rangefinder novice---advice.

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With 20 Years Amateur Experience With 35mm,i Am Considering Trying Out A Rangefinder.funds Are Limited To £125,could The Members Suggest A Good Place To Start With A Secondhand Rangefinder.
Many Thanks In Anticipation,
Best Regards,
Brian Murphy,swansea,uk.
 
my first suggestion would be to sign up as a member here and get to know everybody.. this is the best Rangefinder crowd you'll find online :)
 
Zorkii + 50/2 -- GBP 20-50

Then you'll get hooked....

(see my column in AP for the 50th Leica anniverary last year!)

Cheers,

Roger
 
Brian,

Take a look at Steven Gandy's Cameraquest pages. Use the link from the top of the RFF main page. He's got a nice section devoted to affordable fixed-lens RFs from the Golden Age of the 1960s and 1970s. It might also help others if you told us what kind of shooting you plan to do with your camera (street, available light, travel, etc.)

And by all means, please become a member of the forum. To quote the great Mr. Blutarsky (John Belushi): "It don't cost nothin'."
 
cbass said:
And by all means, please become a member of the forum. To quote the great Mr. Blutarsky (John Belushi): "It don't cost nothin'."
Click to expand...

now this is scary.. I was going to use that same quote, but figured nobody would get it!
 
Be forwarned that fixed lens rangefinders become an obsession that is very, very hard to get rid of. Sooner or later you'll have a collection of them that rivals even that of the pickiest collector. And the worst part is that you'll *use* all of them sooner or later in an attempt to 'get the most out of your money'.

Good advice has been given. A Soviet interchangable lens rangefinder would be in your budget and so would many of the fixed lens rangefinders that most people love. I'll put in a vote for a Canonet or a Hi-Matic. Getting a cheaper camera means more money to spend on film and development and, really, that's what it's all about.
 
Hey, what about a Bessa? best money for value in my opinion, and a nice tool to use, absolutely. A FSU camera is a nice deal, but a Bessa is definitely more enjoyable.
For my pleasure of wideangle lenses, I don't like too much fixed lens RF cameras...

ciao!
 
Hi there I'm a rangefinder newbie and managed to buy both an Olympus 35RC and 35SP with change out of £100 off eBay. I did a bit of searching around and decided that I'd take the plunge with two cameras which had a good reputation but were cheap enough for me not to have lost a lot of money if it turns out that ultimately RFs aren't for me.
 
Go for a Canonet QL17 or a Zorki/FED/Kiev.

The QL17 is a joy and pleasure to use, where as my Zorki is fun and quirky.

...or save your pennies and get a Bessa-R with either 35mm or 50mm lens. Very fine camera.

Stu :)
 
I would also suggest a Canonet QL17. The lens on the cam is excellent, see the link below to a great shot by forum member Todd Hanz (AFAIK that was done with a Canonet). I got mine on eBay then had it CLA'd for the equivalent of £62 total. A great little cam.

Controlled Chaos

 
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