Please recommend me a rangefinder

Starburst said:
I was (naively) hoping there is something like the Retina that offers great quality for little money.
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The only thing about this statement that is potentially naive is when it comes to using the Retina 35 or 85mm lenses. With Retina's Schneider 50mm I would defy anyone to reliably tell the differenence between an image taken with a L-camera and a Retina.

Perhaps we could talk Raid into doing a statistical valid study???
 
You can't close a Retina II/IIIc with the wide-angle attachment on, right? IIRC--I had one briefly and liked it a lot, but that was a real pain.

What about a used Bessa T with a CV-35 lens and a mini 35/28 viewfinder?

Or a used Leica CL with the 40mm?
 
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AgentX said:
You can't close a Retina II/IIIc with the wide-angle attachment on, right?
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I think you are correct. The f/4 attachments, both 35 and 80mm, are HUGE in both depth and diameter -- 60mm diameter and equally deep I'd say. The f/5.6 is deeper/thicker than the 50 but doesn't require an ox cart to carry like the others do... but I seem to recall that it still won't close.

All are a pain because of the different focus scales... but if one does range focus and aren't too particular it should work OK. ;)
 
Starburst said:
Guys, please don't mention the L-word. I am having a very hard time as it is not buying a beatiful m-system camera. I would love to own a Leica or Bessa and all I need is two lenses, 50mm and 35mm but this would cost me at least 1500 bucks. ;) At the moment I am trying to be sensible before the Leica bug costs me a lot of money.
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Nonsense, if you really want a good taste of the M-system, go with a used M4-P and Ultron 35/1.7. I got this very combination for less than half the price you quoted up there with a little patience.

But then again, how do you know that you'll not like a Zorki 1 with Jupiter 12 if you don't try it? ;)
 
Ok then here's my short list ... Yashica Electro! That was easy huh?

Use it while you save up for a Leica :) You know you want one! Resistance IS futile :)

I think you should take a road trip to visit Roger, not only will you get to meet the great man himself but you get to play with a real Leica
 
No reason not to get a Bessa instead of a Leica if the image is what you're after. Although a new Bessa and a used Leica can be comparable in price, although you do get a much saner film-loading procedure with the Bessa.
 
I have only cheap FL RF's. Today out of curiosity I checked email from ebay with recommendations for me - and list goes on as:

Leica M3 Rangefinder Camera Avg. Price: $756.37
Canonet QL17 Film Camera Avg. Price: $67.08
Olympus XA A11 35mm Rangefinder Camera Avg. Price: $75.51

Mind you, I haven't searched for any of this. Probably they just know how it ends :)
 
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