Money to spend...

[pesphoto]

Kinda hit and miss, but you can find really good ones out there.
They are 50mm though. Put in a want to buy ad here on RFF and something might pop up.
I use a Bessa R and industar 61 right now and Im happy with it, depends what you are looking for.

 

[wkjagt]

Or maybe a Ricoh GR-1? It's not a rangefinder, but very nice... And I like the 28mm....

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

A Fuji Klasse W?

 

[Tom Diaz]

OK, I am buying myself a little present. Have about $300 to spend on a nice 35mm rangefinder. Needs to have: sharp fast wide angle lens and coupled light meter. Lens may be fixed, doesn't have to (but for non-fixed, my budget is limiting.)

That's it! Pretend you're the one who gets to buy yourself a present, and this'll be a fun question to answer.

The Hexar AF is, in my view, the best camera in this category. I love Leicas and ZIs too, but if I had to live with just one, this would be it. It's got a beautiful Summicron-class lens and is totally silent--the ideal street shooter. Get the matching flash, too, which makes the camera one of the best flash shooters I have used.

I have not owned an Olympus 35 RD, but that would be my second choice, if you could find one in good condition and get it modified to use modern batteries. (It was made for the now-illegal mercury batteries, and converting such a camera to use something different is not a no-brainer.)

I know this is a rangefinder forum, but for this money you could also get an Olympus Pen F, maybe, if you wanted to go farther afield. They are so beautiful and take very fine pictures.

TD

 

[Trius]

How wide do you need? Anything wider than 35 will be hard to find for 300 clams.

If the budget is absolutely fixed and you need wider then 35, then either Bessa R, other screwmount or maybe Kiev are your only choices, I think. For the latter two you have to find body and an appropriate WA lens plus finder.

 

[wkjagt]

Yes! I have finally done it. It's a Hexar! For exactly 300 dollars.

Wow!