Waiting for a Leica M - meanwhile.....

[stillshunter]

Hi guys,

First time poster here from Oz.

Like many on the forum I am saving for a Leica M-series...yeah it will be a bit longer I think. Meanwhile, my dSLR is gathering dust I want to find myself an introductory RF. I have sort of narrowed it down to the Oly XA or Canonet QL17 GIII. I've read may posts from people who own both...but if given the choice between the two which way should I lean?..or is it a "can't go wrong either way"?

I am looking for a clean sharp glass manual RF (I only shoot M with the SLR) as a close companion that will come with me everywhere - interchangeable lens would be preferred but neither of these comes with this option...and since I'm saving for the M I'd rather not blow the budget (read as the Bessa or lower speced Leica's not an option). So what's my best front seat companion?

Happy for others opinions on choosing between the two or highlighting another I've overlooked.

PS. I found many a Canonet on the market but the XA's pretty rare around these parts. Any other Aussies who know where to pick one up that would be great.

Cheers,

Stills

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

For lens interchangeability you don't have many options on a budget - perhaps a decent fsu?, then if neccessary when the M body arrives you could use the lenses with an adaptor. For a fixed lens r/f consider a Yashica 'Electro', they can be had for a very reasonable sum, and the Yashinon lens quality will amaze you! ....BTW welcome to the forum! 🙂
Dave.

 

[John Lawrence]

I'm a big fan of the Olympus XA, but what Dave says above is worth serious consideration. A good FSU can be had for little money and would give you the interchangeable lenses you said you'd prefer.

My vote would therefore be to go with an FSU.

 

[stillshunter]

Guys,

Thanks for the input so far.

I was getting pretty baffled by the choices...and the foray into FSUs has opened the field exponentially 😉

A cursory look on Aus eBay there is one Kiev4 available, no Feds or Zorki. Before I look further am I going in the right direction?

I may fall back to the fixed lens, as a second preference. I was this close to picking up a Oly XA, but really want full manual exposure...then I almost deferred to the Canonet G111 17 or Yashica Electro. We have a glut of them in the market but I'm just not sure....???

So for a guy wanting a realistic taste of what the Leica M-series world has in store - who'd like metering in full manual exposure mode with a bright finder and sharp glass which way is forward??
The $$$$ ain't stacking up in the bank for an M-series for a while to come....and I want a serious option past my dSLR.

Cheers,

Stills

 

[sleepyhead]

What about a Bessa R or R2 with either a Cosina Voigtlander 35mm f/2.5 or 50mm f/2.5 lens?

That'll be quite inexpensive second hand, and will give you image quality and experience with rangefinders that are on the Leica level.

If you like the experience and image quality then you can slowly sell gear for say a 35mm or 50mm summicron in the future.

"If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with"

 

[40oz]

You can't go wrong with a good Canonet. You get a meter with shutter priority and full manual operation as well, which is fairly rare in fixed-lens rf's.

You can always keep your eye open for a good Kiev, or buy one from Fedka or another reputable dealer vs. ebay which can be a crap shoot.

And there is wisdom in buying into a Fed or Zorki now and using the lenses with your M body down the road.

 

[Bassism]

I have a Fed 3 that I picked up as a step between a Minolta himatic and a Leica M. If you get a good one, it's a pretty decent camera, but I find it very hard to use. I find the viewfinder to be quite dim and squinty, and don't enjoy using it very much.

As a user, I would say you're far better off with Canonet. If you want the ultimate in portability, the XA can't be beat. The primary advantage of the Fed would be the ability to use the lenses on an M; good specimens of the FSU lenses can be quite good.

 

[stillshunter]

All,

Thanks so much for all your advice so far.

I am getting very close to deciding and now that it's crunch time the decision is getting awfully difficult..esp. since an estate is selling off a few FSUs.

So on the one hand is the aesthetic value, and LTM retro-capability of either a Fed 2 (red) or Fed 5 (non-working meter). These appear to be reasonable condition...though the Fed2 that I'm tending towards has a little fungus growing that I am assured is having no impact on photos but will need a clean.

On the other hand there is a Canonet GIII QL17 available from someone at work. Very good condition, Wein cell included (which I'm told is leaving the meter very accurate)...the only negative is missing strap lugs.

So which way?

Lean the Fed2 way, and get full manual with no meter and a little temperamental? Or the Canonet, which I keeping hearing is fun and reliable, but probably quite far away from the Leica experience..

Again I'm looking to explore the RF world, I love shooting manual (focus and exposure) with sharp fast glass. That's my only real criteria.

So which is my best introduction?

PS Seems the Canonet may be a little pricier...but we're still talking well under AUD$200.

 

[Micky D]

Go for the Canonet.
This will give you a better start with RFs, simple and quality.

 

[ampguy]

I've owned both, and have great photos from both, but the VF in the Canonet and overall ergonomics for my hands was slightly easier to use than the XA.

 

[Bassism]

In my opinion, the Canonet is probably closer to the M Leica experience than a Fed. I've not used a Canonet myself, but my Minolta Hi-Matic has a big, bright VF with floating parallax-correcting framelines and feels much closer to my M2 in use than my Fed 3 which has a squinty approximate 50 VF with no parallax correction.

The Feds will probably win out in heftiness and retro-appeal. They're a fun camera to shoot as long as they're clean and functioning well. Personally I'd stay away from the 2 with Fungus. Feds can be had on ebay for next to nothing, and if you're going to send it out for a CLA anyway, you might as well save a hundred dollars in the process.

I think a Fed might be too fiddly and quirky as an introduction to RF shooting. A Canonet would be a lot more user-friendly and might make you feel more inspired to shoot it.

What I might suggest is looking around at the other fixed lens options. None of what you're looking at right now offers manual metering. I don't know all of the offerings by heart, but I do know that my Himatic offers manual metering.

 

[MCTuomey]

i started my way back into RFs with a canonet. if i had to do it over again, i would spend just a bit more for a decent bessa R or R2, as suggested above. a bessa was my intermediate b/w the canonet and a leica. you'll have your metering and interchangeability. they are nice cameras, not M in handling, but very capable and pleasant to use.

 

[stillshunter]

Oh, the guy selling the GIII reckoned there was manual metering...good on him!!!

So can I trouble those better in the know for some alternatives that DO have manual meter and focus, sharp, fast glass, etc.?

 

[stillshunter]

So if my research is correct the best-fit 35RFs with manual override and fast <f2.0 glass come down to Minolta 7sII, Olympus RD or SP35, Canonet QL 17 G-III. It sounding more and more like the GIII is the go - since it's pretty hard to find a decent working example of the rest here in Australia.

So the GIII?...or is it really worth waiting out for one of the
Olys or 7sII?

Think I might pass on the Fed 2 until after I've mastered one of the above...