Rd1 Focus Patch

[robertrp]

Hi

After having sold my Ricoh GXR I decided that I really liked the idea of a rangefinder.

Having done lots of research and getting my head around spending lots of money on a 6 megapixel camera, I think the rd1 would suit my needs.

Having never used a rangefinder I thought that I would purchase myself a film camera to see if I got on with it first. So I bought a Yashica Electro GT and took it away on holiday with me.

I loved the handling and the aperture priority nature of it really suited me. However I really struggled to see the focus patch at certain times, it just looked dark and yellow. At times I just gave up and used hyper focal distance for guessing focus.

I have read the rd1 has a bright viewfinder, will I notice a huge difference between the two cameras or is that just how rangefinders are?

I'd really appreciate any advice available as it's not the sort of camera that you can wander into your local camera shop and have a play with.

Many thanks
Rob

 

[Keith]

The Electros have a very good rangefinder but it sounds like yours needs a clean ... I've had a couple and cleaned both them and it made a big difference.

There is no comparison to an RD-1 rangefinder though ... the Epson is light years ahead of the Yashica.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

The RF in the R-D1 should be similar to the one in the Voigtländer Bessa cameras.

Compared to my Yashica GSN, the R-D1's RF-patch is bigger and brighter (and not yellow) as I recall. Though, the somewhat lower brightness of the patch might be due to the age of the half-mirror in the GSN.

 

[robertrp]

Thank you both for your responses.

I hadn't even considered that a 40 year old camera may need a clean!

My search for a R-D1 starts now...