The Route to the Rangefinder.

[AndySig]

I was thinking the other day that I find rangefinder photography more absorbing, interesting and perhaps even addictive than I do any other form of photography which I have tried. Then I wondered just how it was that I got there. Here’s the route I took: like most people I’d had a series of compact snapshot cameras and then I realised that I wanted to take pictures that I would regard as photographs and not just snaps. In my naivety, I thought that this would obviously just be a matter of equipment, so off I went to the camera shop.

The blokes in the shop were good and I came out with a Pentax K1000 and a 50 mm lens. Around that time I started reading the occasional photography magazine but perhaps the most important step I took was to buy John Hedgecoe’s basic book about photography and that provided most of the technical explanations I had been looking for as well as things like the rule of thirds and other basic compositional ideas.

Then I went through a phase of wanting zoom and telephoto lenses. What on earth was the point of wide angles as they made things you were looking at seem so far away? Over the years I got through 2 or 3 more Pentax bodies and by the time I had a moderately extensive Pentax system, I got to read about Leica cameras and part exchanged the Pentax gear for an R7 with 28-70 (I think) zoom at the time the R7 was coming down in price due to the introduction of the R8. I then proceeded to build up a decent Leica R set up.

I found that I was most happy with the camera in manual mode as it seemed to make sense to take all the decisions myself. Gradually I was becoming aware of other formats and decided that the ultimate photography had to be, logically, large format. So I got a 5x4 folder and am still happy with LF photography although I don’t practice it enough to regard myself as proficient. I think I would do it a lot more if I could get hold of a Linhof Technika 5x7 with a 5x4 reducing back … but I digress.

An opportunity came up to try a Contax G2 and I was instantly hooked and so ended up with two bodies and all but the 16 mm lens. It’s a lovely system but I missed the wholly manual feel that I had with the R7 but the G2 did replace the R7 as the camera I wanted to use all the time. Eventually I came to realise that I wanted a rangefinder with real manual capability. Leica was out of the question because of the price and so I got a brand new ZI which was on offer at €899 and a ZM 35/2.8 and I knew that I had arrived at the right thing for me.

Then it became obvious that I needed a second body (one for colour slide and one for B&W) but the offers were no longer there and so I was resigned to paying the full price for a second ZI. Then this spring I saw an absolutely mint M6 TTl 0.85 for €999 i.e. about €500 less than a new ZI so I picked it up as a second body. I still rate the ZI very highly but there really is something special about the way a Leica M feels and handles: it was the target I had always had in mind but could never define. That said, I’m more than happy to stick with ZM lenses although I may consider a 50/2 summicron one day. The other week I picked up an M4 complete with Elmar 50/2.8 and have happily been putting a few rolls of HP5 through it.

So I’m now at the stage where I’m going to bid a fond farewell to the G2 system and probably my LF cameras in order to get the above mentioned Linhof and so end up with a Leica/Zeiss hybrid RF system and one LF camera and I will probably never want to change due to feeling greatly content. I did make the mistake of playing with an M9 P in a camera shop a few weeks ago but the price and the fact that I am still somehow a bit sceptical about digital means that it will be a long time before I seriously consider one.

[FONT=&quot]So that’s how I got to RF. What about you?[/FONT]

 

[tunalegs]

I inherited my mom's Canon AE not long after I started playing with 110 cameras, but one day at a thrift shop there was a beautiful Petri 7s with case for $19. Too pretty/weird to resist for the price (something a high schooler could afford). I've been an off and on fan of RFs ever since.

The thing that keeps me coming back to them is their quietness and compactness. I wish I could detail some long quest for perfection, but that's it.

 

[Roger Hicks]

My grandfather, killed at sea during World War Two, was a keen amateur photographer. My father therefore encouraged me when I wanted/needed a camera ('needed' because I wanted to photograph corals for an 'A' level project) and in 1967 bought me a second-hand Pentax SV and an enlarger, etc. The local camera stores (in Hamilton, Bermuda) always had at least one (screw) Leica in, and though they were no use for photographing corals, I always wanted one. Then (from http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/leicaphilia.html, where there are pictures of both the IIIa and the girlfriend)...

In 1969 my girlfriend wanted a reliable, compact, good quality, not-too-expensive camera. For £20 she bought a Leica II, complete with 50mm f/3.5 Elmar. After a few weeks she kept asking for it back so I had to buy my own Leica, a IIIa, with the same sort of lens. That was £30.

In those days, it was still possible (if you were lucky) to find all sort of bargains, and between 1969 and the mid-1970s I had most of the early models. After I bought my first M-series, though, my interest in screw-mount models waned, and I gave up collecting Leicas in favour of buying cameras and lenses to use.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Matus]

When I started my PhD in Germany back in 2003 I had for the first time had the possibility to actually afford a decent camera. I was dreaming as a student about Nikon F80, but by the time I was actually buying a camera digital was showing its teeth so I ended up with Olympus C-5060WZ - a very nice camera for its time.

However as I was getting deeper into photography and learned more the attraction for film started and in particular the Mamiya 6. However the camera seemed very expensive at the time, so I actually ended up with 4x5" which as you could guess did not show to be a cheap option either - but I like it and keep using it. Then 3 years back I got Rolleiflex T and really liked 6x6 what led finally to Mamiya 6 about a year ago (sadly I sold the Rolleiflex to avoid collecting). I also had Bessa R3A for a while but somehow did not warm up to it, so I sold it. Now I am more-less fine, but do have thoughts towards XPan, Leica M2/3/4, Contax G2, but also a compact manual focus SLR (for slides for projections), but I do not hurry anywhere.

The Mamiya 6 really delivers great results, although I would wish the light meter were more useful. I will keep it for now. but should I in the future be forced to reduce the gear to just one film camera, I would get a Rolleiflex again.

 

[ruby.monkey]

It's all Nikon's fault. I had my heart set on a D200. I saved my pennies. I was all set to buy. And then I waited for them to hit the shelves. And I waited, and waited, and waited...

And then one day, as I was trawling the online camera stores, I came across an ad for an FM3A; and on impulse I bought it. So there I was, with one of the finest manual-focus cameras ever made, being reintroduced to film, and all of a sudden my desire for a dSLR died.

And then I came across an article about these weird Japanese cameras with the funny German name, from which some ******* had hacksawed the prism and mirror box. So of course I had to try one; and so the R3A and 40mm Nokton arrived.

And then... a tidy M3 with 50mm Summicron, for a pretty good price; a semi-impulse buy; and that was the point at which real gear-lust set in.

And now I'm living in a burnt-out Billingham, scavenging for Tri-X scraps, and cuddling my Leicas for warmth. My wife and children were sold long ago to pay for lenses, and my dog ran off with a Contax user. Damn you, Nikon! Damn you!

 

[Austerby]

My father was a keen photographer - he used an Exa and a Zorki and later a Rollei 35. He introduced me and my brother to photography and we've both been interested amateurs. I borrowed the Zorki when I was learning photography before moving on to Practica and Nikon SLRs. The seeds had already been planted and I've been aware of Leica's from an early age - a few years ago when I realised I could afford one I bought an M3 and 50mm collapsable summicron that I still have.

It was a lovely moment when I showed my father the M3 - he'd always wanted one but the cost was too high.

 

[keepright]

I came to film and rangefinder photography from digital. After realizing that my vacation snaps didn't capture the places where I went, I started working harder with my little P&S before upgrading to an advanced compact and then a series of big-name SLRs. Wanting to see what else was out there, I bought a cheap Yashica GSN, nursed it back to health, and started using it. It was the first time I'd used film since my APS Elph.

Since then, I've also bought a ZM Zeiss Ikon, three lenses, and recently added an Olympus XA as a pocket camera. The Yashica that started it all is now retired.

Since then I've also bought, in no particular order, a Nikon F100, Nikon D700, and nine F-moint lenses; a Hasselblad 500c/m with 80 and 150mm lenses, a Fujifilm GX680III with 80 and 210mm lenses, a Panasonic GH1 with 20/1.7, 7-14, and 14-140 lenses, a Canon SX20is superzoom, and a Panasonic TS3 underwater P&S.

Rangefinders are nice; they're an important subset in the 'camera' category of objects. I own seven different interchangeable-lens cameras in six different lens mounts, and will use any of them to take pictures when they're the appropriate choice.

 

[jsrockit]

I went from Pentax K1000, to Nikon SLRs, to a Leica M4-2/M6 and Contax T2 / Leica Minilux in the 90s. Then I took 10 years or so off from photography and when I got back into it I went from a Nikon D60 to a M2 to the M8/X1 and now the X100/M9. During the ten years off, I used various digital point and shoots.

 

[tjkoko]

@Ruby Monkey:

Get a handle, dude! 8}

 

[nikon_sam]

I happened to come across my first Rangefinder by accident...
I was checking out this "Unclaimed Freight" warehouse and found this all metal, old looking camera...it felt heavy compared to the more modern stuff out there...and it looked real cool...
I put it back but kept coming back to it...I don't remember the exact price but I know it was less than $15...so I bought it...
That was over 15 years ago and since then I have bought a total of 5 of them, three work, one is a parts body and another I gave/sold to another RFFer for parts...
The camera is an Olympus 35-S from about 1957...
Recently, I bought another rangefinder the Olympus-35 SP...it has the same lens as the 35-S just a tiny bit faster 1.7 vs. 1.8
It's more modern in that it has a meter but the older one is so much quieter...
The only other rangefinder I have is the Argus C-3...

 

[hausen]

I like most had a very round about route to RF photography. My first serious camera was a Minolta XD7, which I still have. I had a darkroom and played around with photos when I had time away from young family. When I got divorced I decided I would use my spare time with golf and photography and went the Nikon DSLR route. I did a photography course and on the basic 'this are the camera options' section of the course I saw a picture of a Leica and I made the big mistake of researching it and have been hooked ever since. Now have M9, Xpan, Fuji GF670, Canon P and a couple of Retinas as my user cameras. Also X100 which just looks like an RF🙂

 

[Paul Luscher]

Well, I've told the tale before, but I'll tell it again:

Shooting solo acoustic musicians in a small club. Learned, the hard way, that a SLR was not the best instrument for doing so. Noise factor resulted in much hate from musicians and audience.

Went to a camera shop about an item I was trying to sell, saw a beat-up M3 in a box on the floor. Remembered reading somewhere about the quietness of rangefinders and how they were the ideal machine for candid shooting, so I ended up walking out the door with the M3 and a secondhand 50mm Summilux.

And this--thousands of dollars and a whole slew of Leica items later--is how it all started....

 

[Roger Hicks]

It's all Nikon's fault. I had my heart set on a D200. I saved my pennies. I was all set to buy. And then I waited for them to hit the shelves. And I waited, and waited, and waited...

And then one day, as I was trawling the online camera stores, I came across an ad for an FM3A; and on impulse I bought it. So there I was, with one of the finest manual-focus cameras ever made, being reintroduced to film, and all of a sudden my desire for a dSLR died.

And then I came across an article about these weird Japanese cameras with the funny German name, from which some ******* had hacksawed the prism and mirror box. So of course I had to try one; and so the R3A and 40mm Nokton arrived.

And then... a tidy M3 with 50mm Summicron, for a pretty good price; a semi-impulse buy; and that was the point at which real gear-lust set in.

And now I'm living in a burnt-out Billingham, scavenging for Tri-X scraps, and cuddling my Leicas for warmth. My wife and children were sold long ago to pay for lenses, and my dog ran off with a Contax user. Damn you, Nikon! Damn you!

Gorgeous writing!

Cheers,

R.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I started out with a 2.1mp Ixus V2 camera as my first 'proper' p&s somewhere in 2002
Then in 2005 I bought a Zeiss Ikon Nettar for capturing the many Living History Events I go to in style ...and started looking for other 1930s and 1940s cameras. That's how I came to use Rangefinders, seeing all those Nazi-fied Zorki and FED cameras on Ebay.

And from there my collection expanded (exploded) with too many Leica, Zorki, FED LTM bodies and a fair number of fixed lens RF camera like the Konica S2 Auto and Yashica Electro 35 GSN.

I love the feel of Rangefinder cameras. A smooth running one is a dream to work with in my opinion. Though I do use some nice SLRs from time to time too.

 

[tenter10]

🙂

I was thinking the other day that I find rangefinder photography more absorbing, interesting and perhaps even addictive than I do any other form of photography which I have tried. Then I wondered just how it was that I got there. Here’s the route I took: like most people I’d had a series of compact snapshot cameras and then I realised that I wanted to take pictures that I would regard as photographs and not just snaps. In my naivety, I thought that this would obviously just be a matter of equipment, so off I went to the camera shop.

The blokes in the shop were good and I came out with a Pentax K1000 and a 50 mm lens. Around that time I started reading the occasional photography magazine but perhaps the most important step I took was to buy John Hedgecoe’s basic book about photography and that provided most of the technical explanations I had been looking for as well as things like the rule of thirds and other basic compositional ideas.

Then I went through a phase of wanting zoom and telephoto lenses. What on earth was the point of wide angles as they made things you were looking at seem so far away? Over the years I got through 2 or 3 more Pentax bodies and by the time I had a moderately extensive Pentax system, I got to read about Leica cameras and part exchanged the Pentax gear for an R7 with 28-70 (I think) zoom at the time the R7 was coming down in price due to the introduction of the R8. I then proceeded to build up a decent Leica R set up.

I found that I was most happy with the camera in manual mode as it seemed to make sense to take all the decisions myself. Gradually I was becoming aware of other formats and decided that the ultimate photography had to be, logically, large format. So I got a 5x4 folder and am still happy with LF photography although I don’t practice it enough to regard myself as proficient. I think I would do it a lot more if I could get hold of a Linhof Technika 5x7 with a 5x4 reducing back … but I digress.

An opportunity came up to try a Contax G2 and I was instantly hooked and so ended up with two bodies and all but the 16 mm lens. It’s a lovely system but I missed the wholly manual feel that I had with the R7 but the G2 did replace the R7 as the camera I wanted to use all the time. Eventually I came to realise that I wanted a rangefinder with real manual capability. Leica was out of the question because of the price and so I got a brand new ZI which was on offer at €899 and a ZM 35/2.8 and I knew that I had arrived at the right thing for me.

Then it became obvious that I needed a second body (one for colour slide and one for B&W) but the offers were no longer there and so I was resigned to paying the full price for a second ZI. Then this spring I saw an absolutely mint M6 TTl 0.85 for €999 i.e. about €500 less than a new ZI so I picked it up as a second body. I still rate the ZI very highly but there really is something special about the way a Leica M feels and handles: it was the target I had always had in mind but could never define. That said, I’m more than happy to stick with ZM lenses although I may consider a 50/2 summicron one day. The other week I picked up an M4 complete with Elmar 50/2.8 and have happily been putting a few rolls of HP5 through it.

So I’m now at the stage where I’m going to bid a fond farewell to the G2 system and probably my LF cameras in order to get the above mentioned Linhof and so end up with a Leica/Zeiss hybrid RF system and one LF camera and I will probably never want to change due to feeling greatly content. I did make the mistake of playing with an M9 P in a camera shop a few weeks ago but the price and the fact that I am still somehow a bit sceptical about digital means that it will be a long time before I seriously consider one.

[FONT=&quot]So that’s how I got to RF. What about you?[/FONT]

🙂well I started with a agfa silette in 64, bought a canonette in vietnam 66 for $15 mpc, lost that ,bought a petri ft in vietnam in 68, sold that, had a instamatic for 18 yrs and then bought a sigma sa1 then a nikon f55, and now a minolta hi-matic 7s and thats where I am now. The f55 was the most expensive at $500 in bangkok I could have bought it for 350 back here in brisbane, mug that I am.