Hello...

[laudrup]

Hi,

I've just signed up to the forum today and thought i'd say hello!

I saw a piece in amateur photographer saying this was a pretty friendly and informative forum so thought I'd sign up.

I've been using a manual focus Canon T90 Slr to date, but have decided to splash out on a rangefinder. I'm not entirely sure what to look out for and what models to look at. I'm interested to know people opinions on a good model to consider. Whether to go for something like a new voigtlander bessa r3a, a used contax g2 or even splash the boat out and try and stretch to a heavily used second hand leica???

I'm probably getting carried away with some of the models that i have listed but I'm in the dark when it comes to RF's. I would like a camera that will be more portable than my bulky slr and bag of lenses. Shooting candids with a camera whose shutter doesn't sound like two continental plates colliding would be a bonus as would the superb optics and fast lenses available. I would like it to supplement my slr kit by being able to take this about with me at all times, because sometime the bigger camera isn't always practical.

Any advice or tips on a good starting point would be appreciated.

In the meantime i'll have a look through the other threads and acquaint myself with the site.

All the best

Laudrup 🙂

 

[Byuphoto]

Welcome to the forum, and believe me it is addictive. If you want interchangeable lenses then the Bessa's are great i have an R but would recommend the 3a. The availabilty of lenses is very good. Also the canon 7 and P get high marks. If you just want a good carry around shooter then the fixed lens cameras are great. I use a Yashice GSN and a Canon QL GIII but the Yashica is a tank to carry. The little Canon's and the Olyumpus are very handy. Try one of these as a way to get your feet wet without breaking the bank

 

[JoeFriday]

hi laudrup! my advice is to start very simple.. as Byuphoto said, you can't go wrong with a Yashica GSN or the Canon.. I own both (along with many others).. the reason you want to start there is that you'll have a perfectly nice camera for next to nothing (don't spend more than $40 unless you're buying something from a member here that's been well maintained).. and the reason you want that cheap camera to start with is because you'll suddenly be overwhelmed with all the 'good' options.. Leica is generally considered the 'standard'.. but there's also the Hassy Xpan, Mamiya 7ii (medium format!) Contax, Canon, Minolta, Hexar, a whole slew of FSU (Formerly Soviet Union) knock-offs that are cheap but fun, and entirely too many to list fixed-lens compacts

and that's just the body.. then there's the glass.. we're a rather experimental crowd, so we'll take just about anything we can get our hands on.. and you'd be surprised what some of these guys can do with cameras that other people have thrown away!

 

[back alley]

greetings and let me start by saying that the canon t90 is one of my all time favourite cameras of all time.
if i needed a slr that would likely be the one i'd go back to.

as for rangefinders, maybe continue with some reading and searching the forum and see what strikes your fancy.
there is an abundance of info here and very informed people also.

joe

 

[dmr]

Welcome, Laudrup! 🙂

You'll find it's a great group of people here! I'm also one who shot a manual SLR for about 30 years and went back (well, kinda) to a rangefinder.

There are 2 things about this place I need to warn you about. First is the addicting compulsion to read and post here, and second is the affliction known as GAS. I thought I was immune, but I'm not, as I am acquiring more cameras than I can ever use.

I also have a Canon QL17 GIII and love it. If you want a great smaller rangefinder with a fixed short-normal lens, I might recommend it. 🙂

 

[Doug]

A very simple method is to just buy representative samples of everything... you'll probably end up that way regardless!

 

[peter_n]

Good point Doug and welcome to the forum laudrup! 🙂 (Any relation of Brian or Michael BTW?)

Another recommendation for the Canonet QL-17, I also have a couple of Leica M bodies and some lenses but the Canonet is a great little camera that I take just about everywhere. The R2a/R3a cams are also great, but if you bought new and then decided you didn't like rangefinders 😱 you might take a bit of a loss on resale. Moving from an SLR to a rangefinder involves a change in thinking and viewing that not everyone is comfortable with so you might want to make a minimal investment to begin with to test that you even like using a RF cam.

My own experience BTW, was that after many years of SLR only use, I bought a Leica 2 years ago and have hardly used my SLR since. 🙂

 

[laudrup]

Thanks for the advice, i appreciate it...it makes sense to start of with a cheaper fixed lens rangefinder like the canon or yashica, rather than splash out a fortune and run before I can walk. I've been into photography for less than a year, but go out shooting at every opportunity I get.

I started off with a digital compact, there was very little creative control but at least it whet my appetite for photograpy, i can't imagine going back to digital anytime soon. I love waiting to see what you've got when the films are developed. It's been a relatively expensive learning curve because I don't develop films myself at this stage, but I feel like i'm learning more everytime I shoot and it's really addictive!

I love the T90 i've got at the moment..it's reassuringly chunky and seems to be ergonomically spot on...i started off with a pentax me super which seems like a twiglet when i pick it up now!!!

Hopefully I'll pick something up shortly and let you know how I get on and post some shots.

BTW Peter, unfortunately i'm not related to michael or brian, I'm actually called Adam, however my father is Scottish and force fed me a diet of glasgow rangers during the laudrup, gascoigne, wilkins, souness era so Brian Laudrup is one of my favourtie players of all time!!!

Thanks Again

Adam

 

[cbass]

Welcome aboard, Ladrup. I hope you enjoy using the forum!

The first thing I learned when I took up RFs a few years ago is that the viewfinder interface is very critical in RF photography. It may help you to start by using a RF camera with the brightest viewfinder that your budget will allow. Many RF viewfinders can seem dim and squinty when compared to the TTL view of SLRs. The Minolta Hi-Matics, Yashica Electros and Konica Auto S/S2 are fixed-lens RFs from the 1960s and 1970s which are known for having bright VFs with good split-images (some are also parallax-corrected). These can be bought inexpensively, are good low-light shooters and have very quiet shutters.

If you are willing to spend a little more, the Bessa R, as the others have noted, is relatively inexpensive and has an excellent RF/VF system. The Bessa R can also use inexpensive (but good) LTM lenses like the Jupiter-8, Industar 61 L/D and others from the former CCCP.

Good luck with your first RF! But beware: collecting and refurbishing older RFs can be as much fun as using them. 🙂