The Pocket Rangefinder

[dcsang]

As someone who loves the fact that I can carry around my entire RF kit; which includes 2 bodies, 3-5 lenses, Moleskin, pen, wallet, etc. etc. etc. in a shoulder bag that is a lot smaller than most laptop bags, I'm pleased as punch to find smaller and smaller rangefinders.

The "ideal" pocket one is the Olympus XA imho. The lens ain't half bad; really. I've got some decent shots with it and may decide to use one for the RF book.

The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that it may have been "too small". The camera was an RF but it reminded me a lot of a p&s.

So when I started to look at smaller than "M" cameras that were decent to look at and were good and offered the option of interchangeable lenses I eventually decided on the older Leica screwmount bodies. I currently have a Leica IIIc that looked like it could be the "slip into the coat pocket" camera (personally I think i'd get some weird looks if I tried to shove it into my pants pocket ... "Is that a Leica in your pocket or are you just happy to see me??") 😉

Today I received, from Roland (aka ferider), a nice little 35mm f3.5 Summaron in LTM to go with the IIIc. When I was in NYC, to prepare for the Summaron's arrival, I picked up the VC Meter II and the VC 28/35 brightline minifinder.

I really really really think that this is about as small as I can get in Leica-ville. 🙂
Everything is just big enough for the "going out but don't want to carry any bags with me" sort of day/evening. I may long for other lenses but with a 35mm on the cam and some fast film in it (Tri-X b/w 400 and 3200 depending on the situation) then this should be just fine..

The sad thing about this whole thing is, well, it's going to start GAS all over again... 😀

What's your favourite "pocket" RF ?

Cheers
Dave

 

[einolu]

pick up one of those 28mm skopar, thats what i would do 🙂.

Really nice outfit.

 

[JoeFriday]

without hesitation I'd say my favorite pocket RF is my Contax T.. it has a 38mm Sonnar and metering that is possibly the best of any camera I own.. here's a photo of me holding mine 😉 and a couple shots I've taken

 

[back alley]

i always carry a bag with me, work or play so i don't worry too much about pocket cams, but i noticed today that the 35/3.5 i just got is way smaller than the 50/1.9 collapsible i had.
on a bottom feeder this would be a very small kit indeed.

joe

 

[gns]

My Plaubel Makina W67. When folded, it's flat and fits easily into a jacket pocket. It is more pocketable than my Leica and yielda a 6 x 7 neg!

In reality though, I never carry a camera in my pocket. Don't know why not. Just used to hanging it over my shoulder.

Gary

 

[Byuphoto]

This is exacltly what i wanted the CL for and now that I got the M4-2 I have went back to my Canonet QL17 GIII

 

[wlewisiii]

I almost always have my bag on me with my small handfull of lenses and (now 🙂 ) the 7. But if I need compact I'll dig out the Karat 36. Compact as you can get and a sweet Tessar clone lens (Solinar 50/2.8).

William

 

[flipflop]

I really like the Contax T...I had the T2 but I dont think it is in the same league as the original.

 

[flipflop]

check this bad boy out if I had the cash for a nice point and shoot this is what it would be !
It looks really nice in black
http://cgi.ebay.com/Contax-T-35mm-R...572649681QQcategoryZ30028QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[FrankS]

I like the screwmount and compact lens idea too.

If you really want compact, with control and great results, it's hard to beat a Rollei 35 T, TE, S, or SE.

 

[reagan]

That's a great looking compact kit Dave. As they say at home on the farm, "Ya done good." 😎

In the [coat] pocket, I usually carry a Zorki 1 w/ Industar 22 or 50. More times than not though, it's in a fanny pack over my shoulder. The Orion 15 is pretty small (short), so it's occasionally attached.

 

[RayPA]

CLE with a CV 28/3.5. Other than my half-working XA, I ain't got a smaller RF.

 

[FrankS]

My CL has a wonky meter. Thinking about removing the meter ganglia so I can collapse a lens into it, for a compact outfit.

 

[bean_counter]

I'm a big guy, so I can get away with a IIIf and an Elmar 50/3.5 in the jeans pocket. Car keys, Sekonic L-208, and a spare roll of HP5+, FP4+, or K64 (pre-trimmed for bottom feeding, of course) in the other pocket.

If I wear a jacket, I add an SBOOI, sometimes swap to a Summitar if I need speed. The Summitar is not nearly as compact, tho, and requires the barn door shade often.

 

[fredus]

Rollei 35S ... Couldn't be happier. Way better than Olympus XA. I can do 3200. YEs sir !! 😎

Fred

 

[Poptart]

The XA is a favorite just for the cool design, but yes, the rfdr baselength is too short by half. But that's a problem of physics, I guess--the CL was also too short for proper focusing with very fast lenses, as Leitz noted.

 

[Honus]

Amazing, 3 of my alltime favorite cameras mentioned in one thread:

Leica IIIc
Plaubel Makina 67 (granted, it was a W67)
Rollei 35 S

... that is all.

- robert

 

[caila77]

I love iskra and retina IIC
but the best for me is my Canon IV-Sb2

 

[wlewisiii]

Mmm. Yummy. What lens are you using on you Sb-2? I have a IVSb that I'm looking for a FSU collapsable 50 for.

William

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

XA for sure. Especially the wide angle lens version. XA3 or XA4? I used to have one for work and I made a case for having this one but can't remember the model designation now.

New there's the Olympus mju V, which looks pretty nifty for pocket-carrying. Seems like an updated XA in a nifty metal casing.

Although yesterday I glanced in a shop window and saw the Sony T5 (I know it's digital) which is amazingly slim. And not just pants pocket size, but shirt pocket size.