Hi! I am new to RFF !! Hope to learn from you

[haagen_dazs]

Hi everyone.
I am new to RFF and RF in general.
I have been always been interested in photography and moved from pns to dslr (canon). I have been using the canon system for years now.

Lately I interest in RF has been building up.
Its completely new to me and I want to learn more !!

I have so many questions that I dont know where to start.
Too much information over load...

A few years ago, a friend of mine allowed me to try his RF and this whole image mapping thing is so cool.

Anyways
for starters..
Is there a decent budget RF that would make a good learning kit? (~500-600usd)

thanks everyone!

 

[bmattock]

Welcome, I'm sure you'll have fun. You can get all kinds of very acceptable 'starter' rangefinders for a lot less than $500, but if you want new, the Voigtlander Bessa R with lens is about that price and hard to go wrong with it.

Welcome again!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[ch1]

Hi everyone.
I am new to RFF and RF in general.
I have been always been interested in photography and moved from pns to dslr (canon). I have been using the canon system for years now.

Lately I interest in RF has been building up.
Its completely new to me and I want to learn more !!

I have so many questions that I dont know where to start.
Too much information over load...

A few years ago, a friend of mine allowed me to try his RF and this whole image mapping thing is so cool.

Anyways
for starters..
Is there a decent budget RF that would make a good learning kit? (~500-600usd)

thanks everyone!

Welcome,

Check out some of the sponsor vendors here. I am most familiar with Stephen at Camera Quest - but these are all good guys.

At your price point a good "starter kit" would be a new Bessa R-series camera with normal lens. Majority favors the Leica M-mount and that probably is the best mainstream way to go. So consider the R2A.

After you get your feet wet you will likely be seduced by the denizens here into all kinds of gear covering about 7 or so decades of RFs.

You're in for a ride - so fasten your seat belt! 😀

 

[cp_ste.croix]

Welcome...if it were me, I'd go with a Canonet first, just to avoid sinking in $500 blind. Plus, the $465 you'll have left over will go straight into you're Leica/Zeiss fund.

Good luck!

Chris

 

[rool]

The Bessa L + CV 25mm got me into RF. Pre-setting the exposure and the focus was a liberating experience as well as seeing everything in focus in the viewfinder.
Today I've just received my Bessa R + 35mm lens...(I guess this forum "helped" me deciding the purchase!)
After a few years of shooting SLRs, I really enjoy the simplicity of RFs. This is the perfect tool for me for street shooting.
Welcome here even though I am quite new also!

 

[wlewisiii]

Welcome to the looney bin! But we're nice loons...

While the Bessa's are great bang for buck and have the real advantage of a warranty, I'll suggest keeping an eye open at www.keh.com as they sometimes have some real finds in their bargain graded kit, especially I think, for Canon rangefinders. 😀

Settle back and enjoy the ride. As George notes, fasten that seat belt!

William

 

[peter_n]

Maybe we can learn from you as well haagen_dazs... 🙂

Welcome to the forum!

 

[rover]

Maybe we can learn from you as well haagen_dazs... 🙂

I was thinking ice cream recipes.

Welcome aboard.

 

[haagen_dazs]

so MANY replies!!

so MANY replies!!

wow! i went to shower and so MANY replies!!
feel welcomed here!!
=)

i started digital so long ago, the af always helped me...
but now... trying to learn more about this whole new dimension of RF.

couple of qns

1)
I was very intrigued by these double-single image thing...
People tell me that the the focusing is very accurate.
As long as you can get the image to merge, its sharp.
is that true??

2)
I read about the Contax G system. Is that the only AF RF?
I heard that it doesnt have this double-single superimpose image concept.. is that true?

3)
what is the ZI all about? 4 companies merged..
are they related to carl zeiss?

4)
one main reason why i want to learn RF is coz i am sick and tired of the WA on my canon dslr.. its rather pathetic in quality.
and i hear good things of the german lens... so enlighten me =0
thankS

more qns later

 

[haagen_dazs]

Welcome, I'm sure you'll have fun. You can get all kinds of very acceptable 'starter' rangefinders for a lot less than $500, but if you want new, the Voigtlander Bessa R with lens is about that price and hard to go wrong with it.

Welcome again!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Is the bessa R still in production? are they good? (i know that is a relative word but....) i didnt know this brand existed too...

on a side note, is the contax G in or out of production?
which generation of the leica is still in production?

 

[haagen_dazs]

Welcome to the looney bin! But we're nice loons...

While the Bessa's are great bang for buck and have the real advantage of a warranty, I'll suggest keeping an eye open at www.keh.com as they sometimes have some real finds in their bargain graded kit, especially I think, for Canon rangefinders. 😀

Settle back and enjoy the ride. As George notes, fasten that seat belt!

William

doesnt bargain means not in too good a condition?
i read that the alignment in RF must be dead accurate...

KEH prices are generally higher for EOS equipment.
hmmm maybe not so for the RF??

 

[cp_ste.croix]

1) yes, though you can only estimate depth of field...and focusing can be difficult on long, fast lenses with some viewfinders

2) I dunno

3) Search Huck Finn's user name, he has posted so many great and well researched opinions on the Zeiss Ikon that I won't even try...here is one, here is another to get you started...

4) there are some amazing German and Japanese WA lenses...you will not want for choice there...I don't have any direct experience there and am not sure what you're looking for image wise, but peruse the gallery here and note what lenses provide the character you're looking for.

Chris,

 

[sf]

Whatever you buy, buy used - Voigtlander Bessa of some breed (maybe the R or R2 or R3A/R2A) - and find a 35mm, 40mm, or 50mm lens to go with the body - I'd grab the R3A and 40mm lens . . but you would find it easier to come across a Bessa R + lens for your price. The Yashica Electro series is nice. The Canonet too. Stay away from the Fed, Zorki, and all those Russian cameras in the beginning.

 

[Andrew McK]

This is a great site for information.
Whatever you want to know, I'm sure someone here will help you.

I've not been using a Rangefinder camera for very long. I spent a long time looking from a distance and then took the plunge.
It's a learning curve that's for sure
very different from what I was used to and different from when I did photography at college.
Makes me wonder what would have happened had they handed me a rangefinder instead of some nasty old slr (not that slrs are nasty but these ones were!!)

The way I focus is different. I read the scales on the lens and work out distances rather than look throught the viewfinder to see if it's sharp or not.
I always found SLR's kind of murky but I think I prefer the double image rf way better.
Also I don't use a light meter. I use the sunny 16 rule instead and so far it's given me decent results.

Hope you have as much fun as I have learning this. It's an adventure for sure.

 

[wlewisiii]

doesnt bargain means not in too good a condition?
i read that the alignment in RF must be dead accurate...

KEH prices are generally higher for EOS equipment.
hmmm maybe not so for the RF??

KEH grades on appearance 🙂 this fact can be used to your own advantage.

As one example I'm very familier with - take two Canon 7 cameras: one is nearly perfect looking but has a bad rangefinder so they say that the RF is off, rate it as EX+ and the price is about $300 - $325; the second has some scratches or paint chips but is mechanically perfect so it gets rated bargain and the price is $175 to $200. This was the case when I bought my Canon 7 from them - I got the bargain one rather than a prettier one that would have needed a $200 CLA 😀

Be patient with them and you can find some very good bargains. And don't forget that while they may be a bit more than you can get it for on eBay, they also have a guarantee on thier items.

I think that whatever your first RF camera is, a used one is best if simply to not tie up as much money until you're sure you like this style of photography.

To give some of my answers to some of your questions:
The Contax G is out of production and good deals are out there as a result.
The Bessa R may or may not be in production, but at minimum, NIB with Warranty is still available. The R with the 35/2.5 Skopar is hands down the best bang for buck on the market. The later M mount R's are better in many ways, but they cost more... 6 of one; half a dozen of the other..
The current Leicas are the M7 and the modern MP. Others can tell you more about them as I'm more appreciative of their lenses than their bodies. Unless it has to be Leica (and for some, it does), I'd suggest a Bessa or a Zeiss Ikon instead. The Hexar RF is another very nice possibility.

William

 

[RML]

Welcome, and good luck choosing a kit! That's not going to be as easy as it sounds, but good luck anyway. 😛

 

[haagen_dazs]

KEH grades on appearance 🙂 this fact can be used to your own advantage.

Be patient with them and you can find some very good bargains.

William

hey
i am kind of lost in looking for such RF equipment in KEH.
i dont know which sub-category they list their stuff.

for example, i wasnt even able to locate a bessa R. :bang:
=(
some simple guidiance appreciated.
😛

 

[wlewisiii]

First click on the Camera Store tab and then look at the categories undernieth it.

Bessa R's, when they have them in stock, are listed under Leica Screwmount. They don't appear to have any in right now. Canon Rangefinders have their own category under Vintage. Contax G has it's own category as well. The Hexar would be found under the Konica 35mm category.

Hope this helps,

William

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Welcome 🙂

For your price range, one great possibility is a Leica CL with the standard 40 summicron-C or 40 rokkor-m lens. A very well built compact package and those two 40mm lenses are easily the best deals in Leica lenses in terms of performance and price.

Good luck

 

[Kim Coxon]

Hi and welcome if I haven't already said it,
You could wait till one comes up here. They do fairly frequently and you will know it is from a good source. 😉

Kim