Mechanical 35mm Compact

I love my all manual, scale-focus Petri Color 35.
However lens is 40mm focal length.
Easily fits in a pocket but all-metal so it's relatively heavy.

The various Rollei 35 models would also fill the bill but they too have 40mm lenses.

Chris
 
I love my all manual, scale-focus Petri Color 35.
However lens is 40mm focal length.
Easily fits in a pocket but all-metal so it's relatively heavy.

Chris
Yeah it's one I've considered but the 40mm lens isn't for me.

My votes would be for Kodak Retina IIa or an Olympus 35 RC
If I'm going with a rangefinder it'll be my M6
Either this, or - if you need M mount - a Leica CL. A little higher and a little shorter than a standard. As lens add, for example, a 28/2 MS-Optical.

Roland.
That 28/2 is a beauty of a lens, it might have been perfect were it not for the price which I was expecting to be high. Maybe if I save up I'll get it but I'm not totally sold on the rendering it has wide open. Maybe if I drop £800-£1100 on one I might grow to like it...

Avenon 28/3.5, Sankyo Koki 28/3.5, screw mounts, these are pancakey
Yeah I've looked at the 21mm version of the Avenon because I figure if I'm going wide I might as well go really wide
 
My recently acquired Bessa L with 25mm Snapshot Skopar is pretty compact and very light.
It is uncomplicated and quite pleasant to use. The lens is superb.

The Bessa L body weighs 11.3 oz. The 25mm Snaphot Skopar weighs a mere 3.2 oz.
Your Leica M6 body alone weighs almost 20 oz.

Chris
 
My recently acquired Bessa L with 25mm Snapshot Skopar is pretty compact and very light.
It is uncomplicated and quite pleasant to use. The lens is superb.

The Bessa L body weighs 11.3 oz. The 25mm Snaphot Skopar weighs a mere 3.2 oz.
Your Leica M6 body alone weighs almost 20 oz.

Chris
To be honest weight has never been an issue for me with any camera (including 5x4's and RB67's) so having the equivalent of a bag of sugar with some biscuits on top hanging round my neck or in my pocket isn't even a consideration. The 25mm has been one my mind for a while but I'm unsure I'll be in love with the way it renders so I'll be looking for alternatives for now.
 
25mm CV Snapshot Skopar

25mm CV Snapshot Skopar

The 25mm has been one my mind for a while but I'm unsure I'll be in love with the way it renders so I'll be looking for alternatives for now.

There are plenty of gorgeous images on this and other forums made with this little lens.

Chris
 
There are plenty of gorgeous images on this and other forums made with this little lens.

Chris

I'm sure there are but I'm more attracted to the Avenon/Kobalux 21/2.8 or the Russar MP-2 or the Ricoh GR lenses. I like the Voigtlander 25mm but there's just something about the Voigtlander/Cosina stuff that makes me prefer other lenses.
 
For compactness the Leica CL can't be beat. The viewfinder is pretty close to the coverage of a 28mm lens. And it has onboard metering if you want.

Next up would be a Leica or ?? screwmount and finder.
 
Find some broken lensed compact camera with a working winder mechanism and stick an Industar 69 on it. That would just be a cool Frankenstein's monster of a camera. Super pocketable as the lens is almost flat. It IS a half frame lens but it almost covers 35mm completely with some mechanical vignetting.

Phil Forrest
 
I'm sure there are but I'm more attracted to the Avenon/Kobalux 21/2.8 or the Russar MP-2 or the Ricoh GR lenses. I like the Voigtlander 25mm but there's just something about the Voigtlander/Cosina stuff that makes me prefer other lenses.


I take Skopar 21/4 over Russar any day... and not because of "just something" :)
 
The Fed Zarya is a viewfinder only version of the Fed 2 that takes LTM lenses. This could be a cheaper route than a Leica or CV body.
 
If you wanted to stay with the Leica try the Lomography Minitar 1 Art lens? It has scale focus and is a pancake lens.
 
I take Skopar 21/4 over Russar any day... and not because of "just something" :)

What is it about the Skopar you would have over the Russar? I personally prefer the fact the Russar is a bit flatter physically and the fact the older ones seem to give highlights a good amount of glow. Plus I'm a sucker for these old Russian lenses but that's not to say I would be unhappy with either, they're both great lenses and pretty much exactly what I want, however, for a similar amount of money (maybe a Skopar with the finder would be a bit more) I would prefer the lens I really want. Plus if I'm being reeeally picky I prefer that the Russars are 20mm instead of 21mm haha

For compactness the Leica CL can't be beat. The viewfinder is pretty close to the coverage of a 28mm lens. And it has onboard metering if you want.

Next up would be a Leica or ?? screwmount and finder.

I think if I was going for another rangefinder, as many have suggested, I would want something like a Leica standard or iiiF for the slow speeds. The CL is a good suggestion though but, as I've mentioned, I'd like to stick with my M6 and not get another rangefinder if possible and find a scale focus camera instead.

Find some broken lensed compact camera with a working winder mechanism and stick an Industar 69 on it. That would just be a cool Frankenstein's monster of a camera. Super pocketable as the lens is almost flat. It IS a half frame lens but it almost covers 35mm completely with some mechanical vignetting.

Phil Forrest

I've seen the Industar on full frame and that vignetting is something else but that's a really good idea actually. Possibly some sort of combination of the Petri Color 35 and that lens would be good; thankyou!

Someday, way off in the future I'd like to have a Retina II, but not yet my Friend...not yet...

They're beautiful cameras and I love the 50/2 lenses on them. The only thing that gets me is that the door takes up a lot of grip space on the right hand side of the camera meaning that I feel as though I can't get a good enough grip on it.

You really are hard to please :p

Just kidding

Marcelo

I just know what I want in a camera but I don't know what camera has it all in one package haha
 
The Fed Zarya is a viewfinder only version of the Fed 2 that takes LTM lenses. This could be a cheaper route than a Leica or CV body.

That's true it might be cheaper but I already have an M6 and the Zarya isn't the best looking camera ever.... thankyou for the suggest though!

If you wanted to stay with the Leica try the Lomography Minitar 1 Art lens? It has scale focus and is a pancake lens.

It's a good lens and I enjoyed the way it looked when I was using an LC-A but if I'm paying that much for a lens I would rather pay a bit more and get a wide lens because I already have a 35mm and the Minitar is only 3mm wider.
 
What is it about the Skopar you would have over the Russar? I personally prefer the fact the Russar is a bit flatter physically and the fact the older ones seem to give highlights a good amount of glow. Plus I'm a sucker for these old Russian lenses but that's not to say I would be unhappy with either, they're both great lenses and pretty much exactly what I want, however, for a similar amount of money (maybe a Skopar with the finder would be a bit more) I would prefer the lens I really want. Plus if I'm being reeeally picky I prefer that the Russars are 20mm instead of 21mm haha

Well, I guess it is a matter of taste. If low contrast is an advantage to you, sure, Russar is the one. I don't go for "glow" either :) Skopar - faster and sharper wide open. I think it is cheaper than Russar as well (or similar price).
 
Well, I guess it is a matter of taste. If low contrast is an advantage to you, sure, Russar is the one. I don't go for "glow" either :) Skopar - faster and sharper wide open. I think it is cheaper than Russar as well (or similar price).

All good points but I'm afraid I prefer the Russar for the glow and the slight softness wide open plus it's only a stop darker and I'm not getting it for low light so I'm sure I'll survive with 5.6. As for it being cheaper, I can't disagree there although, on eBay at least, the cheapest Russar+finder I can find is only £10 more than the cheapest Skopar+finder... We'll just have to agree to disagree!
 
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