The Ideal RF Camera

[ErnestoJL]

I´ve been wondering what camera would fulfill all of my requirements.
As long as this idea took form, I´ve been thinking also what would be other´s requirements for that ideal camera, or what camera is the ideal for someone.

I´ve been used to use SLRs for a long time, and thought this type was the best suited for all tasks, but at a certain date I´ve found that I´ve forgotten RF cameras as long as they are less bulky and quieter than most SLRs. Even I´d realized that about 95% of what I shoos was through just a"normal" lens...
The RF type has some limitations due to their design and instead of being WYSIWYG, they just give you an approximate idea of what you would get in the picture. This forced me to think that there should be an "ideal" RF camera as well as an "ideal" SLR, but perhaps none of then were ever made or designed.

My requirements for an RF are as follows:
Solid: able to tolerate some mishandling or abuse;
Right size and weight: enough to be confortable to handle all day long;
Quiet: shutter noise shouldn´t be heard 2 m away from the camera;
Flash sync: I don´t use it, but ...
Lens: interchangeable with at least three or four different focal lenghts, from 28/35 mm to 100/135 mm;
VF: projected frames for every lens it may be fitted with, with parallax correction;
Normal lens: 45 to 50 mm f 1:2 or better;
Shutter: focal plane;
Exposure meter: built in, and preferably "spot" or at least center weighted. May not have;
Exposure: auto and manual, user selectable

I know that the perfect camera is not more than an idea. Every one of Us may have a different "ideal" camera in mind. I think that it would be interestng to know which camera is our ideal one, and if it exists, which is the name of it, and why. If not, what would be the required specifications for it.
Thanks in advance for the answers!

Regards.
Ernesto

 

[aizan]

no one ideal camera for anyone, but my current lust is sort of a mix between the konica minolta a2 and olympus c-8080.

6mp
2/3" sensor
28-100mm equiv., f/1.8-2.5. zoom set by lever in 5 steps, or custom setting at any focal length. must be easily accessible by one hand. no zoom ring.
either a switchable .6x/1:1 viewfinder with lcd brightlines, or a hotshoe in a good place to put accessory viewfinders. either way, no optical tunnel, but superfine evf or better is fine.
anti-shake
tilting screen
shutter lag under 60ms, assuming prefocus, etc.
superb build quality, maybe even weather sealing.

 

[bmattock]

With interchangeable lenses - Bessa R.
Without - Olympus RD.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The requirement for a quiet shutter not heard at 2m distance, focal plane shutter, spot meter, and auto/manual operation puts you into Leica territory. A Leica M7 meets your requirements. If you relax the shutter noise criteria, the Bessa is a much less expensive option. The Leica has the quietest focal plane shutter of any camera that I've used. On my first roll through a late M3 I thought the shutter was not working, and was happy to see everything worked perfectly after getting the first roll back.

 

[Nikon Bob]

I agree with Brian, that puts you in Leica MP/M7 territory and maybe even Bessa R2a/3a territory. They seem pretty close to me.

Bob

 

[laptoprob]

Hexar RF!

Rob

 

[rover]

FM3a, prism replaced with a RF.

 

[Will]

Ideal (next) RF...

1.) Affordable RF

2.) As big as a Olympus Pen F

3.) Weight like a Pen F

(I have small hands and really like the feel of a Pen F with a 38mm)

4.) Interchangeable lens, normals at f/1.8 or faster, (Acturally Fixed len is ok, but needs desent optics)

5.) Long RF baselenght & High Magnification

6.) Well built


Any recommandation?

 

[Beniliam]

You will say that I am capricious but...

If its digital:

-Good design. Good construction. Solid but no a tank!!

-No shutter lag. Probably one of the worst disavantages of P&S digitals

-Great viewfinder, and great RF baselength. The viewfinder like the Bessas, simply lines, but better RF base like leica cameras...

-Lens interchangeables. Obviously!

-Good performance at high sensitives. 1600 usable please, and 3200 too...

-Silent shutter!! If one DSLR like the Oly E1 can, one RF can too.

-Compact flash and SD format for save the images.

-Very long durable battery. 600 shots!!

-The resolution between 10 - 12 mpx. But I prefer large CCD/CMOS, before many megapixels. The image quality its the most important.

-Orientable Lcd, like the Tlr cameras you can shoot like with waist level.

-No great magnification factor. x1.3 can be ok!

 

[Seele]

Voigtlander Bessa-R with a larger shutter speed dial that overhangs the front slightly, so as to make it easier to turn without taking the camera off the eye. Also, second-curtain X-synch.

 

[Kin Lau]

Money no object, a M7 or MP is pretty well the ideal.

Realistic, Bessa R or Bessa R3a. I have the R and it is good enough, so the only enhancements that mean anything to me, is the 1:1 vf and aperture priority in the R3a.

Otherwise, the Oly XA & Canonet GIII QL17 are pretty close to being ideal in a fix-lense RF.

On paper, the new Zeiss Ikon sounds very good. A full frame digital sensor would be nice if there is to be a digital version, but it's going to be _way_ out of my price range.

 

[Corry]

FM3a with prism replaced with a RF.

Bingo!!!! But with a light meter that you could use in low light...

 

[sf]

Ideal rangefinder camera :

Ideal rangefinder camera :

How about a supercompact, durable, nice looking rangefinder that would accept Leica M mount lenses, and offer at least 17 Megapixels of resolution, nice full dynamic range, and shutterlag like a D70. Oh yeah, and an autofocus option too, that can be fine tuned with a manual ring like the Contax 645 AF. And how about two compact flash slots for extra storage. And motion picture capability with sound. At full sensor resultion.


That would be, an M6 body with the Canon 1Ds MarkII sensor hardware, two slots, AF that's fast an accurate like the Canon USM focus motors, and an efficient, clean algorithm for capturing video. And waterproof, so I can take it underwater when i want to. And SUPER LONG battery life - like 10,000 shots. The D70 comes close. ish. And a spot for an emergency battery, like a lithium battery one might buy at the local drug store, so when I need a new battery and can't charge one, I can buy one.

Basically, just a Canon 1ds mark II shrunk down to fit into the M6 body with video capture capability and passive autofocus, and a transmitter that would allow me to track down the person that steals it from my car, waterproofing, secondary battery slot, two compact flash slots, sensitivity to 6400, and shutterspeeds up to 8000 and down to 2 hours, and my name, address, website, etc engraved on the body somewhere. And one more thing (that would make alot of sense) - a service plan that would allow sensor upgrades. Up to a point, since the body can only handle so much. I would deal with the lens issues that would cause.

Of course it would also have to accept the contax G2 lenses, so I could make use of that autofocus. I need autofocus because my eyes both suck.

 

[bmattock]

The ideal rangefinder camera would take better photographs than I do.

 

[simonankor]

My ideal is (at the moment) a Canon P with a 50/1.8

Conveniently, it's what I have.
Who needs meters? 😉

 

[hoot]

Perfect affordable RF? Maybe someone should dismantle a Kiev 4a and put in a brighter finder with parallax-corrected framelines, then replace the film advance knob with a lever. (Uh, anyone? I'd buy it!)

On the other hand, with the cost of labor nowadays, it'd probably be cheaper to just get an entry-level Leica M. Maybe I should sell a few pints of blood and an organ or two... :bang:

 

[Flinor]

Ernesto,

You just described my M5. Even fairly reasonable for a user oin the used market.
Solid: Typical Leica
Right Size and weight: Fits me perfectly and the wieght is not at all onerous.
Quiet: Typical Leica
Flash Sync: I don't use it either.
Lens: 35 to 135, though I sometimes us the 15 and 28 with external finders.
VF: Just what you asked for.
Normal lens: 50 or 35, whatever you call normal.
Shutter: Focal Plane
Exposure Meter: Spot to semispot, metered percentage of frame varies with lens focal length.
Does Not have: AE

Find a user, send it to Sherry, the M5 maven, for a CLA and enjoy it until you pass it on to your heirs.

 

[Poptart]

Normaqn Goldberg wrote an article about this once that he entitled Earth Camera. It was an slr, though, which I think is actually a more practical best camera--if you can solve the noise & dim low-light viewfinder problems. Maybe an enhancement system for low light, something like the night vision scopes. And the shutter could be made noiseless through design & materials selection alone. Then just make it pocketable, give it a standard f 1.4-22 zoom from 24-180mm (with a built-in 2X doubler) and Bob's your uncle!

 

[zpuskas]

Ernesto, I agree. If my M6TTL had a viewfinder with projected frames like a Contax G2..it would be perfect.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

> Perfect affordable RF? Maybe someone should dismantle a Kiev 4a and put in a brighter finder with parallax-corrected framelines, then replace the film advance knob with a lever. (Uh, anyone? I'd buy it!)

That would be a Kiev 5. Or a Nikon SP. Oh, you said affordable. That would be a Kiev 5.