Olympus 35 RC vs 35 RD

[tabo]

I love Olympus rangefinders—my brood includes two RCs, an RD and an SP. The RC is a sentimental favorite, since it was my first real camera (at age 8), but the RD is best of breed. That 1.7 lens has plenty of bite and handles like a dream; compared to it the RC lens feels like a toy.

The RD saved my bacon on a cross-country trip a few years back when my #1 camera, a Canon EOS 5, failed on the first day. The RD provided yeoman service for the remainder of the three-week trip, and the resultant pictures were among the best I've ever taken.

I like the SP but find the body oddly bulky and fiddly, and the lens—though identical glasswise—doesn't handle as well. I also find the EV-based metering system fairly impenetrable.

 

[charjohncarter]

I just got the RC back from John Hermanson; it is wonderful. As tabo says it is like a toy and has too small a off/on ring. But as I said; I want it for size, I just don't like carrying a large camera on trips (the RC will fit almost in a shirt pocket, but that is usually filled with my Olympus Stylus Infinity). Mr. Hermanson did some extras for me that I didn't think about, like new back vinyl. Anyway, I'll run a roll through it tomorrow.

 

[conradyiu]

I love the RD, if I can find one with sticky shutter issue fixed, I'm willing to pay over $200. Lens is sharp and comfortable in my hand.

 

[Bill58]

Just had my aperture blades cleaned here for $30 and it worked like a champ.

 

[charjohncarter]

I feel much more confident with my John Hermanson CLA'd 35RC. But it doesn't seem to make my pictures any better, darn. This is TriX, and the meter readjustment is right on: