How did you get started in RF photography?

Around 1969 or 1970 I bought a Yashica Lynx to replace a dead Yashica zone focus 126 camera. I soon bought a Minolta SRT-101. The Lynx was given to a close friend before the birth of his oldest son. He told me that the Lynx quit working just last year. The SRT-101 was a good camera, but I soon was missing the Lynx. The only rangefinder that was available at the base exhange (I was in the Air Force) was a Yashica Electro 35 GT in black finish. This was the first auto exposue camera that I ever used. It was stolen when our house was burglarized. After many years of SLRs (still use them occasionally) I bought a Bessa R3A. I am now not so patiently awaiting the R4.

Mike
 
Worked in my dads darkroom as a kid, back in the 1950's. He was a Photographer, slash, writer, slash musician, slash ???. He gave me a kodak brownie and told me when I could take a good photograph with it, he'd get me a real camera. It took awhile, but when I got it right he got me a Leica M3. I have had a Leica ever since. I also have shot with just about every Nikon ever made, but keep going back to the rangefinder for my personal enjoyment. Somehow you just seem more involved in the process.
 
Im reading through these stories and you all have some of the best stories i have ever heard, they keep making smiles appear on my face reading them...

just thought tell you all that
 
ICU said:
Sorry if this has been asked before, but I was wondering how everyone got started in RF photography?
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To make a long story long ... and there are really two chapters in this story.

When I was in high school and getting interested in photography, I realized I needed something more than the Brownie Starflash. I liked my brother's Pentax H3V, but that was beyond my means. I did buy a used Mamiya Super Deluxe rangefinder which I did consider a close second to those cameras I coveted, such as the Pentax, the Nikon F, and the Leica. I did, and I still do, consider the 35mm rangefinder and the 35mm SLR to be more alike than different.

When I got my first real job and some $$$, I bought a brand new shiny Black Press Model Pentax Spotmatic, and kind of pushed the Mamiya aside. Then I made one of the worst mistakes of my life, I sold the Mamiya. I figured I wasn't really using it ... WRONG!

I later traded up from the Spotmatic to the K1000, a camera I still have and use regularly.

Fast forward to 2004. ... I was playing hooky one afternoon from a conference I was attending in Chicago and taking photos in some subway stations. I was handholding at 1/30 and 1/15, wide open, trying to grab as much light as I could under those circumstances. I realized that the >>THWACK<< of the mirror was costing me an f-stop.

At that moment I realized that I made a major mistake in selling the Mamiya SD, and I set upon a quest to obtain another one just like it.

I had actually forgotten the exact model of Mamiya, so I asked on the Usenet rec.photo.35mm newsgroup, and they pointed me to {ta-da} Rangefinder Forum. The fine folks here quickly identified what I had from my description. Yes, they showed up on E-gag every so often, but they were far between and priced more than I wanted to pay.

The folks here suggested I try a Canon QL17 GIII, which I did, and my baptism by fire in camera repair is a story in itself.

I did eventually find another Mamiya SD. However, it had some nonobvious internal damage that rendered it nothing but a parts camera. I found another in fair shape and made one very nice one out of two so-so ones.

I got my first RF last month (Kiev 4) and now a third RF is one its way to me.
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I know you'll enjoy shooting with RFs! I am convinced, however, that there's no such thing as owning one rangefinder!

I always considered myself to be immune to GAS, but in December I saw a very nice black Canon GIII on e-pray, so I said "what the {heck}" and put in a bid. Surprise, surprise, for once nobody wanted it more than I did so I now have a complimentary pair of GIIIs. :) I'm sure you feel good about your collection. :)
 
During my college years (1966-71), I shot lots of B/W with a Yashica twin lens reflex and then, just before going to Germany in 1978, I thought that a fine German camera would be just the ticket. So I got a beater M3 with a 50mm F2 & 90mm F2 Summicrons. I shot lots of slides in Germany and Greece.

But, in 1980, I got a Canon A1 ( avery hot ticket for amateurs then) with 35-70mm & 70-210mm Vivitar zooms and I shot a lot more slides in Germany and Scandinavia. The M3 got mothballed, I'm afraid.

After getting married in 1986, we went through a series of film P&S cameras, mostly Olympus. Then we got the first Sony Mavica camera (yeah, recording on floppies) and that was our intro to digital. Then we got an Olympus Camedia C-740 superzoom with is our current digital camera.

I'm now dusting off the M3 and I will shortly get it CLA'd at DAG. I plan to shoot mostly slides again so I can dust off my Kodak carousel slide projector and view my old slides and some new ones (really, you can't beat a good slide show on a screen with a lanp projector). I will also dust off the A1 and shoot some slides.

Since our Olympus C-740 is showing some wear & tear, I'm looking to get a Canon G7 as our next P&S.

With the help of this forum, I hope to reinlist in the RF army as a private.
 
during my highschool years I started shooting with a Mamiya Sekor 1000DTL tiring of the M42 thread mount, I moved on to a Pentax ME Super and a gaggle of lenses. I mostly shot sports stuff.

a few years ago I came back to photography as a hobby and started messing with Kiev medium format cameras. and collecting Pentax Spotmatics. From one of the forums I was led here and the down hill slide began.

You would think my desire to NOT have thread mount lenses I would have gone with a T or R2. nope I went with the R. I now also have the T and an R2 and a gaggle of lenses
 
My M3 was my dad's. He bought it new in 1966 or 1967 or thereabouts, with a 50mm Summicron. It was our family camera while I was growing up and I never thought there was anything special about it, nor did I know that there was a difference between rangefinders and SLRs. I thought all cameras focused with a rangefinder patch.
 
For me, a rangefinder has been about portability. Around 1970, I acquired my first serious camera, a big ol' black Nikon F, with a beautiful 50/1.4 Nikkor lens. That camera traveled with me to summer jobs in Alaska, and to England where I spent much of the 1970s. I shot a lot with it, but it was heavy and took up a lot of space in my small rucksack. In time, I came to leave it behind when I ventured out, particularly if I wanted to travel light. But that also meant not having a camera with me. In the early 1980s, I purchased a new Oly XA, and that was a revelation! A camera that could fit into the pocket of my jeans, and take sharp photos to boot! That little XA (which is still going strong) was my go-to camera for the next 20 years. The Nikon F, alas, was stolen about 12 years ago shortly before we moved back to California from the East Coast. About five years ago, I picked up a Minolta X700 -- very compact for an SLR, but I still wanted a rangefinder that could take interchangeable lenses. Hence the acquisition of the P, and then the 7. I'm still using the XA, though.
 
The guiding light of the Zorki...

The guiding light of the Zorki...

30+ years ago I lived about a mile from the Russian border, in Poland. Soviet cameras were easier to get than German or American ones, so my Dad got me a brand new Zorki 4K, could have been my 7th or 8th birthday. To this day I can recall the smell of that brand new leather, the smooth feel of the camera body, and the firm movement of the black 50/2 lens. I shot tons on b&w film of the next few years and knew the Zorki like the back of my hand. Never heard of a light meter until later on. I didn’t know there was a word like “rangefinder” back then. Slowly, the Zorki disappeared into the dust of time…

Fast forward ~3 decades and two countries later, I stumbled onto a minty Zorki 4K and bought it for memories’ sake. Seeing that old friend after so many years brought tears to my eyes. Looking for some historical info about it, I discovered the word “rangefinders” and a few googles after that I found this site. Predictably, I am now a very happy owner of an M7, G2/G1, OM, Pentax, Kiev, Hexar, Canon, Minox, Lumix, Ricoh, etc., and, of course, a Zorki 4k, plus a few lenses. Oh, and an old Minolta film scanner :)
 
Maybe 8 years ago I had bonus money burning a hole in my pocket. Up to that time, I'd spent such money on medium format, slr and darkroom equipment. I was in Bel-Air Camera in Westwood, CA (at the old location actually on Westwood Blvd.). I idly asked about a used camera in the case that seemed pretty old but they were asking a lot of money for it. I wondered why. I asked to see it, thinking such a price must be ridiculous. It was an M3. Wow. Off we go.
 
Pure accident. I owned a Yashicamat and knew how good it was. I found a GSN at a flea market for $8 and wandered here looking to understand how to use it. That was 2 1/2 years ago, or there abouts. My wallet still wimpers... <LOL>

William
 
My first RF was a Konica Hexar RF.

Before that, I went through a couple of Nikon cameras, an FE->F601->F60->F80.. Except for the FE, each of them promised faster and more quiet operation, but failed to deliver. What I got instead were more and more distracting features.. That's when I decided to make the switch to a camera where I could be in control; the Hexar RF.

I've since found out that it's not the autofocus bodies that are the culprit, it's the decrepit design of the plastic lenses. My current DSLR set up is a D50 with a built like a brick 35-70/2.8 zoom, and it shows that a good autofocus lens is possible..
 
My first decade of photo activity involved an Instamatic (zone focus), a Halina Paulette (scale focus), and a fine 1946 6x6 folder (scale focus). I didn't even fire an SLR until buying an FM2n in 1983. My RF era started three years ago with an M4 and 'cron 35. Even now, I prefer to scale-focus my wider lenses on all cameras. I don't mind the extra machinery in the M4 viewfinder (it's even helpful at times :)), but I draw the line at das blinkenlights.
 
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Out of curiosity

Out of curiosity

in 1970 my father bought me my first camera - I think it was instamatic 124 or somthing using a plastic film casette, well it was point and shoot camera.
I used it for about 5yrs. in 1978 when I was in high school, I bought my fisrt SLR, Pentax ME with 50mm, this camera i used for about 9yrs and in 1987 I bought my7 Nikon F3 and my hassel. Than I started collecting various camera systems, but to my ingorant expirience with Kodak instamatic camera, I though Only cameras of any real value of collecting was the SLRS either 35mm or medium formats. than in 2003 my brother bought a MP and showed me his picture, and I was surpried at its contrast and sharpness. Since than I too wanted to try out a RF camera and bought myself a Rollei 35RF. I still have all my SLRs', I use RF mnore than the SLR's(about 7:3 ratio)
 
BTW: the SRT-101? Yep, I missed it and now have one once again, the camera that really got me going in this wondrful activity.[/quote]


My first serious camera was my dad's old SRT-101. A great camera to start out with.

I have only recently found my way to rangefinders. I've always been aware of them as my grandfather was a very keen amateur photographer and had many (to a young lad) bizarre looking folding cameras. It was through him that I realised that I wanted to make photographs all the time and that doing it professionally was perfectly possible.

As such, many years later, I was given the SRT-101 and another Minolta that I've forgotten the name of and a number of prime lenses. From those I started to learn and even pick up some work. It just progressed from there with the demands of professional work that I swapped to Nikon kit when I bought my first camera of my own, a second hand F90x with 24mm, 28-70mm, 70-210mm and a 60mm macro, quickly followed by an F801s as a back-up.

Without wishing to list every bit of kit I've ever had I'm now using Nikon DX2's and DH2's for work. I shoot for newspapers alot and its in a similar style to my personal street photography - at this point, and with a little extra spare cash, I decided it was time to get something smaller, more discreet and in tune with the type of work I enjoy most.

I bought a Contax G1 which I'm loving but am, admittedly, wondering whether to get a Voigtlander Bessa R2-a or R3-a as I'm not quite so keen on the AF and its a way into steadily building up a series of Leica lenses. Obviously once I can justify to myself and my girlfriend I'll get myself the Leica I've, quite literally, dreamed about owning since I was a child. :rolleyes:
 
Back in the early 80's, I dropped my Nikon in the Dolomites - on day 3 of a climb, about 3,000 feet up - (I wonder what the biggest piece was after that fall..!) Desperate to keep recording my climbs, I bought a funny little Cannon, cheap, in a shop in Cortina - it was a QL17 GIII that they couldn't get rid of (I suppose back then, SLR's were de rigeur if you wanted to be considered 'serious').
Three wonderful things happened straight away. People didn't seem to care if I pointed the camera at them - it looked too much like a childs toy. It was so light and small that I could take it anywhere - and with the fixed lens, I couldn't have bought more accessories for it even if I wanted to. Thirdly, I started to have real fun with photography - I guess during that time I became a photographer - before that I was just using my camera to record events - after the RF, I started to express myself through my images.
Thanks for asking this question. I've really enjoyed the passions revealed in everyone's answers.
Z.
 
my start in the RF-Way of shooting was actually a Minox 35gt. I was doing some street and candids with it because its so small and quiet. Then I got my first real RF Zorki 3c, after that it was all downhill. :)
 
I had always had a very minor interest in photography until a couple of years ago when I bought a Voigtlander Vito off ebay ... then I got a Yashica 35 Electro but read about the exquisite M3 and thought ... "I have to get one of those" ... then I discovered RFF. At last count I had thirty something rangefinders and now I spend all my time ... playing with rangefinders ... taking pics with rangefinders ... buying more rangefinders or talking about rangefinders on this forum!

My friends now avoid asking me how my photography is going and my bank balance will never be the same.

But I have my rangefinders now ... so friends are optional! :D
 
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