Smallest camera with hotshoe and aperture priority

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paniolo

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Any recommendations?
Minox 35 and copies came in my mind but all of these have the restriction that if you attach something else than a flash to the hotshoe the camera is shooting in flash synch only. (~1/125)

I want to add an optical viewfinder, it should have aperture priority or full automatic and minimal shutter lag.

Regards
TK


PS: Of course there is the Minolta CLE, Bessa's, Leica M7 and co, but they are all "too big" and expensive.
 
Yashica Electro 35 MC. Smallest of the E35 family and IMO a hidden gem.

It has a shoe but not hot. For flash it uses PC sync socket.

One of the features I like on this camera is that it has the distance guide inside viewfinder(head-group-mountain icons). That's what I miss from Rollei 35SE.
 
Well the Contax T3 and all other Autofocus cameras suffer from terrible shutter lag I realy dont like. ;-)

and thank you nukecoke.
The MC looks indeed good. What about the viewfinder? Is there any blockage from the lens? Any colour tint or just a simple finder with 1:1 brightness and around 0,5x magnification?

I am a big fan of the Olympus 35RC but always wanted an AE mode + colour neutral finder. The 35MC seems to fit the bill.

Is there any fixed speed btw? Like 1/30? I'm scary its always setting unholdable exposure times in dim light.

THANK YOU!
 
paniolo said:
Well the Contax T3 and all other Autofocus cameras suffer from terrible shutter lag I realy dont like. ;-)

and thank you nukecoke.
The MC looks indeed good. What about the viewfinder? Is there any blockage from the lens? Any colour tint or just a simple finder with 1:1 brightness and around 0,5x magnification?

I am a big fan of the Olympus 35RC but always wanted an AE mode + colour neutral finder. The 35MC seems to fit the bill.

Is there any fixed speed btw? Like 1/30? I'm scary its always setting unholdable exposure times in dim light.

THANK YOU!
Click to expand...

There is a little blockage from the lens. (I've never noticed it before.)

Finder mag. is x0.6 -ish, I compared it with Zorki-1 (x0.5) and Bessa-R (x0.7). The frameline is reflected, there is no obvious tint.

There is no fixed speed unless you shoot without battery, which is 1/500s.

The flash sync speed is 1/30s, same as most E35 cameras. It's automatically chosen when a flash is plugged in. You can't cheat to get 1/30s by just plugging the PC cable in, the camera detects if there is closed circuit (so technically you can cheat to get it, but lots of work.)

Hope it helps!

Taken with 35MC:
tumblr_oiqpqnYEap1tdm6l6o1_1280.jpg


And one with dim light!
tumblr_oiqpy9xnY31tdm6l6o1_500.jpg
 
Thanks for the suggestion N.C. I once owned a regular Yashica Electro rangefinder camera, and that thing was huge. Had never heard of the 35 MC, so I duck duck goe'd it. Tiny indeed, and unlike the Rollei little cameras, it is designed w/ a human in mind :] Putting the winder and flash on the bottom defies common sense.

There's also the Konica C-35, along w/ about a million clones that different camera makers put out based on it's design. I once owned a Minox. It worked exactly one day before something came loose w/ the aperture, the electrics went South, and I was fortunate enough to return it and get my money back.
 
nukecoke! Thank you so much. You made my day and I have ordered one to see if it fits my needs.
I'm mainly shooting with around 800 ASA, so a 1/30s and 2.8 would be great even at dim light. Can you explain me how to cheat the flash plug to let the camera think it's a closed circuit? :D
 
paniolo said:
nukecoke! Thank you so much. You made my day and I have ordered one to see if it fits my needs.
I'm mainly shooting with around 800 ASA, so a 1/30s and 2.8 would be great even at dim light. Can you explain me how to cheat the flash plug to let the camera think it's a closed circuit? :D
Click to expand...

You are welcome!

I don't know how to do the cheat though...it's just my theory.

My Electro 35 MC, CC, and FC all under-expose for 1 stop, but it can be easily compensated when setting the ISO. You may want to play around and compare the shutter speed with a reliable camera when you get your MC to see if it's the same case.

Steve M. said:
Thanks for the suggestion N.C. I once owned a regular Yashica Electro rangefinder camera, and that thing was huge. Had never heard of the 35 MC, so I duck duck goe'd it. Tiny indeed, and unlike the Rollei little cameras, it is designed w/ a human in mind :] Putting the winder and flash on the bottom defies common sense.
Click to expand...

You are welcome.

Well, I can live with the upside-down hot shoe and re-winder on Rollei 35, but I really dislike the tiny focus ring (I have small hands already), it is almost a deal breaker for me. I also wish there is a distance guide inside the Rollei finder, like the MC did. But it seems that Rollei wants you pre-focus before you move your eye to the finder. The MC is quicker to shoot for sure.
 
sevres_babylone said:
You don't have to use AF on the Contact T3. You can set the distance, and in my experience, there is then no shutter lag.
Click to expand...

holy shirt, realy?
can somebody confirm this?
I just handled some "lesser" AF compacts, even ones with manual focus like the Leica CM, and they all had noticable shutter lag when prefocussed manual.
 
Maybe not the smallest but the best buy and the easiest to use, and with full manual. Plus, you get to change lenses: it is the Bessa R2a. (and the Bessa R3a)

If you mean auto focus then these are out.
 
paniolo said:
Any recommendations?
Minox 35 and copies came in my mind but all of these have the restriction that if you attach something else than a flash to the hotshoe the camera is shooting in flash synch only. (~1/125)

I want to add an optical viewfinder, it should have aperture priority or full automatic and minimal shutter lag.
Click to expand...
The Minox goes to 1/125 because of a micro switch in the hot shoe. You just need to remove the front left tip of an accessory to prevent the switch from being pressed. The amount of material to remove is minimal and doesn't prevent the accessory from being used on a different camera. I've used this method to mount a flash on a 35-GT when I needed slow sync.
 
paniolo said:
holy shirt, realy?
can somebody confirm this?
I just handled some "lesser" AF compacts, even ones with manual focus like the Leica CM, and they all had noticable shutter lag when prefocussed manual.
Click to expand...

I don't have a T3 any more, from memory prefocusing locks the lens to the desired distance, so the camera shoots pretty much instantly (but there's some lag between pressing shutter release and actual taking). The CM/Minilux by comparison returns the lens to infinity after each shot, so that the lens has to travel again to preset focus/distance every time you shoot. However the AF is blazing fast compared to the T3.

.
 
nukecoke said:
This one is as innovative as Rollei 35, but designed by and for human beings :D

Wanted to snatch one but it is quite rare and can be expensive these days.
Click to expand...


Yes, I was probably lucky to find one for 20 EUR - with shutter blades stuck. Cleaning was another 20 EUR, so all in all I guess that was a fair deal for this little gem...
 
I have Oly 35 Trip. Small, metal, no batteries, but auto and normal hotshoe.

With flash, f8 and ISO400 film.

33645559411_5b6ccef326_o.jpg
 
I'm not 100% sure I understand OPs question, but if you would like to attach an optical finder to the camera's hot shoe without triggering the camera to go to flash mode, just use a bit of clear tape to mask off the electrical connection. The camera won't know anything is attached to the shoe and give full shutter speeds.
 
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