What's your favorite Fixed-Lens RF?

[Rodchenko]

I could give a top 3:

1. Olympus 35SP (obv)
2. Olympus 35RD (I don't have one, but can hope)
3. Braun Super Paxette I (so not an interchangeable lens version, obv)

I accept that, if I get one of the XAs I've got my eye on, I might revise this list, but I have been very surprised by how much fun the pretty Paxette is to use. And the lens ain't as bad as some folk say. Sure, it isn't Zeiss standard (or Zuiko, comes to that), but it's a little belter.

 

[tigerphil]

Curently the Konica Hexar AF. Great f/2 lens, quiet, fast AF.

 

[Rodchenko]

Nice camera, and I'd love to give one a go for candid photography, but not really RF, is it?

 

[Kent]

1) Olympus 35RC
2) Minolta Hi-Matic F
3) Zeiss Ikon Voigtländer Vitessa 500AE w/ BLIK rangefinder 😉

I need to adjust that:

1) Yashica Electro 35 GS (my favourite, definitely!!) - reasons: lens, built, reliability ... everything
2) AGFA Super Silette Automatic (What an amazing cam!) - reasons: lens, built, reliability
3) Olympus 35RC - reasons: size, lens

I also liked the lens of my Rollei XF 35, but I did not like the plasticky body.

 

[Maiku]

Olympus 35DC

 

[racoll]

Lately I am enjoying the Lynx 1000:

High quality finish and feel.

1/1000 and f/22

Auto parallax correction coupled to distance ring.

Shortest triggering distance from pushing the low profile button to the actual click.

Quality rangefinder optics.

Working selenium meter, with viewfinder unobtrusive correct exposure display. (yet, like with many hand held meters, under bright light situations you will have to shadow the selenium cell with your left hand)

Very nice balance of size weight and gripping.

Full manual mode only. This can be seen both as and advantage of disadvantage according to the user.

And the killing feature: a kind of shutter priority linkage allowing you to move both the speed and aperture rings while maintaining the same exposure value. This unique feature enables superfast adaptation of speed according to subject.

Overall from this camera emanates a strong feeling of quality fixed lens rangefinder.

Cheers,
Ruben

I agree wholeheartedly! This is one of my all-time favorite cameras! It's a beautiful camera with a range of apertures and speeds usually found on an slr, but in a fairly compact body, not to mention the superb lens. My other favorites are the Fujica 35-SE f/1.9 1/1000 shutter, which has an amazing lens (even nicer than the Yashica!), the Konica Auto S2, and the Canon QL17-GIII.

Andy

 

[julianphotoart]

Far and away, this was my favourite. Bright 1:1 viewfinder that was "epic" in today's parlance. Sadly now gone -- smashed by a grand fall.

 

[kram]

For some reason I thought this referred to 35mm, then I reread the question. After owning 5 fixed lens. rf , I vote fot for the fuji gf670 (bessa iii 667). Close focus, great lens, fine meter and compact and fairly light weight. Damn, that's 5 reasons. I thought rollei 35 were scale focus, both of mine were.

 

[kram]

But we are in the 35mm section, confusing. My Rolleis and Minox 35 aren't rf, which means I can only comment on the best 35mm rf I own, Contax T.

 

[semilog]

M6 with 35 Summilux ASPH epoxied onto the mount.

;-P

 

[Jack Conrad]

I'm gonna go with the Konica IIIa as well. I don't have one, but want one.
I had the III at one point and it was in user condition, but I loved it anyway.
The IIIa is just gorgeous.

 

[OlliL]

I recently "got" a Voigtländer Vitomatic IIIb.
Well I'm currently using it, with the option to buy.

While I'm not overly sure, if I like the position of the shutter release, the finder and the heft of the camera are really nice.


Voigtländer Vitomatic IIIb von oliverleschke auf Flickr

 

[p.giannakis]

Ricoh 500G

1) Cheap
2) Very good lens
3) Very compact
4) Aperture priority and programme
5).....

 

[elmarman]

must be my 1960's Carl Zeiss CONTINA it was one of the cameras of a deceased member of my Photo- Club

Contina by pentaxpete, on Flickr

 

[rwintle]

I do not have comprehensive experience with many RF's, but here are the ones I have tried (and own), with some notes. Favourite is at the end. 🙂


Yashica Lynx 5000 - rather nice to use, RF uncalibrated, meter DNW

Minolta Hi-Matic 7 - I bet I'd like this one a lot, if its shutter worked. Also uses silly, obsolete batteries (I get around this with 675 hearing aid batteries, shimmed with a washer).

Super Westomat 35 - looks like a WWI tank. Shutter does not fire so I don't know how good it is (or isn't).

Taron Promaster - not the sharpest lens in history, but reassuringly chunky and works well (think Yashica M and you'll more or less get the right idea). In-viewfinder exposure guide works nicely, although also uses silly batteries.

Runner-up: Yashica M - I love this camera, no battery needed; RF screen in viewfinder is adrift; has recently developed the dreaded "only shoots at one shutter speed syndrome"

Honourable mention - Minolta Hi-Matic 11 - great f/1.7 Rokkor glass, nice to use, let down by reliance on silly batteries and all-auto operation; also a bit bulky

And the winner is...

Voigtländer VF-101 - uses sensible 1.5-volt alkalines (if rather a lot of them!), small and pocketable if a little heavy. Slightly let down by its f/2.8 lens, as compared with the rest of the above, but works nicely. Nice big VF with aperture-priority scale inside it.

Clearly, if I were to use more, I'd probably find a new favourite, but for now, the VF-101 is it. 🙂


Voigtländer VF-101 by Richard Wintle, on Flickr

 

[Ambrosius]

Not a RF, but my favorite camera now is my Rollei 35s🙂

 

[10bears]

For me, the 35RC

 

[alienmeatsack]

For me it's my Electro 35, partly because it was one of the first really nice fun to use FLRF cameras I got and partly because it just looked fun/retro.

I always enjoy threads like this. I take a tally of the top contenders I don't own and go looking at them online and add them to my must-have list.

It's a shame there's no way to do a live tally in these threads by marking your choices in the post you make with some kind of tag so we could easily see what was mentioned most and get a definite list without looking at every post and writing it down.

 

[f16sunshine]

Far and away, this was my favourite. Bright 1:1 viewfinder that was "epic" in today's parlance. Sadly now gone -- smashed by a grand fall.

I just bought one of these from the classified and can't wait to get it and put a few rolls through.

Until then.... my favorite is the Hexar AF (RF or not).
Also love the results I get from the Yashica Electro GX.
It's a surprisingly superb performer and quite compact.

 

[alienmeatsack]

If anyone is curious... I just did a quick tally...

1) Canonet QL17 G3 (currently 9 mentions)
2) Konica Hexar AF (8 mentions)
3) Konica Auto S2 (6 mentions)

The "round around" top mention is the Olympus 35 series in assorted variations with over 10 mentions thus far.