Recommendation please

[tylerc]

My wife has an old pentax ttl 35mm that she likes to shoot with - the kind we all had in our highschool photography class. Anyhow, she likes shooting with it, but has a heck of a time focusing.

My thought is to get her a rangefinder as they are a lot easier to focus with, at least in my opinion. She doesn't need anything fancy, just a basic 35mm that has a light meter.

Any recommendations on inexpensive cameras? I was looking at some canon p and canon 7s but it's tough to find out which ones have light meters..etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[mike-s]

You mention the Minolta 7s. This camera has fully programmed auto exposure and also manual or metered manual if required. By rangefinder standards it's a bit of a brick but that could be an advantage if your wife is used to a SLR. I bought my 7s in Japan about 1970 and still use it. I see them quite frequently on ebay at very reasonable cost. The 625 mercury batteries are no longer available but there are a number of alternatives.

 

[ddutchison]

Does she really like using an RF camera more than an SLR? Why not let her try one of your RF's first, before making any purchase.

For an SLR photographer who has trouble focusing an old Pentax, I'd suggest any Nikon F series camera with a "K" screen. F2's and F3's are going for a song these days, and the high eye relief finder in the F3 ("HP" finder) is a real treat to look through.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Has she had her eyes checked recently? If she could once focus the Pentax OK then she might have the same problem now that I once had. My move the RF's from the Nikkormat SLR was caused solely by an inability to focus - that was solved when I had cataracts removed. I didn't even know I had them for some years - just thought it was old age.
I can focus the Nikon perfectly well now, but weight and size of the 'kit' are keeping me firmly in the RF camp except for macro or long telephoto work.

 

[ruby.monkey]

Try her on a K-x or K-r first. Perhaps manual focus is no longer suitable for her.

 

[dmr]

My wife has an old pentax ttl 35mm that she likes to shoot with - the kind we all had in our highschool photography class. Anyhow, she likes shooting with it, but has a heck of a time focusing.

I've shot with the Pentax Spotmatic and K1000 for over 30 years now, and yes, they can be a bit iffy to focus on shorter lenses or in dim light. I do find that the RFs (Canon GIII and Mamiya SD) are more precise in focusing when the subject is not well lit.

Any recommendations on inexpensive cameras?

One like mine, of course! Is there any other answer? 🙂 🙂 🙂

Seriously, I agree that she should try one out before committing.

One Big Burning Question: Does she need interchangeable lenses? If not, any of several fixed-lens RFs would work nicely.

 

[tylerc]

Sorry for all the confusion. I really appreciate all the help, but I realize I should have been more descriptive of what kind of photographer she is.

I would consider her a beginner hobbyist - ie not a prosumer or anyone who shoots professionally.

She isn't on the hunt for top notch cameras or anything like that. She never really enjoyed the digital point and shoots. And a couple years back I got her a Pentax K1000 with a 50mm lens. She loved it. She doesn't go out shooting all the time - probably 8-12 times a year (mainly on vacations or hikes - urban and rural). I have also gotten her a wide angle lens since.

She has fun with film, and the camera is a tank - it won't fall apart on her (she can be rough on things). At times she'll get her shots back and a number of them are slightly out of focus.

She does wear contacts, but I don't think it's the camera. I've had a little trouble at times getting ultra crisp images trying to manually focus through the lens (on her camera, or a pentax 6x7..etc). I think it's a combo of TTL, steady hand and having the patience to really make sure it's focused.

I've always felt that rangefinders can offer that a bit better than ttl options. It's a heck of a lot easier to quickly focus, imo. It would allow her to "shoot from the hip" a bit more.

Thanks again for all the responses. I'll check out the Canon GIII and Mamiya 35 RF's. Any concern with cameras that use the old mercury batteries?

 

[oftheherd]

...

Thanks again for all the responses. I'll check out the Canon GIII and Mamiya 35 RF's. Any concern with cameras that use the old mercury batteries?

There are ebay sellers with adapters for them, or wein cells can be used.

 

[vrgard]

I like the idea of getting her a fixed-lens rangefinder from the 1970s to start out with. That way she can try out a rangefinder without you guys having to spend very much. There are a number of good ones that meet your criteria, such as the Canon GIII QL17 (which is one of the ones I started out with when I got into rangefinder cameras a few years back). Small, well built, large viewfinder, excellent lens, etc. Not to try and turn this into a sale pitch but I do have an extra one in good condition if you're interested (and I may have the matching flash as well).

-Randy

 

[nikon_sam]

Does she really like using an RF camera more than an SLR? Why not let her try one of your RF's first, before making any purchase.

This would have been my exact response...

I've always felt that rangefinders can offer that a bit better than ttl options. It's a heck of a lot easier to quickly focus, imo. It would allow her to "shoot from the hip" a bit more.

This is your opinion but it may not be her's...

As stated above have her try a Rangefinder to see if it's her cup of tea then you can make a better informed decision on what to do next...
If you can involve HER in the buying of HER next camera...😀

 

[tylerc]

Thanks again for the responses. Nikon_sam, She's toyed with my Mamiya 7 and a leica m6 that I was lucky enough to borrow for a hiking trip. She took some shots and played with it for a bit and also thought it seemed easier to focus/use. She has expressed that she'd like to get a rangefinder some day because of those reasons.

I'd prefer to involve her more myself - and have her try one out, but am thinking of this as an xmas/bday gift for her - so trying for a surprise 🙂

 

[dmr]

As for using the "wrong" battery, I've tried to do some testing -- testing against a meter in a known-working Pentax, and even with the wrong battery the results are mostly within 1/2 stop, one stop at the absolute worst.

I have recalibrated one of the GIIIs for the "wrong" battery and also with a fudge-factor to allow ASA/ISO 1600 film and that works quite well.