In from the cold - which rangefinder

[Carlsen Highway]

Okay, here I am, I'm in from the cold.

I have decided to simplify and get back to the kind of photography I started doing, only I want a rangefinder for the first time.

Ive read a lot of this forum.

I have a choice of a FED 3, a Canonet QL19 or a Ricoh 519 Deluxe. All cheap as far as I am concerned. Money is not the issue they are so cheap.

I like old cameras, I am happy with old glass. But I am finding it hard to figure out which of these three would suit me better. I like old quality.

Does the FED 3 have a better lens with the Industar 61 than the Canonet that is so popular? The Ricoh 519 looks like a cool old unit and attracts me although I can find very little on it.
(My mind is open to defecting to the ex Soviet side since it seems to be a mint example.)

I know you guys get these kind of comparison posts all the time, but show some compassion, help me out here. 🙂

(I have considered just getting all three of them, but you know, I'm a one camera kind of guy.)

 

[caperunner]

Greetings from HB!
Several choices for you. On TM are two good models to look at. Canonet QL17 (Japan) predecessor to famous GIII (Taiwan) under slr BTW and it comes with a Canon Demi as a bonus.

Then under vintage is a, recommended by me, Fujica 35EE. I have both of these models -performance excellent. I think I would give the FEDs a miss but only because of the easier to use Japanese models .

Ricoh 519 deluxe has a good reputation and not often seen in these parts.
A Diax II with two lenses perhaps?
Spoilt for choice at the moment on TM.

 

[Carlsen Highway]

Rf

Rf

Boy, you never have to go far on the net before you run into another Kiwi!

Yes, I saw the Diax but cant find much about it, the schneider lens are attractive, it just looked a bit bulky. I found a page on Walter Voss and the histry but not much about the cameras.

Yes, theres a few...there used to be a whole bunch of Feds and Kievs that no one was buying but they are gone now...

 

[Windscale]

I have been to many cold places in the past, for example, the Alps, Scotland, Harbin (China), Japan etc. all during the coldest time of the year to name but a few. I must, however, also say that I haven't been to the N or S Poles. My cameras never let me down because they are all fully mechanical cameras not requiring batteries. On the other hand, I have seen many whose cameras have broken down and many trying to revive them by putting them over radiators (in vain, of course). My trusted Sekonic L308B also accompanied me in all my trips and it worked all right as I stayed in a warm pocket except when being used.

My 35mm cameras ranged from a Pentax Spotmatic SP and SPIIs system (the cheapest) to a Leica M3 system (the dearest). I also carried some MF cameras including Rolleiflexes 75mm Planar and Xenotar and some modified cameras.

As I say, things that are battery free normally withstand cold a lot better than those which relied on them.

I would also not recommend any of the Russian or Esatern Block cameras. They are relatively cheap and can be quite good if you get a good sample. But their sample variations are dramatic and it is difficult to get a good one. And I have been many of them breaking down. (West) German ones are much better. As for Japanese ones, Minolta 7S, or better still, 7SII, Canon QL17 or 19 can be considered. I have tested these in normal use but not in the coldest of places.

BTW, tell us which cold places you have been or will be going to?

 

[Carlsen Highway]

the cold

the cold

Windscale, it was a figure of speech....you know, the spy who came in from the cold? Forget the cold...I have put you wrong, sorry.