"Rangefinder-like" SLRs

[BillBingham2]

What a beautiful pair. That old Pen F is a classic. The OM-1 is equally a treasure. I'm hoping an E-Pen will raise to their level.

B2 (;->

 

[Ronald_H]

It's probably very obvious, but the Nikon FM/FM2 would fit the bill.

They are small for SLRs, but ultra reliable, smooth workhorses and indestructable. I love mine to death. Of course there is mirror slap, but they tend to get more use than the M2 due to SLR versatility and easy of in body metering.

 

[bastian a.]

good, compact, mechanical:

pentax mx
pentax spotmatic
olympus om-1
nikon fm(2)
rolleiflex sl 35
leica r6(.2)

 

[Prosaic]

The Nikon FM / FM2 / FM3A

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfmseries/fm2t/index.htm

 

[Jason808]

I've developed a soft spot for my Pentax ME Super. Compared to even my D80, it' s tiny...hell, my N8008s feels small compared to the D80.

I still miss my Nikon FE.

 

[zuikologist]

Pentax ME or MX with 40/2.8 pancake lens fits the bill very nicely.

 

[Peter_Jones]

So, any Olympuses, Pentaxes or Nikons mentioned above with cloth shutters?

The OM1 & OM2 have cloth shutters (never owned the others so can't comment)

 

[Seele]

My line of thinking:

Since we are RF users, and might want a SLR as well, the issue would be about similarity of controls and "feel". As many SLRs were derived from RF cameras, it depends on which RF you use:

Nikon SP or S3: Nikon F
Zorki (bottom-loader) : original Zenit
Voigtländer Bessa R or R2: Bessaflex TM.

I have both R and R2 and also a Bessaflex TM, I use them together and no need to think in terms of translating the mode of operation from one type to the other.

 

[BillBingham2]

My line of thinking:

Since we are RF users, and might want a SLR as well, the issue would be about similarity of controls and "feel". As many SLRs were derived from RF cameras, it depends on which RF you use:

Nikon SP or S3: Nikon F
Zorki (bottom-loader) : original Zenit
Voigtländer Bessa R or R2: Bessaflex TM.

I have both R and R2 and also a Bessaflex TM, I use them together and no need to think in terms of translating the mode of operation from one type to the other.

Exactly why I moved from Leica M to Nikon S3! Same controls, same direction of everything.

B2 (;->>>

 

[amateriat]

No SLR has ever replicated the rangefinder experience for me, but a few have had a somewhat-distant kinship:

- Canon F-1 (first version, with the M3-style film-advance lever): This was my very first SLR, after shooting was assorted Yashica RFs for a few years. That camera's directness and solidity impressed me a lot, and it was my staple camera for about six years. Bigger and heavier than any RF short of an M5, however.

- Nikon F: What Fred said. (F3 comes in a close second.) Similar size/weight issues as Canon F-1.

- Olympus OM-anything (single-digit models, that is): RF-size, check. RF-weight, check. Non-fussy controls? Well, close, even though that shutter-speed rind gave me fits from time to time. (Solution? I've got an OM-2n now...)

- Pentax MX: I agree that the metering readout in that camera may be the best-ever in a manual-metering-only SLR. Mechanically tough little bugger, too (had one along with a pair of seriously buggy LX bodies, but I've told that tales several times already). Control-wise, the MX might have been a bit too tiny for my hands...at the time, I recall saying to a Pentax rep that they might have outdone Olympus in at least one not-so-useful category.

Of course, none of these cameras ultimately kept me from goung back to a real RF.

Hexar les Heros! 🙂


- Barrett