on the left side... Talk about topsy-turvy! I managed to download an instruction manual for the camera so know how it works - but does anyone know anything about the history of this camera, and whether it was well-regarded in its day?

 

[Tom hicks]

I think we are the only two people that own these things. Can't tell you too much, no more than google. Mine has a little differnt focus indicator on it. I post a pic of mine tomorrow.

 

[howpow]

Hi Hiding_pup. Fujica have made some excellent cameras over the years. I have a 35EE and a 35SE. They are both quality cameras with excellent optics and are capable of great results. I'm not 100% sure but I think both were made in the early sixties.
I think you'll find the ergonomics very convenient once you get used to them, Have fun. 🙂
Howard

 

[Hiding_Pup]

Thanks for your reply, guys. Wikipedia is saying 1961 for the EE. I'm sure I'm going to have fun with it - but I was just intrigued to know a little more about the 35EE. It seems really quite well specced, luxury item with the parallax correction, top shutter speed of 1/1000s, manual and shutter priority modes (despite not being battery powered), and the f1.9 lens, not to mention the fact that mine at least still seems to be working perfectly!

Found this on Flickr which you both might be interested in:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/n6nkn/361620090/

 

[flavio81]

FYI - just for the people who is finding this thread through the search.

Fujica 35EE - key data:
Year 1961
Lens is 6 elements in 4 groups
Filter size is 35.5mm thread
Parallax-corrected rangefinder, uses prisms for beam splitting.
Focus by rear operated thumbwell
Shutter-priority AE ("trapped needle" mechanism) and manual mode.
Costed 23000 yen in 1961 which translates to about USD 1000-1500 in 2011 terms.

 

[ruby.monkey]

And just to confuse you when you first use one - the R/F patch image remains still when you focus while the main viewfinder image moves.

 

[flavio81]

And just to confuse you when you first use one - the R/F patch image remains still when you focus while the main viewfinder image moves.

Yes.

Yesterday i just finished dissasembling the 35EE and bringing it back to life. It was a hard procedure, and I still have not got to the task of relubricating the focusing mount (it does not have a "helical"), which I am suspecting it will need stripping down the WHOLE camera.

I had high expectations for the 35EE but now I'm a bit dissatisfied. The rangefinder patch is not as contrasty as I would have liked (but the viewfinder is wonderfully clear), the shutter release is too hard to press, and it is useless for scale focusing. Plus i find the thumb wheel focusing a bit akward.

It is sad, because this could be really the ultimate classic rangefinder, but the ergonomics are not as good as the lens or the viewfinder or the shutter.

 

[daveisbest]

I really loved the thumb-wheel focusing, probably my favourite aspect of the camera. I don't shoot film much anymore, but back when I did the Fujica 35EE was one of my favourite cameras to use. The only thing that really stopped me using it all the time were it's size and weight. For a fixed lens 35mm rangefinder it's quite large, and weighs a lot. Never understood why more manufacturers didn't employ the thumb-wheel rangefinder focusing as Fuji did on a couple of their cameras, I find it the quickest and easiest method of rangefinder focusing.

 

[SamShio]

I enjoy mine though I haven't picked it up in a while. It has some weight to it.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

I really loved the thumb-wheel focusing, probably my favourite aspect of the camera. I don't shoot film much anymore, but back when I did the Fujica 35EE was one of my favourite cameras to use. The only thing that really stopped me using it all the time were it's size and weight. For a fixed lens 35mm rangefinder it's quite large, and weighs a lot. Never understood why more manufacturers didn't employ the thumb-wheel rangefinder focusing as Fuji did on a couple of their cameras, I find it the quickest and easiest method of rangefinder focusing.

Voigtländer implemented thumb wheel focus quite well in their highly original and quirky Vitessa rangefinder models in the early 1950s, so it was not an unknown design approach when Fuji used it in their own 35mm rangefinders. Possibly that is where they got the idea from. Having both I have to say I find the Vitessas more appealing, but I retain a soft spot for the Fujica because it was the first old camera I had an impulse to purchase and subsequently repaired. Although the Fujinon lens will flare like blazes if directed into the sun it is very sharp and seems to have good field correction. I should use mine again soon. Here's an image made with it (on Fujifilm Superia 400 colour negative).
Welcome to Rangefinder Forum Hiding Pup.
Cheers
Brett

 

[btgc]

Never understood why more manufacturers didn't employ the thumb-wheel rangefinder focusing as Fuji did on a couple of their cameras, I find it the quickest and easiest method of rangefinder focusing.

Fixed lens RFs were cameras to be made for mass market, priced accordingly. Linkage from wheel adds costs and complexity, so they mostly let 'em focus by whirring lens directly.

I quite like appeal of this Fujica. Happily I'm past stage when I would start skimming listings to find one immediately. Oh well. But it is nice, anyway.