What's the Best UNDER $50 Ebay Rangefinder?

[Krosya]

Canonet GIII QL17 or Konica AUTO S - great cameras and superb lenses.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I agree: either the Yashica GSN or Canonet GIII QL17 (or whatever the order of those letters/numbers is)

 

[rya]

I recently got an Argus and cannot speak for the other rangefinders, but I have a lot of fun with my brick.

And, today is Argus day.

 

[Rogier]

Yashica Electro GSN I bought 3 for less than $20 each.

 

[bawang]

Yashica Electro GSN....plenty available. Pick and choose the one with some kind of warranty to be working. Some suffer from Pad Of Death (POD), which renders it unusable. Nonetheless, they are easy to fix, check google.

 

[Bingley]

Konica Auto S2: very, very sharp lens; bright vf w/ moving framelines to adjust for parallax; and both manual and semi-auto mode. Got mine in pristine shape for around $46, including shipping.

 

[mfunnell]

...the GSN seems to be the one. I have a couple that cost me around $50.00 each and they perform flawlessly! [...] I just can't get along with them though so they spend all their time in the cupboard ... the size and the ergonomics spoil them.

It shouldn't be so, but I find myself in the same boat as Keith. I have a nice GTN, which can "do the business" just fine. But if I'm using a fixed lens rf, it's the Konica Auto S3 that gets all the work, despite not being in as good condition. I voted accordingly.

...Mike

 

[Keith]

Every camera now has a vote except for the Argus ... surely someone thinks it's the one!

It's American for gawd's sake ... have you lot got no loyalty? 😛

 

[David Murphy]

Probably a Kiev 4 or 4a which one can occasionally snare with a J8 for that amount. It's not the ideal camera, but if you are lucky to find a light-tight one in reasonable repair, you have a good beginners system rangefinder.

 

[btgc]

Yashica Lynx 5000 - proper lens, proper size and weight, proper exposure controls, excellent shutter release. Recommend it because I have one for use and another as spare. No doubt after CQ recommends any make, it will drive up second market, though I hope not to shop for them.

Konica Auto S and S2 - everything is nice, especially lens and large'n'bright viewfinder, though shutter release isn't up to standards of perfect snapshot kamara. It's long travel and stiff, no fun to use without soft release.

 

[BillBingham2]

It's American for gawd's sake ... have you lot got no loyalty? 😛

Yes, but for stuff we are proud of.........the box never did anything for me.

B2 (;->

 

[gavinlg]

I don't particularly like the camera as I believe it's over rated but the GSN seems to be the one. I have a couple that cost me around $50.00 each and they perform flawlessly!

I just can't get along with them though so they spend all their time in the cupboard ... the size and the ergonomics spoil them.

Agreed. Though I've never had one that works perfectly. I spent about 200-300 dollars going through multiple ones, including cheapos and expensive "works perfectly" ones from ebay, and all of them either broke or didn't work. In the end when I realised I could have just bought a Bessa R body brand new with that money I just cracked it and now I have somewhat of a vendetta against the electros. I did have a minister III though that worked well and had a gorgeous lens.

I want to like the Electros.... I saw Colin's (Avotius) photos from china with one and they took my breath away. Truly a world class lens in the right hands.

 

[bgb]

Guess i would go for the Electro too but only if you can find a good one, i got mine from an auction site and it goes klunk like something broke and the front element is ugly. Not sure if it will take reasonable pictures but the soon to be developed test roll will be interesting.
A good one would be a jewel ... if only i could find it !

I would love to nominate the OM-1 but i hear it's not a rangefinder ... go figure.

 

[David Murphy]

Colyn is right. The Retina II series cameras are dropping in price and they are wonderful cameras. Avotius is also right in that the Yashica GSN/GTN cameras are great. One of those was my first rangefinder and it got me hooked. However, I think the Konica Auto S series slightly edges them out. For $50 and under, it is just awfully difficult to beat a Hexanon lens.

The Retina II is a scale focusing camera as I recall - not a rangefinder

 

[David Murphy]

With careful shopping you can get 3 lens Argus outfits for $50

its difficult to get that with other makes.

Stephen

Good point. Some of the Argus lenses are German-made as I recall.

 

[David Murphy]

Actually the Zorki 4 and 4a are sometimes obtainable for less than $50. A lot of them are useless without a CLA, but I've bought acceptable ones for under $50 and they use LTM lenses - a big door opener to quality optics.

 

[George Bonanno]

Konica Auto S2... the cat's meow.
If you're on a $10 to $20 budget go for the Petri 2.8 Color Corrected Super.
Kuribayashi rules ! The original red dot.

BTW: Argus = pure junk.

 

[rbiemer]

The "best" buy is any one of them that actually works. With fairly minor differences, any are decent cameras, I think.

As I have said in the FSU forum, I think it matters much more who you are buying from than which specific camera.

That said, I think either any of the Canonettes or the Vivitar 35EE or ES are very good starting points.
Rob

 

[umboody]

I'd have to agree with those saying the Yashica, although I got the GT model (similar, but more expensive). You can't really go wrong with them - fast sharp prime lens, great bright viewfinder, and they look really cool. But now I'm selling mine on eBay because I've got my Bessa R kitted out with all the lenses I'll ever need, so it's surplus to needs 🙁

 

[spiderfrank]

a little fed2 and a table for the "16 rule": simple, easy to use, affrodable and reliable, with a really precise rangefinder. Or a good old Kiev: even better RF, but more difficult to find in perfect working condition