Which SLR is most like an RF?

I can't believe you guys have made me go look for a used OM 4. I stopped reading this thread a couple days ago because of the GAS pains it was causing. That's it, this thread is off limits again to me.
 
Scottgee1

A long time back you asked about Pentax servicing. Pentax UK at least, emailed me a while back - -they are servicing earlier mechanical cameras but not the ME Super and subsequent models except the more modern MZ line.
 
rover said:
I can't believe you guys have made me go look for a used OM 4. I stopped reading this thread a couple days ago because of the GAS pains it was causing. That's it, this thread is off limits again to me.
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Well Rover, you certainly don't need to look far . . . as I recall, a rather local 'spy' has one FS.

😉 /ScottGee1
 
Interesting . . . by "earlier mechanical cameras" did you understand them to mean only the 'K' mount cameras? Or screwmount as well?

Thanks!/ScottGee1

zuikologist said:
Scottgee1

A long time back you asked about Pentax servicing. Pentax UK at least, emailed me a while back - -they are servicing earlier mechanical cameras but not the ME Super and subsequent models except the more modern MZ line.
Click to expand...
 
Honu-Hugger said:
Penquin,
As enticing as all of this might sound you may want to consider holding with what you have and getting to know your gear so that it truly becomes an extension of your hands -- in spite of all this talk of "Leica this and Contax that" it really comes down to what you are shooting and how effectively you master what you have. Don't go gear crazy, just spend time with what you have.
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I am really not into rangefinders (they are cool) like some of you guys 😉 , I just have one and I am trying to build my EOS system up before me summer Colorado trip. 😎
 
I just replaced my (recently deceased) OM-10 with an OM-1. Fully manual, mirror lock up, battery only required for the meter, small and uses superb Zuiko lenses.
A great accompaniment to my QL17 GIII and Voigtlander Vito CLR.
 
this is a bombshell. Now everyone is comparing only to size, when I do a cross comparison with my Leica M3, the Nikon F and the Nikkormat Ftn immediately come to mind, those have to be my favourite Nikons. I am comparing build quality, lens performance and that re assuring click of the shutter/prism. its way more audible than a rangefinder shutter but quieter than my Canon AE1 which is loud.
Now, by the weekend I am getting my Pentax spotmatic back from my Tech and I am going to discover the joys of the M42 screwmount system and the Takumar glass.

Bill
 
scottgee1 said:
Which 35mm SLR is most like an RF?

B!/ScottGee1
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Well, if you can afford a cheap one ( 😉 ) , if you want it to be not only small but also really featherweight, if you must not throw it on concrete twice a day and if your are not afraid of some idiots asking you what kind of plastic crap that is in your hands:

What about a new Dynaxx5 for $ 180 and some decent Minolta primes ?
My wife owns and uses one since some years and it a great little machine with a lightning fast AF if you want to use it from time to time.
Each time I use the camera I ask myself if I should not sell all the rest.

Another cheap and nice camera is a new X-700 and a 28-50-135 manual lens set .

I'd always prefer cheap but new instead of bidding on some beaten up and worn out moldy old stuff on evilbay which maybe has survived two plane and three car crashes . A matter of taste but used cameras and lenses I take only from friends.

Try the Dynaxx5 (Maxxum in US ?) in a shop. There is a phantastic 24-105 if you can afford to go out with a zoom ! 😀

Best,
Bertram
Owning a F80 wich isn't really larger than a Maxxum5, but nothing works if you mount AI-S lenses on it.......................
 
It's ba-ack!

It's ba-ack!

Wow! This thread has returned from the grave!

I started it so I should provide an update. For my own purposes, Olympus turned out to be the answer. I picked up an OM4T and regret not doing so long ago.

As pointed out by other enthusiasts, the form factor is small (it's possible to build a very nice kit around 49mm filters), the optics are fine and IMO, the VF the best I've ever used on an SLR, especially when a modern screen is installed.

On that subject, Oly provide an interesting surprise that is apropos of my original question. The offer some screens that are clear instead of matte. A couple of them have focusing aids at the center so they make the cameras somewhat like RF in that the clear remains clear and cannot be used to focus but the aid does allow for accurate focusing.

Thanks agains for all the helpful comments. I learned a lot!/ScottGee1
 
Scottgee:

Regarding your thoughts about the Pentax Spotmatic screwmount's parts availability. A Pentax repair specialist in Tennessee seems to have an endless supply of parts. He has CLA'd and otherwise repaired all three of my spotties. ONce brought up to like-new condition they seem to last forever - the key to this being regular use. An SP body is 1/8" longer than my Bessa R and less than 1/2" taller. It is way smaller than my Yashica GSN.

The Super Takumars 28/3.5, 55/1.8, and 105/2.8 all use 49mm filters. So that would be a pretty small kit.
 
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I have gone through this entire thread and so far no one has mentioned the Russian Zenit 3 and 3m. These were derived from the early Zorkis and Feds and are bottom loaders with a 39mm screw mount. They orignally came with an Industar 50 identical to the RF lens except for the barrel and rangefinder cam. If you unscrew the barrel and can manage to remove the rangefinder cam (I can't do the latter, it won't yield) you have the slr lens. I own two 3m's one of which I have never used so it is mint, both of which came with 39mm Helios 44's. I also have 39mm extenders which came with a 1952 Kilfitt 90mm f 3.5. One of these added on to the Helios works perfectly on my Bessas and Russian RF's with scale focussing, of course. The Zenits are also very compact and are basically a Leica II or III with a reflex housing. The image (real prism) is very bright but not very accurate with regard to the image on the film. They are pretty cheap on E-Bay, although I got mine new in Europe more years ago than I care to remember.
Kurt M.
 
They are different beasts

They are different beasts

Well there is no SLR like a range finder. The SLR views through the lens of the camera, using a mirror to bounce the image to the eye. With a range finder you look through a 'guide' window, or 'range finder' that gives you the frame. Some range finders are more frame accurate than others in terms or parallax, (Not sure of the spelling) but it is an estimation of the frame and what is in it. Due to the fact it is a site type arrangement. like the sites on a gun if you like, you rely upon a frame line in the viewer and you do not get the lens affect, i.e. wide angle, or long lens. You have to imagine that.


If you are after a manual camera, that is not over electronic, like many range finders are, then look for any older SLR like an Olympus OM series, or Canon AE1. These are excellent cameras that have wonderful lens and second hand won't cost an arm or a leg. 😉
 
Hello,
I gotta say the FM,FM2 probably outweighs all the other excellent choices for the simple fact that there is a whole lot more lenses available for it. Even brand new lenses will work. Some of the other choices are limited to lenses in their own era as the manufacturer changed the lens mounts on their cameras..........
 
Nice thread and a very interesting question to start thinking a long time about wht to answer. How do I compare an SLR with an RF?, by size / weight?, lens available /usable? There are many factors which may address our search to different places, according to what we want to do with the camera. For street photography, I would look for something small in size like the Canonet QL19, or if being an SLR a Fujica ST801 (by the way, this one goes up to 1/2000th, takes any M42 lens which are very cheap and is very very quiet! (at least mine is!)); for any technical work I prefer the Miranda Sensomat RE because of its removable prism and semi spot metering; for wild life photography I will pick up my Miranda and my Kiev 4 or Canonet QL19; if I´m going to astrophotography, I should choose any camera which allows me to lift the mirror before shooting, like a Canon FT or a Miranda G, or again my Kiev 4 which is quiet and has no mirror to produce vibrations.
In fact the criteria to define the answer depends on what do we want, besides both types of cameras are different kind of animals. The only types which can show some of the best of both worlds are the old Alpas or Praktina FX.
If I have today the need to buy a new RF my choice is the Voigtländer Bessa R3A, if an SLR perhaps a Nikon FM2.
 
DaveP said:
Hello,
I gotta say the FM,FM2 probably outweighs all the other excellent choices for the simple fact that there is a whole lot more lenses available for it. Even brand new lenses will work. Some of the other choices are limited to lenses in their own era as the manufacturer changed the lens mounts on their cameras..........
Click to expand...

But that's also true for Pentax K-mount cameras - old MF lenses will work on new AF bodies, and vice versa; plus, you can also use the plethora of M42 lenses with an adapter...

Roman
 
Well an M-Series pentax (I have an ME Super) is pretty good comparison.
Lots of lenses (K-Mount and M42 with adaptors)
Very bright viewfinder
Very small for an SLR (see comparison shot with my Yashica Electro - the Pentax has an older K lens, the M lenses are much more compact) Seems to be similar to an Oly OM in size.

Mind you, today I saw a Leica Elmarit? 50mm 2.8 lens.. Man that is compact!

-Nick
 
Agree with Roman and chenick... M-series Pentaxes are really no bulkier than a Leica, though lenses of the equivalent focal length and speed are somewhat larger. The MX and ME Super are a couple of popular members of this class. I have a couple of ME Supers, quite easy to carry as long as one can avoid bulky zooms!
 
Given the familiary many of us have with CV RF bodies, how about the CV Bessaflex SLR? The silver Topcon look-alike is very nice. I have it and an R2C. The Bessaflex takes M42 lenses. The 58 f1.4 that is meant for the body is a big lens, but a Super Takumar 50 f1.4 is much more compact. Pretty nice package. The Bessaflex body in general is quite compact and straightforward and reassuringly MANUAL in all types of ways. Its size doesn't come across on the CameraQuest web-site; it appears bigger than it is. Its controls, sound and feel are pretty much just like an R2, at least to me.
 
scottgee1 said:
I should have mentioned that I consider a 'kit' to be a body and 3 lenses . . . wide-angle, 'normal' and short tele (~85mm).

One that pops to mind is Pentax screwmount, but they may run afoul of #7. Don't know if parts are still available, but as I recall, the small size of the lens mount keeps the lenses themselves small.
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I have 6 Pentax screw mt bodys from H1a to spotmatic ESII and I have had all serviced and parts replaced as necessary including replacing bad mirrors, it has no problems with #7
 
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