Rangefinder Mysticism

[kshapero]

Is it for real? 😕 Is there something special about shooting with a rangefinder over an SLR or especially a digital one? Or are we being hyped my ourselves? (Either way, I believe it😱)
Does the mystical of it all, transfer to the RD-1 or M8?:angel:
Or as my friends say to me, "you either need more medication or you already took too much".😀

 

[Keith]

There's something going on! Most of my life I've had a camera of one type or another for taking pics of kids motorbikes etc ... a canon SLR and numerous point and shoots and finally digital, about as important to me as the device I mow the grass with. Then I picked up a rangefinder on the advice of a friend. The damned things have been an obsession for me ever since and I now have thirty of them and spend all my time using them, fondling them or talking about them on this damned forum ... sigh! :bang:

 

[FrankS]

I agree. It's the same thing for me.

 

[fishtek]

Dunno about "mysticism", but for me, there's a lot of appeal in messing around with things that maybe are no longer the newest technology around. I've got a collection of vintage fly rods with single-action reels, early spinning reels, early baitcasting reels (I owned a tackle shop for 16 years, custom rod-maker, reel technician, etc...), vintage pocket and wrist watches, old hand tools.....stuff like that. I think I just appreciate things that were made with more personal than automated labor. Not that my new Bessa R is hand-made, or anything approaching it, but it recalls a tool that perhaps was?

I'm sure that there are more considerations, and that folks on this forum will create a wide gamut of reasons they appreciate rangefinders. Let's see 'em...

Regards!
Don

 

[FPjohn]

Direct way...

Direct way...

Hello:

There is a cult but range finder camera photography is genuinely attractive as a direct way of seeing.

yours
Frank

 

[FrankS]

That's it too, Don. An appreciation for things made with care and pride, craftsmanship and quality, like my cedar strip canoe, vintage BMW (other brands too) motorbikes, Mitchell fishing reel, and the watches and fountain pens you mentioned. Someone described it as a fetish for quality mechanical engineering.

 

[OldNick]

I would extend that appreciation to airplanes as well. A friend restored the biplane shown in the link from a real basket case, making it better than new. He gets real satisfaction in exercising the old girl, especially in warmer weather.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=20890&cat=500&ppuser=2111

 

[kshapero]

Someone once said to me that when you get a digital camera you start taking pictures, when you get an all manual rangefinder you first just look at it, then you take pictures. And there in lies the "cult". I think thats what he said.....

 

[fishtek]

Yeah, frank...

Yeah, frank...

That's it too, Don. An appreciation for things made with care and pride, craftsmanship and quality, like my cedar strip canoe, vintage BMW (other brands too) motorbikes, Mitchell fishing reel, and the watches and fountain pens you mentioned. Someone described it as a fetish for quality mechanical engineering.

I covet your cedar canoe. I had a Grumman (aluminum) guide boat for a long time, then bought an Old Town fiberglass "Stillwater" for my lake house in Pennsylvania. Nice, but I REALLY love the wooden boats. (PS...I spent several years working in the boatyards in Miami after I got out of the Navy).

See ya!
Don

 

[kshapero]

I still drive a stick shift. A 2000 Saab 9-3 5 speed.

 

[dll927]

Why mysticism? That's for philosophers. I don't know about a cult for RF cameras, but I do know I can hand-hold my Leica M4-2 down to a lot slower shutter speeds that I would ever dare with one of my SLRs, film, digital, or otherwise. I've been known to go down to 1/8 second with it, and I got decent slides.

What about the fact that you can use an RF in dimmer light than will usually work with an SLR?

Apparently some aren't old enough to rmember that it wasn't until around the late 1950's that SLRs took over the market. Prior to that Leicas, Contaxes and Nikon RFs were the top of the heap. They may not have had all the bells and whistles that modern cameras have, but why do they command the prices they do on evil-bay???

It's not a cult - it's usefulness.

 

[FrankS]

I'm not too sure about the usefulness arguement. At least for me that isn't it. Generally speaking I think SLR's are much more useful and versitile, yet I don't feel as strongly about my slr's as I do about my RF cameras/lenses.

 

[v3cron]

i shoot fashion and have gone all-rf due to the lack of handling speed with my old hasselblad (to which i said farewell in order to pay for my leica). it started with a fuji gw670ii last year (which i still use and love), then a mamiya 6 (soon to be sold for more leica glass), and now the m4-2. i am able now to get shots that would have been already gone while focusing the 'blad.

someone else above used the word "direct". i think that is quite apt.

 

[dazedgonebye]

I have an old tomioka made m42 lens. Whenever I put it on my DSLR, I know I'm going to get a shot I like.
Partially this is because of the qualities of the lens. Partially it's because of my emotional connection to the results I've had from the lens in the past.
Who knows where the line is drawn.
There is more to photography than tools...else we would have nothing to offer over machines.

 

[lZr]

I see this saga different. For me one must match the tool to the job. I'll not do macros with RF camera and likely will not shot in the street with (D)SLR. I like portraits medium format.

 

[emraphoto]

"... a direct way of seeing"

i couldn't have said it better myself. and my x-power is verbosity...

 

[dll927]

Frank, I do tend to agree with you - certainly I use my SLRs more than I do the RF. And true, usefullness is a matter of opinion or preference. Still, my Leica does have its advantages under certain conditions. One thing for sure, an SLR with a good zoom is hard to beat for versatility.

 

[surlysimon]

For me it is about shooting with trust, I trust that what i see in the brightline frame is what i will get and that I have focused and set the exposure right. If I want to get it right all the time my D50 would be all I used but my rangefinders offer that excitment of anticipation. Nothing beats looking through the loup at a fresh set of negs. Using a rangefinder can also be about apreciating the engineering qualities of an age that has passed, which is good too.
I like the idea of a digital rangefinder but I think the reality would be much like using my D50, a nice tool but just nothing extra to offer, little or no risk involved.

 

[v3cron]

One thing for sure, an SLR with a good zoom is hard to beat for versatility.

ewww!!!

😉 just kidding

 

[rogue_designer]

I own cameras in many formats, types, and eras. Digital SLR's with autofocus and zooms, large format view cameras, TLR's and a host of rangefinders. I've been shooting variations of all of them since I was 12 (over 30 now).

I can't explain why - but I have the most fun when shooting with rangefinders. Provided that their strengths match up with my requirements for a given shoot, I'll use one. And for my personal carry around cameras, they are my first choice.

Call it mysticism if you must, but I wouldn't consider it hype - I don't remember ever being told to try one, much less a given brand. I stumbled on a few when looking for used lenses for my nikon's, and I felt giddy just picking it up.