Help me fight my GAS once and for all.

Reliable manual film camera? Canon or Nikon SLR. Reliable film camera with electronics? Nikon or Canon SLR. Affordable, reliable film cameras that can be easily used with 28mm lenses? Canon or Nikon SLR.

These days you can still buy pro model SLR film cameras cheap. And they have an abundance of great lenses...cheap.

Just sayin'.



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Precise framing is by no means the forte of Leica rangefinders, if that's a priority, there are always SLRs with 100% viewfinder coverage. 😀 Otherwise using the entire view is sufficient.

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@splitimageview: I have no idea what you're trying to prove or suggest with these crappy videos through a Leica M viewfinder. They do not respresent what my eye sees, either with or without glasses. They only suggest what the illustrations in the Leica M owners manuals show.

No one ever said that a Leica M provides the kind of viewfinder framing accuracy that a 100% coverage SLR viewfinder (like a Nikon F) does. All that I'm saying is that the 28mm frame lines are not totally without merit, they do serve a purpose and help improve framing accuracy. Period. Denying that is like saying that snow isn't cold.

When I want 100% framing accuracy with a Leica M, I fit the Visoflex 020 EVF to my M10 series bodies. (Not having had or used a Leica Visoflex optical reflex finder for a film M in perhaps 60 years, I cannot recall whether they provide a 100% coverage view or not, so I won't say that they do.) Or, eschewing a Leica M body, I use a 100% coverage SLR/DSLR or another of the many EVF "mirrorless" bodies available. Many of which are much less expensive, and have far more extensive lens options, than a Leica M and M-mount lenses.

And, that is irrelevant here. The OP was simply talking about his experience with a Leica M2 + 28mm lens and looking at another, similar solution, the Hexar AF. My response is simple: if you want to use a 28mm lens, a better viewfinder for that lens is provided in other Leica M models. If he/she prefers to consider something completely different that might indeed work even better, and at lower cost, well: go for it.

I stand by that response. You can continue to natter on about how whatever notion you're trying to promote is right or better than my statement. I no longer care.

G
 
I seem to have the same approach to my M's as Godfrey. My small assemblage of film and digital M's are very similar.
But, if it's an M mount film body we need, and a great viewfinder that's also good for 28......the Zeiss Ikon bodies are really really nice. There's a black one for sale on the Portland OR Craigslist right now, but I just don't need it nor should I be accumulating any more film bodies. I already went through the painful purge of my rather large collection ( ~500) a couple years ago. Trying to keep my photo equipment inventory to the current list. But someone might want that Ikon.... offered with a biogon 2/35 for about $2k I think. I wish I had bought the Ikon when I was trying it out. But people like me are fickle....
 
@Godfrey what is your problem? No one is saying that your post is incorrect or somehow wrong, why do you insist on reading it that way?

Neither is my post incorrect or wrong, no one is 'denying' anything, so please just stop reacting like someone pissed in your cheerios. 🤣
I have no problem.
I suggest that someone buying a Leica M with intent to use a 28mm lens purchase a model that supports 28mm frame lines. Period.

Bye
G
 
Thank you all for your great answers. I can imagine that if someone used a leica m2 with a 28mm lens for a year framing would be second nature but at the price we are talking having framelines and lower magnification to see them is not a luxury thing to ask. The year i stayed with the canon p and 50mm lens i enjoyed a lot the rangefinder experience but i could see the edges of the framelines. 50 is too tight though otherwise the camera and lens were great. The hexar af came as an idea because i tried it just from curiosity and it is light, i can see the framelines and the lens from what i see is a great one. Is there any small slr with a great viewfinder for glasses wearers and lenses that are relative small and so good as the hexar one ? If yes id go to something like that and stay there. I cant say if i prefer auto or manual focus, both work for me if i can focus easy or if the focus is quick and accurate. My girlfriend had a contax g1 and a 28mm lens and while the lens was a dream the autofocus was horrible and the viewfinder was tiny, i dont call it a nice experience knowing that every camera needs its compromises to be accepted from the user. How do canon and nikon lenses compare to the hexar one ?
 
Street, SLR lenses are good.... Nikon, Canon, Pentax,Olympus.....from decades of using both, I far prefer focusing a rangefinder with a wideangle, especially at wider apertures! Stopped down, not so important.
I agree with you about the Contax autofocus inadequacies.
 
I had the f3hp a long ago, the weight was a lot but the viewfinder was huge and pleasant to use.
As the saying goes, 'you can't have it all....'
I prefer the diminutive size of rangefinders. I happened to get this body with a Leicavit....as a result it's even smoother and faster than my M4.
....it's usually loaded with TMax 400 & set for hyperfocal distance... it's become my very favourite travel set-up.
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Can one see the whole frame in the viewfinder with glasses ?

The short answer is no, and this isn’t about coverage, it’s about eyepoint/eye relief. It’s about 17mm for the OMs; too short to see the whole frame with glasses. You need 22-25mm of eyepoint to see the whole frame with glasses (and yes the Nikon F3hp has this but not the regular F3 which has higher magnification).
 
There is another option besides manual focus and auto focus----zone focus. This is very useful for street photography and any camera that can accept a wide angle can do it well.
it is ironic that the Leica’s wonderful rangefinder focussing may not be the essence of Leica photography. On the baseplate of my Leica II is expertly scribed in tiny even writing in the black lacquer:

8m Bl 9 4 - ∞

4 9 2,8 - 7,7

Bl is Blende - aperture. 9 was between 6.3 and 12.5.

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