What happened?

[Bill Pierce]

Rangefinder cameras have been around a long time. Leica introduced a rangefinder in 1925, but Kodak introduced one in 1916. Rangefinders existed in a variety of formats. Graflex and Linhof had very popular 4x5 rangefinders. Mamiya and Fuji had popular roll film rangefinders. The Kodak Ektra was the United States one attempt to build a top of the line 35m rangefinder, but the lower priced Argus C3 sold millions. In the 50’s the top of the line rangefinders were made by Zeiss, Leitz, Nikon and Canon, but Bell & Howell, Meopta, Perfex, Robot, Fjuica, Konica, Mamiya, Minolta, Olympus, Petri, Ricoh, Yashica also jumped in the race.

What happened? They are almost all gone. There are digital Leicas and the film M-A. I think I know what happened, but I want to know what you think happened.

 

[sepiareverb]

Autofocus.

 

[Michael Markey]

Yep autofocus and simpler designs.

 

[Mackinaw]

Most folks found SLR's easier to use than rangefinders.

Jim B.

 

[back alley]

slrs had long lenses...more accurate finders...?

 

[zuiko85]

Yep autofocus and simpler designs.

Yup. The great unwashed masses fell with glad cries onto cameras that, more and more, did everything for them.

Then, compact digital.

Then, cell phone cams.

Then, ……….I don't know, what's next?

Holga maybe?

 

[Bill Clark]

They didn’t sell well enough to keep a factory running.

Limited group of folks who use or desire them.

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

Focus? We don't need no stinkin' focus!

 

[Godfrey]

Professionals moved to SLR cameras in the 1960s with the introduction of the Nikon F due to the greater versatility and long lens options. The Nikon F wasn't the first 35mm SLR, but it was reliable, durable, and not stratospherically priced. And the lenses were good.

Amateurs followed over the next decade as more and more good SLRs and lenses appeared on the market in every price bracket. By the end of the 1970s, there were only a hand full of rangefinder cameras left being made, and the 1980s was about the beginning of the AF and exposure automation era... Manual focus rangefinder cameras, with or without built in meters and/or AE, had become a small niche market by then.

G

 

[xayraa33]

Owning SLRs did sell more lenses and made camera firms more money.

Now we are in the era of mirrorless digital cameras, a far cry from the age of the Leica M3 , Nikon SP and the Canon 7 and Kodak Tri- X and Kodachrome film.

 

[Keith]

Manufacturing costs. When Nikon decided to re-release theirs a while ago as a special I remember reading that the rangefinder mechanism was horrendously expensive to build by modern standards in an era where electronics rule.

 

[charjohncarter]

I still like an RF for accurate focusing especially with wide angle lenses. I find I still get fooled by AF even the latest models.

 

[shimokita]

The conflict in Vietnam happened...

and field photographers discovered the (Nikon) SLR. The 28mm in F-mount and PJ's started to get on board... it wasn't autofocus at that time... keep your head down ; )

 

[ptpdprinter]

What happened? More photographers preferred SLRs to rangefinders.

 

[webOSUser]

And rangefinders on the used market are very affordable.

Steve W

 

[JeffS7444]

The Canon AE1 caught the public's imagination, and everyone wanted an electronic SLR with winder.

 

[maigo]

-TTL metering.
-WYSIWYG.
- Forgetting to remove lens cap no longer a problem.
- Cost of manufacturing reduced though producing bodies for multiple market segments based on same chassis.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lynnb]

The system SLR happened at the enthusiast and pro end of the market where interchangeable lenses were essential. System SLRs were more versatile tools that had the advantage of through-the-lens viewing and metering with a huge choice of focal lengths, and provided a better solution for telephoto and macro. Buying into a system SLR meant confidence you could take on pretty much anything. If the client demanded a large transparency you could copy a 35mm slide onto something bigger - a widespread practice, according to a pro photographer I talked with in the mid-70s.

For family snapshots, compact scale focus cameras like the Trip 35 were simple to use, gave excellent results and were less expensive than rangefinders. Then autofocus arrived.

When I looked for my first "serious" camera in the 70s all the camera magazines were full of reviews and praise for Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Minolta and the new Olympus OM1. Pros were mostly using Nikon. Rangefinders were already a niche product.

The Nikon F for pros and the Spotmatic for amateurs were the turning point IMO.

 

[JeffS7444]

It didn't hurt Canon that they also heavily advertised the AE1 on prime time network television, in a time when cable TV and home video were still in their infancy.

 

[steveyork]

Nikon F is what happened to rangefinders. The F trounced rangefinders as a whole just like the M3 did to other rangefinders. SLRs are far more user friendly, and probably "better" for just general photography of a little bit of this, little bit of that. Ironic that now smart phones are doing to the SLR what it did to rangefinders.