Rangefinder Book Review

[thirdeye]

Last weekend, while wandering around the local bookstore, I found a hardcover book entitled "Rangefinder, Equipment, history, techniques," by Roger Hicks and Frances Shultz.

First published in 2003 and dedicated to Hirofumi Kobayashi. I had a great time reading the book and even admiring the finish of the book itself. As the title suggests, there are chapters discussing the origin of rangefinder cameras, certain oddities, and, of course, modern rangefinders...like the Voigtlander Bessas.

This book was an accidental find, one week after I placed an order for a Bessa R3A with a 40mm Nokton lens (Thank you, Mr. Gandy).

Prior to acquiring my Bessa, I worked with 2 EOS bodies and a Rolleiflex. I prefer film, especially chrome, over digital media.

The "Rangefinder" is a book that, I believe, speaks to those who prefer "pencil and paper."

I've always been interested in rangefinder cameras. The price of owning one always kept me at bay, until recently, or better yet, CV and Mr. Gandy).

Truly, what piqued my interest and made me take the plunge was that I saw a photographer in Taiwan, burning film with a Leica MP, no strobe, in a dim and crowded market. No gear bag either. Enough said.

This is my first post since joining the RFF forum. I hope you enjoyed this review. Cheers.

 

[bmattock]

Good review - many of us know of this book, not least of which is because Roger posts here fairly frequently. Welcome to RFF!

 

[whitecat]

I must say I did not like the book. Too biased to Voigtlander (which I love). Did not mention many important models. I call it more of an outline. It might be a good read for a beginner, however...........and welcome to the club!

 

[Roger Hicks]

I must say I did not like the book. Too biased to Voigtlander (which I love). Did not mention many important models. I call it more of an outline. It might be a good read for a beginner, however...........and welcome to the club!

Which important models are omitted, that were available when it was published? I'm not trying to be defensive, but I thought it was pretty comprehensive for when it was published.

It was indeed intended as an introduction, and the bias towards Voigtländer was also deliberate, because Kobayashi-san was responsible for the mass revival.

Unfortunately the chances of a revised edition are negligible, because most modern publishers are interested only in digital.

I have however requested my Webmaster to change paid reviews on www.rogerandfrances.com (including M8, Zeiss Ikon system) to free as soon as possible. This will mean that 'first look', 'Microtests' and 'Reviews' are all free. It should not take long; before the week-end, I would hope.

More free reviews are in the pipeline: 4/18 Distagon, 4/16-18-21 Tri-Elmar, etc.

And thanks, Thirdeye, for the plug!

Cheers,

R.

 

[simonclivehughe]

I'd like to weigh in as well on this book which I found to be very informative as well as an extremely enjoyable read. Roger and Francis' books occupy quite a bit of real estate on my photo book shelves and I've always found them to present very detailed information in an approachable and humorous manner.

Cheers,

 

[alan davus]

Another positive vote for the book. I guess it's not supposed to be an encyclopaedia of all things rangefinders. What I've allways liked about it is you can really sense the passion of the authors for this type of photography.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I liked the book a lot. I got it through my academic library and kept it for as long as I could. Of course, it cannot be complete because, unlike Passi's book on Leica, not all the models we salivate over now were out back then. I did find some interesting discussions about cameras and models never heard of (by me) before.

Hence, it's a good outline and introduction. 🙂