Rangefinder + wide lens + available light :)

[dnemoc]

Hi!

I'm trying to choose a cheap rangefinder camera with a wide-angle lens for available light photography. Requirements are:

1. preferably full manual operation capability, but aperture-priority is okay, as long as the shutter fires (with wide open aperture) even if the battery dies out;
2. wide angle lens, 35mm and/or wider;
3. large aperture, preferably larger than (and includng) f2 for available light photography;
4. the smaller the better 🙂
5. preferably no folders.

A month ago I posted a thread (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36499) before buying a full manual operation rangefinder, and got an amazing response. I bought a Yashica Lynx 14E soon after that, and I'm more than satisfied with it. I'll post a few pictures soon. I guess the choices for my present requirement are somewhat fewer, so I've to be less picky 😱

Best regards, and thanks in advance.
- Debasish.

 

[back alley]

interchangeable lens option needed?

 

[ferider]

The wider you go, the less speed you need. For example, a 28/2 can be hand-held exactly like a 40/1.4.

The fastest RF lens out there (wrt hand-holding) is the CV 35/1.2 (faster than even the Noctilux because of larger FOV). So I recommend an M-body (R2*, Leica M, ZI, Hexar RF, etc) with this lens first if you want wide and fast.

The next recommendation would be an M body with either CV 28/2 or 40/1.4,
if 40 is an option, or (much more expensive) a Leitz 35 Summilux.

If you want a fixed lens RF, I think Ricoh makes a P&S with a fast 28, don't know the details though.

Best,

Roland.

 

[rogue_designer]

the Electro CC or the Oly XA probably meet your requirements (except for the 2.8 on the XA, but it's easy to hold that one.) Except both those stop working well without batteries.

Cheap is going to be a problem with the fast wide angle requirement. You could go FSU and get a Jupiter 12 (35/2) *shrug*

 

[mfunnell]

Bessa R with 35 or 28 Ultron (no frame lines for the 28 but the whole finder might work)? Don't know if that's cheap enough.

...Mike

 

[oscroft]

You could go FSU and get a Jupiter 12 (35/2)

The J-12 is only f/2.8. And you have to be very careful because its very large rear element means it won't mount on some bodies (notably CV Bessa) due to it fouling the shutter or some other part.

 

[dnemoc]

I'm sorry I should have mentioned that interchangeable lens is not required; in fact I don't see myself changing the lens in the middle of the night in a bad locality 🙂 Jupiter 12 is a nice option, thanks `rogue-designer' and Alan.

 

[payasam]

Canon made two screw mount 35s, an f/1.8 and an f/2. Rather pricey, but you could even that out with an inexpensive Zorki. Accessory finder needed.

 

[40oz]

Leica/Leitz-Minolta CL only use the battery for the meter, are otherwise full manual, very compact, and almost all M-mount lenses will fit fine. They are probably the cheapest of the Leica M-bodies, to boot. Plenty of used ones around, and even if the meter dies and for some reason is unrepairable, the camera will continue to function perfectly as a manual body.

The widest frameline is 40mm, but the entire viewfinder window apparently works fine for 35mm, and unless you wait for a new CV Bessa R4M, you aren't going to have more than one wide frameline anyway. I'd say the R4M is tailor-made for what you want, and while it isn't cheap, it does sound like what you are lookin for, to a T.

The CL is my choice for a compact rangefinder body, even if I rarely change lenses. My Canonet rarely gets out these days, as a sad result 🙂

 

[venchka]

Canonet 40/1.7?

Canonet 40/1.7?

...The CL is my choice for a compact rangefinder body, even if I rarely change lenses. My Canonet rarely gets out these days, as a sad result 🙂

No doubt that the CL + any number of fine, fast, pseudo-fast or almost fast lenses are around.

For the very budget challenged, there is the Canonet G III with a nice, fixed, leaf shutter 40mm 1.7 lens. Nothing will be quieter nor easier to hand hild. I don't know what happens without a battery. That really isn't a problem. Wein zinc-air bateries work fine anywhere there used to be a mercury button cell.

Stragely enough, there really is more light out there than you think. I'm enjoying a 28mm/2.8 with ASA 400 film after dark. Hey, if it's too dark for 1/15 sec. @ 2.8 I probably can't see anything interesting anyway. Or can't see well enough to focus properly. There's always ASA 800 & 1600 film too. C-41 color that is.

 

[mfunnell]

Then, if you don't insist on a manual focus RF and want a 35 or wider lens, you have options like the Hexar AF (35/2), the contax G1/G2 with 35/2 or 28/2.8 or the Fuji something-or-other with a 24/1.9 lens ( http://www.cameraquest.com/fujinaturaS.htm ). Again, just "cheap" doesn't really give a good idea of budget.

...Mike

 

[Trius]

What about a Bessa T? With the low price of the body, you can afford better/faster glass.

Other than that, I recommend a fixed-lens RF with the widest aperture available. The XA-4 has a 28mm lens. It's only f3.5, but the XAs are eminently hand-holdable at ridiculously low speeds, and the DOF of the 28 covers a lot. As Wayne said, if 40mm is wide enough, then the Canonet or the Olympus 35SP (42mm) or the Oly RD, etc., are good candidates at f1.7. With a dead battery on the latter 3 all you lose is the meter. With a dead battery on the XAs, you lose all function but replacing a battery is not rocket science.

 

[VinceC]

If you don't need a meter, a Kiev 4 and 35/2.8 lens plus finder will probably cost less than $100 if you hunt around. Whisper-quiet shutter. A bit on the heavy side for a point and shoot (because its really an interchangeable lens camera). A Zorki or FED will accomplish the same with an LTM mount for future expansion options. The 35/2.8 is an excellent lens.

 

[BillBingham2]

Debasish,

Take a look here: http://www.cameraquest.com/classics.htm there is some good info on older fixed lens camera. A between the lens shutter combined with a fast lens is a fine solution for existing darkness.

If you want to step up a bit, I agree with Trius on the Bessa T. They are great cameras and when combined with a CV lens (either 35/1.2 or 40/1.4) is an excellent camera for taking pictures in available darkness. The 35 is not small, but the 40 is. Get a CV 35mm metal brightline finder and you are set.

B2 (;->

 

[pesphoto]

Yashica Lynx 5000e! - though 40mm lens.