Talking about cheap gear... I mean, cheaper... (Advice required...)

Juan: Out of curiosity, what part of Colombia? I have family there in Bogota. And yes, you have to be very careful, especially in the south of the city. Nobody seemed to notice my M2 but yes if I was not careful it surely would've been taken at some point.
 
hi juan

i have a very cheap ricoh tf 500 which is a pocket af film cam with a dual lens set up: 35/2.8 and 70/5.6.

also an incredibly cheap, light yet very high IQ is something like a konica tc-x, the first all plastic slr, almost pocket size and i got mine for $10usd, with manual everything, spot on metering and SS to 1/1000. you can couple this with a konica ar 28/3.5, a 35/2.8, or a 40/1.8, each of which has excellent IQ and each cost less than $50usd. i venture to say you will be so pleased with the output, the lightness and compactness, that you will find yourself using the rig upon your return. i find ar lenses the equal of my zeiss planars, and the tc-x runs on one triple a battery!
 
NickTrop said:
+1 Cheap azz point-n-shooter w/ a 28mm fixed lens. Many have great IQ, light, portable. Stolen? Broken? Who cares? They're a dime a dozen - almost literally. IQ ranges from decent (fixed lens) to "almost-shocking-how-good-it-is". As far as focus, don't they all have focus lock with one autopoint, dead center? Focus, lock focus, and then frame however you like.

Otherwise, if you insist on scale focus (and I really don't know why...) get one of the scale focus Olympus XA cameras...
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+2

I have a couple of cheap plastic AF P+S cameras with fixed 28mm lens, from Nikon and Pentax. They fit the bill, though there is no form of manual control.
 
Steve M. said:
You might want to look at this thread Juan

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111142

I got a lot of good recommendations, and found what I wanted for under $25. Haven't received the camera yet, but since it's essentially a rebadged Konica C35, of which I've owned more than a few, I know what it will do operationally and photographically (it's too early for these $100 words. What I mean is, it's a fun camera to shoot and should have excellent IQ).
Click to expand...

Hi Steve,

I followed that thread... And I've been checking all those very similar models by several brands... They ARE and LOOK LIKE what I want... They're really close to what I need, but I'd prefer wider than 38mm... If someone confirms the facts about the XA4, I guess that would be the best option, for size, focal length and ISO...

Thanks everyone for the great posting!

Cheers,

Juan
 
Hm, what added value is a no-batteries camera in Colombia? It's not like batteries are hard to get as long as you avoid the wonky 1970s types. PX625s are bad, SR44s are good.

I'd much prefer a camera that takes batteries of an easily-available sort over one, say, with a selenium meter where I have to protect the cell from moisture.
 
rxmd said:
Hm, what added value is a no-batteries camera in Colombia? It's not like batteries are hard to get as long as you avoid the wonky 1970s types. PX625s are bad, SR44s are good.

I'd much prefer a camera that takes batteries of an easily-available sort over one, say, with a selenium meter where I have to protect the cell from moisture.
Click to expand...

No problem with batteries at all. But I meant mechanical because I don't even need a selenium meter as I'll use the camera at 1/250 f/11 only.

Cheers,

Juan
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
Can I use 400 ISO DX film rolls and manually set ISO to 1600 avoiding the DX reader?
Click to expand...

Yes. I think this works by covering the DX code with a sticker so that the camera thinks it has no code, allowing you to set ISO manually.

Alternatively, you can fake the DX code, turning your ISO 400 cassettes into ISO 1600 cassettes. The DX codes for ISO 400 and ISO 1600 differ by exactly one position - position 3, which is "black" for ISO 400, but metal for ISO 1600. So you can scratch out position 3 with a nail file so that there is a contact, or stick a piece of aluminum foil there. Voilà, the camera sets ISO to 1600. Take a look at the chart under http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DX_encoding.

Being a macro lens (or kind of) can I consider it has the same DOF as common 28's?
Click to expand...

Yes. DOF pretty much only depends on the focal length, the aperture, and the subject distance. The difference between the XA4's "macro" lens and a non-macro lens is only that the XA4 will let you focus a little closer.
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
Oooops... How's the XA4's programmed mode? Could I really make it shoot stopped down always?
Click to expand...

No.

I think you'll have a hard time finding a 28mm compact camera that will let you shoot stopped down manual exposure and manual focus, short of a Nikon 28Ti or a Ricoh GR1, and I'm not sure about those either.

In that case, a wonky-looking FED-Zarya with a couple of Hello Kitty stickers on it and a 28/f3.5 CV lens might be the better option
 
XA2

Juan Valdenebro said:
now I think I should get a cheap camera: one that costs no more than 2 digits...
Click to expand...
check 2 digit USD


Juan Valdenebro said:
About lens' focal length: it will be prefocused at 6-8 feet, always, so, as I need great DOF, it must be a 28 or 35,
Click to expand...
check and check 35mm The 3.3ft to 15ft zone should work fine. The 8ft to infinity zone should work too.

Juan Valdenebro said:
About lens' speed: I will use f/8-f/11 exclusively.

About shutter speed: around 1/250 exclusively.
Click to expand...
Not much you can to here, but with the right film speed you are going to be in the ballpark with both of these in full sun.

Juan Valdenebro said:
Camera must be black and small.
Click to expand...
check and check

Doesn't meet all your requirements such as mechanical only, but for the price and quality of the lens it is a good bet.
 
The Pentax is called PC-550, and the Nikon one has a string of letters and the number 24 in the model name, even though it has a 28mm lens. Sorry, that was one of the cameras I re-donated back to Goodwill so I don't have it anymore.
 
rbelyell said:
hi juan

i have a very cheap ricoh tf 500 which is a pocket af film cam with a dual lens set up: 35/2.8 and 70/5.6.

also an incredibly cheap, light yet very high IQ is something like a konica tc-x, the first all plastic slr, almost pocket size and i got mine for $10usd, with manual everything, spot on metering and SS to 1/1000. you can couple this with a konica ar 28/3.5, a 35/2.8, or a 40/1.8, each of which has excellent IQ and each cost less than $50usd. i venture to say you will be so pleased with the output, the lightness and compactness, that you will find yourself using the rig upon your return. i find ar lenses the equal of my zeiss planars, and the tc-x runs on one triple a battery!
Click to expand...

+1 on the Konica TC-X. It will feel just like your Bessa, Juan. Made by Cosina and the similarity is quite obvious.
 
I checked the models... Some of them are good options...

And I guess rxmd might be right...

Nohting -even before checking prices- gives me more features, control, small size and quality than an XA...

Yet I'll wait a bit more before ordering a second XA... Just in case.

But I confess I was about to do it the same day I received my XA and saw, just developed and even wet, a test I did with Velvia...

I just wanted to have fun with "another" camera... Yet I think, maybe at f/11, the 40 on a Trip would be nice, and DOF enough even if focused at 6-8 feet... Just if I could find something small like all those black cameras looking like Hi-matics but with a 35 or 28... I'll check for the last time...

Cheers,

Juan
 
Hi rxmd,

Please excuse me... When I said "How's the XA4's programmed mode? Could I really make it shoot stopped down always?", with always I really meant under direct sun: as I would use it always...

Can I presume with 400 ISO film under direct sun, the camera will use a fast shutter speed and a small aperture?

Is there a needle for shutter speeds in the finder as in the XA? (Maybe going to ISO200 would be better, to avoid the smallest aperture...)

How does the camera think? Does it reach the fastest shutter speed before reaching the smallest aperture? That would make sense... Then I could check shutter speed on the finder, decide optimal ISO setting for direct sun, and be able to make the camera shoot at a very fast shutter speed and at f/8 or f/11, avoiding f/16...

Thank you very much for your help!

Cheers,

Juan
 
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