Looking for a cheap, light camera

Rollei 35s

Rollei 35s

As I recall the light meter shows without looking through the lens.

The Rollei 35s is great for shooting on the street.

Closer than 15 feet and you have to be careful about the distance scale,

Here is another shot.

x_BsAs_IMG_2287.jpg
 
Isn't the point of leica is "compact camera you can carry everywhere"? I shoot mine at school and on my commutes everyday. Maybe trade in your M4 for a M6, you'll worry less about the value of it (I speak in "leica" values... M6 isn't cheap...).
 
The XA is great fun though once it's open if your finger even grazes the shutter release snap you've taken a picture you don't want. I mean grazes, too, no hyperbole.

Almost unbeatable in my view, and pocketable, though not nearly so light, is the Leica CL with the Summicron-C 40mm f/2 lens. It's a thing of museum quality beauty. Ifyou're very pati9ent and especially ifyou're willing to take one with a non-working meter, which is most of them, you could score the set for $600. Mostly it's $800 these days. Funnily enough, the Summicron-C prices keep climbing but the CL prices are coming down so it evens out.
 
You need the best, take a Carl Zeiss Werra 3!
The 3 has rangefinder

http://elekm.net/zeiss-ikon/werra3/

the most compact Werra is without rangefinder:

http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Werra

Unbelievable good lens and that thing is small!
Ultra high quality from A - Z.

You can even change lenses!

This camera can replace a Leica regarding Image quality, you wont find a better lens
for 35mm Film = Zeiss.
 
Sylvester said:
Isn't the point of leica is "compact camera you can carry everywhere"? I shoot mine at school and on my commutes everyday. Maybe trade in your M4 for a M6, you'll worry less about the value of it (I speak in "leica" values... M6 isn't cheap...).
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That was the idea, but Leicas started off very small indeed, and have really only got bigger. I guess a Leica M 240, with EVF and Noctilux is well over twice the size of a Leica III with collapsible lens. Maybe even 3 times the actual volume?

Anyway, for a tiny camera to carry about, Leica III is tiny, but for pennies you can get a Rollei 35 which is a great manual camera, with an excellent lens. It's scale focus, which is a pain with the aperture wide open, but stop down a bit and it gets simpler.
 
OP HERE

I don't mean to interrupt. I just want something cheap, small, and readily available (so I don't have to baby it). I appreciate all the suggestions but maybe you guys can help me out before making this the official portable camera thread.

exe163 said:
Thanks, I think I am going to hunt for either a Rollei 35/S or Oly XA.

What are the ball park prices for the two?

And the only difference between the 35 and 35S is the lens correct?
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I don't mean to interrupt. I just want something cheap, small, and readily available (so I don't have to baby it). I appreciate all the suggestions but maybe you guys can help me out before making this the official portable camera thread.
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How about a Minolta Freedom Tele or Leica AF-C1? I use the Leica, it's light weight, cheap enough if you hunt around and the 40mm to 80mm shift makes for fun shooting. I can't imagine the Minolta is much different and it's cheaper as it has no red dot.

Here are some rather lovely sample pics I found http://cindyloughridgephotography.com/tag/leica-af-c1
 
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exe163 said:
OP HERE

I don't mean to interrupt. I just want something cheap, small, and readily available (so I don't have to baby it). I appreciate all the suggestions but maybe you guys can help me out before making this the official portable camera thread.
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Oly XA, look to spend between $60 to $90 (US) for a good one. The A16 flash is better than the A11, stay away from the A1L as it has a hardwired battery that can be difficult to change. Good XA2/XA3 can be found from $25 to $45 dollars if you can live without the rangefinder.

Rollei 35 tends to be more expensive than XA.

My definition of cheap must be different than most, seeing many of the suggestions here.
 
exe163 said:
OP HERE

I don't mean to interrupt. I just want something cheap, small, and readily available (so I don't have to baby it). I appreciate all the suggestions but maybe you guys can help me out before making this the official portable camera thread.
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Hi,

You want cheap and cheerful? You've come to the right place...

The Konica A4 is often overlooked, ditto for the Minolta Riva mini (or Freedom Escort) and the Olympus mju-II has a baby brother called the mju-I that is also overlooked. And I'll second the Olympus, XA1 (but not mentioned yet), XA2, XA3 and XA4 but the XA and XA4 are sought after and dear. All the XA's are often sold without the flash, btw.

There's a Samsung AF-Slim that ought to be in the Rollei line-up but I've not seen it there yet (nor tested my one).

Plus all the famous names did a compact zoom with a range of about 35 to 80 - ish, go further out with the zoom and they get f/11 - ish. The one you were offered from the Christmas party was good.

Don't expect any to compete at the top with Leica...

Regards, David
 
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Do you want any control over focus or aperture or zoom? If not, then I can also highly recommend the Olympus Stylus Infinity.

It's also small enough it fits in a pocket or bag. It seems to be a favorite here as I've easily come across it referenced in other threads many times just today.
 
Rollei 35 or 35S is hard to beat. I have Minox 35GTE but found the built-in skylight filter could cause ghost images when shooting towards bright light sources, also I don't like AE. The best bang for bucks would be either a Singapore made Rollei 35 Tessar ($60-100) or a Nikon litetouch 28mm/3.5 ($1-30).
 
And another

And another

The Yashica T3 is often overlooked and therefore cheap. The later ones overshadow it but it's a pleasant camera with a decent lens on it.

Regards, David
 
I've got an Olympus XA2 I'd get rid of cheap. PM me if interested.

I don't think the premium you pay for the XA over the XA2 is worth it just to have a very tiny and hard to see rangefinder and a marginally faster lens. For street photography, the zone focusing of the XA2 is great as it sets itself to 2 meters (I think) when you open it up.

If you are going to pay more get an XA4 with a 28mm lens. Those are fun.

The Ricoh GR1 is my first choice but it's not cheap. Ditto for the Yashica t4 which in addition to not being cheap is also rather fat.

The Rollei's are heavy and futzy and not cheap. The plastic Olympuses (Olympi?) are the way to go. If you go XA2 they are plentiful on eBay and elsewhere. Also there have been a few Leica CL's going for cheap here in the classifieds lately if you wanted to go that route.
 
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