Rangefinders With Motor Drive?

jyl

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Are there any *** affordable *** rangefinders that have (built-in or optional) a motor drive?

I mean, I'd like a Nikon SP with S36, but I'd like a lot of things that I can't have.
 
Re: Rangefinders With Motor Drive?

For practical use, I would 2nd the recommendation for the Hexar RF.

However, if you're looking for something vintage & purely mechanical, then your options are pretty limited. For full-frame 35mm, AFAIK, there's the Robot Royal & Bell & Howell Foton; both have spring-wound motor drives & are system cameras w/interchangeable lenses. Neither may meet your definition of "affordable," but of the 2, I believe the Robot Royal is less expensive, albeit still pricey (a quick eBay search turns up 1 that fetched $569 US, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15234&item=3857168344) & more commonly found (Fotons w/the standard 2"/2 Cooke Amotal start @ around $750 US).

jyl said:
Are there any *** affordable *** rangefinders that have (built-in or optional) a motor drive?

I mean, I'd like a Nikon SP with S36, but I'd like a lot of things that I can't have.
 
Don't forget the spring-wound Leningrad, although it's a bit peculiar and cranky.

It does have the advantage of a nice multi-frame finder, and it has a standard L39 threaded lens mount... although the range of lenses you can actually fit is constrained by a decorative ledge over the mount flange, which physically interferes with lenses whose base diameter exceeds 1-15/16" (which rules out a lot of long and/or wide-aperture lenses.)
 
Hexar AF (as well as RF) is motorized too, isn't it? And in medium format, the Fuji GA645 series all feature an integrated motor winder.

I like the trigger winder on my Bessa. Better than a motor in some respects, such as that you can wind it whenever you wish, not just immediately after an exposure. And it's quiet, doesn't use batteries. 😀
 
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