Bill Pierce
Well-known
A lot of the digital shooters here were film rangefinder shooters who, even though they had entered the digital realm before the appearance of a digital rangefinder and were now shooting with DSLR’s, were very excited when the digital Leica appeared. Sadly, a lot of folks found them too expensive to mount a multi-body system with a range of lenses. There were others who had other gripes, but price, even that of a single body that would use already owned lenses, was probably the number one impediment.
There are a lot of folks looking for a less expensive alternative. And Sony, Fuji and Ricoh have introduced, and are introducing in the future, relatively compact non-mirror cameras with APS C sensors. Sony and Ricoh have bodies that can accept Leica lenses. But, to pick what “economical rangefinder substitute” is right for you, you have to know what appeals to you in a rangefinder camera. Size and weight? Bright line finder? Quiet and inconspicuous? Good viewing and focusing in dim light? Good performance at large f/stops? Your lens collection? Image quality?
For me, it’s easy. I like bright line finders; so, I just put my Leica and Voigtlander finders in the accessory shoes of everything from big Canon DSLR’s to their little G series. To be honest, I even bought an accessory shoe that screwed in to the tripod socket on an S90. In some cases the frame ratio doesn’t match the sensor format exactly. On the street, I don’t care. The camera comes to my eye and goes back down again so quickly, that I’d be a fool to think I was framing exactly.
More cameras are coming out that have many of the advantages of the rangefinder camera except for rangefinder focusing. But to pick among them, you really have to know what features were important to you in the rangefinder world. I don’t think the whole world is a bunch of bright-line junkies. That’s my obsession. But, I’d love to know what yours is. And, if you have found or heard of a camera,that may satisfy it, that I’d really like to hear about.
There are a lot of folks looking for a less expensive alternative. And Sony, Fuji and Ricoh have introduced, and are introducing in the future, relatively compact non-mirror cameras with APS C sensors. Sony and Ricoh have bodies that can accept Leica lenses. But, to pick what “economical rangefinder substitute” is right for you, you have to know what appeals to you in a rangefinder camera. Size and weight? Bright line finder? Quiet and inconspicuous? Good viewing and focusing in dim light? Good performance at large f/stops? Your lens collection? Image quality?
For me, it’s easy. I like bright line finders; so, I just put my Leica and Voigtlander finders in the accessory shoes of everything from big Canon DSLR’s to their little G series. To be honest, I even bought an accessory shoe that screwed in to the tripod socket on an S90. In some cases the frame ratio doesn’t match the sensor format exactly. On the street, I don’t care. The camera comes to my eye and goes back down again so quickly, that I’d be a fool to think I was framing exactly.
More cameras are coming out that have many of the advantages of the rangefinder camera except for rangefinder focusing. But to pick among them, you really have to know what features were important to you in the rangefinder world. I don’t think the whole world is a bunch of bright-line junkies. That’s my obsession. But, I’d love to know what yours is. And, if you have found or heard of a camera,that may satisfy it, that I’d really like to hear about.
