rangefinder attribute demonstrated?

D

dovi

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Anyone has a photo that they believe shows the advantage of using a rangefinder? I mean a photo that shows how the viewfinder itself provided some advantage.
 
mostly for me it is seeing through the viewfinder so I can see what is about to happen, like someone walking into my frame so I can either take the picture before that or after if I dont want that person in it. Hard to show that but I will give it a go:

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I saw this guy was coming in with this motorcycle so I waited until he was there and snapped him in the shot too.


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There was a lot of people moving in the background here so I waited until I had a moment where it was clearer and took that shot.


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Saw him coming and waited the extra split second before taking the shot so I could have everything bunched together better in the shot which might not have looked as good without the guy on the right or different if just parts of him were in the shot or if he was in front of the kid and I had not noticed when I took the shot because in that split second between where I could not see him and could have seen him in a SLR finder.
 
For me the RF is about being small, quiet and quick. The view doesn't really help me, in fact I prefer looking through my D200 to any of my RF's. But the D200 shouts at people, my RF's are stealthy Ninjas. :)
 
It took me less than one second to compose, focus and shoot this photo. When I finished, the lady asked me if I wanted to take a photo of her... This has been with the Zeiss Ikon and 35/2 Biogon at f 4.0, probably around 1/1000th of a second. This particular camera/lens combination is better at delivering stunning results in the street than anything else that I have ever tried.

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In addition to the advantages stated above, I also like the infinite field-of-view seen through a bright viewfinder on a rangefinder camera. I find it makes composing a photograph easier. Looking through an SLR, the background is usually a blur and I find using the DOF preview is cumbersome and darkens the view too much.
 
The assumption that you're shooting blind outside the frame with an SLR intrigues me. It depends on the size of the SLR and whether you are able to shoot right eyed or not IMO. With a small example like the early Nikon F or Olympus OM it's not the case ... your free eye can see a lot of information and movement past the camera and although you're not actually seeing it in the viewfinder you can be well aware of what's happening outside the frame.

As for the actual space outside the framelines in a rangefinder, depending on the viewfinder magnification and what lens you're using, it's really not that much!
 
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dovi said:
Anyone has a photo that they believe shows the advantage of using a rangefinder? I mean a photo that shows how the viewfinder itself provided some advantage.
Click to expand...

Er... No. But that doesn't stop me from using mine. I think you're missing the point and like many, many, many people, assume it's the camera that makes the difference. It ain't, it's the person using it and it's down to what you're most happy using. There's nothing I can do with a RF that you can't do with an SLR.

If you're looking for a reason to buy a RF, just do it, you'll understand the reason later - and if you don't, stick to SLRs, there's nothing wrong in that.

[Edit]P.S. Actually, I've recently started to use SLRs again and I'm starting to wonder what it is I like so much about RFs. It's difficult to justify them other than perhaps in size and weight.
 
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Of the above posted pics I see nothing that couldn't have been taken wth an SLR ... I was expecting to see some hand held low light shots taken at 1/4 sec or similar which is where the lack of mirror slap does make some difference!
 
I would not have even attempted this one with an SLR.
J-8 at f2 and the camera--either Zorki 3m or Bessa R, cant remember--was at 1/8 or 1/10.
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Or this one:
Bessa R and CV21 wide open. 1/15 or 1/8. (Yes it has been cropped.)
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Rob
 
Or a honking big flash!
:D
Or, more seriously, I could be using faster film; those were both 400 speed. Wlagreen's/Fuji for the color and BW400CN for the other one.
Rob
 
I hate to spoil the party but I can get pretty sharp results down to 1/8 sec with my OM-1 ... hold the aperture preview button down which effectively disconnects the mechanism that moves the aperture blades during shutter accuation and the camera virtually has no more kick than my Leica M2!
 
I took a picture of Liz Sunday. I was using my FM2n. She said, "I blinked." I said, "Oh--I thought you might have. Don't blink this time."
If I had been using a RF, then I would have told her, "You blinked."

--michael
 
Keith, my particular disadvantage with a slow shutter and an SLR is that I blink or flinch while the VF is blacked out. If I look over the top of the camera, I do much better! My only SLR currently is an EOS Elan IIe, I like it quite a bit for most things, but for low light, I prefer any of my RFs.
Rob
 
rbiemer said:
Keith, my particular disadvantage with a slow shutter and an SLR is that I blink or flinch while the VF is blacked out. If I look over the top of the camera, I do much better! My only SLR currently is an EOS Elan IIe, I like it quite a bit for most things, but for low light, I prefer any of my RFs.
Rob
Click to expand...


You're right of course and generally in a low light social situation I will use my M2 or ZI ... I have used my Oly for the same thing though out of curiosity and couldn't really pick any consistent difference in my results.

I sometimes find the rangefinder's framing accuracy a bit vague though and have noticed that I tend to crop my results slightly more often when shooting with one.
 
Well, the bright lines do get hard to see if it's really dark. Then I just look through the center of the VF and crop after if I need to.
Rob
 
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