Why do we shoot 35mm rangefinders?

Hi dmr436,
add a try to one of the Digilux2/LC1 pair....
Maybe your oppinion on digitals change to less characteristc.
Cheers,

nemjo
 
Compared to a SLR, the rangefinder is just more intuitive to operate with both eyes open. There's less thinking about focus accuracy and other technical aspects and more concentration on the subject and image. The shutter releases quietly, immediately and is almost an unnoticed reaction. You capture moments that you would miss with an SLR.
A good analogy would be in the shooting sports where shotgunners and riflemen have very different techniques and mind sets. Shotgunners are like rangfinder shooters. They "point" the firearm, swing, keep both eyes open, and intiutively slap the trigger at the right moment. Riflemen have to be very deliberate, using a step by step approach, concentrating on sight alignment, target picture, breathing, aim, and squeeze the trigger only when everything is right.
Can't carry the analogy too far, but it seems that rangefinder shooters have the advantage of a camera that seems more of an extension of the brain and operates intuitively, where the SLR shooter has to be more deliberate, ordered, and thoughtful.
 
Cos you know when the shutter has fired, even on a Leica!

I use digital SLR's for things that other people want or if I'm doing a light test (beats a Polaroid back for speed and you don't have to walk about with a wast paper bin)

Otherwise it's My M7 that I use for taking 'my pictures'.

It's a lot less intrusive in the outside world as well, I just get ignored by people who think I'm still using one of those little quaint filme cameras and that I'm nuts.
 
2 part? Not really, just a question who's answers may say something about the way we look at photography and possibly the way our lives our affected as well. From what I have seen with saltwater fly fishermen and traditional archers it is more about the journey than the destination. I think a person using a 35mm rangefinder camera falls into the same mentality....it's the journey (method) that is just as important as the destination (results).

Can other methods achieve similar results? Of course, but for us it's the way we are involved in the process and the personal satisfaction we feel when we see the results that makes how and what we shoot important. Rangefinders force the photographer to be more involved in the process just by their nature and those that get enjoyment from being involved say's something about the person who uses them.

Does anyone else feel that the method say's something about the person?
 
As several members have already said -- 'because it's fun'. I don't need any reason more than that. I don't use 35mm RF's exlusively -- I greatly prefer my digital SLR for nature shooting, especially macros and tele work -- but I come back to RF's for their fun and clean shooting ... plus my love of B&W film. Nothing quite like 'em!

Gene
 
Well for me it is the completion of a circle. I started with a TLR then a RF because I could not afford a SLR back in '70. I use them for the same reason I still drive a '72 Ford Bronco and an '81 Toyota truck, why I still ride my '77 HD Lowrider I bought new ans still have my first real SLR, a Pentax ME super. I shoot a recurve bow and hunt with a Sharps .45-110 buffalo rifle. I like 35mm because of the ease of finding it and the size compared to MF. I still use a TLR and a RF645 when I am going out to shoot a specific scene. But day to day I use my 35mm RF. I have owned and sold a Canon DREb, 20D, 1D MKII and 5 L lenses in the last year. My SLR's are now Canon FD mounts. I like well built non-disposable machines. Not plastic disposable Bic wonders. That is why I carry a Zippo, use a wind-up Seiko and carry a bone handled/carbon steel pocket knife, in my pocket, not clipped to it.
My personal carry gun is an old Colt .45 auto, not a plastic, wonder 9mm. It is 70 years old and I have rebuilt it 4 times by myself. I can work on my RF myself. Try that with your new 16mp Gee Whiz 2000
 
To paraphrase.... "You have an overdeveloped sense of individuality, and it's GOING to get you in trouble one of these days."
 
JimDE said:
Byuphoto, I like your thinking!!! ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks, very much.



To paraphrase.... "You have an overdeveloped sense of individuality, and it's GOING to get you in trouble one of these days."

I hope you are not referring to me. I thought that was the principle this country was founded on. I am not a sheep and do not follow the flock. This will get you run over a cliff
 
Wow, hard question:

Small, light, reliable, high-precision cameras (MP anyone?)

The choice of the best lenses in the world (75/2 Summicron, anyone?)

Superb quality (even a Zorkii 4K and Jupiter 8 beats most zooms)

No battery dependency (OK, buy an M7 or R2A/R3A but don't expect any sympathy...)

Cheers,

Roger (www.rogerandfrances,.com)
 
Last edited:
I find this bit quite interesting. As way of introduction, I drive manual transmission vehicles exclusively, ride bicycles as often as possible, and have only three battery-dependent cameras. Aging makes focusing quickly on rapidly moving grandchildren quite difficult. When not taking photos of the boys, I will be using Fuji GS645, the folder, Bessa R with a variety of lenses, Mir (ditto), Leica IIIa, Isolette, C330f, Rolleiflex, Yashica 124, you get the picture, pun not intended, and a Minolta X370 and a Zenit 412DX. Now why, the feel of the mechanics, the Leica is smooth. The comfort of a system that works well. The digital I own is OK, but it does not satisfy the experience that these mechanical marvel provide. The history of these cameras add to the charm as well as the photos. Not just mine but look at the gallery here, AMAZING GROUP OF PHOTOGS!!!
 
All of the reasons listed above. And one of the most fun ways of explaining it to digi-heads... you can't get a digital camera built this well with interchangeable lenses for under $500.
 
As this is in the Contax G group, I have to chime in again :)

I shoot semi auto with my Contax G2 and G1 as with my 89 year old 9mm DWM Pistole 08. I like the AF, it works for me most of the time, more often than MF on my Contax SLR and the Kiev and Zorki.

I have a compound bow made from magnesium, bone and wood which I haven't used since 1989 as well as the Savage rifle with a .22 wmr and a 16/70 barrel, just like the Rolleiflex :)

Actualy I like autoexposure and autofocus, one of the reasons to get the G2 was to add AF to my arsenal without compromising on size. It isn't so much smaller than my 167MT SLR and if there were a digital body for my G lenses, I'd buy it.
 
Since the stone age humans believe that, for example, by using a bear fur they not only protected themselves from cold, but acquired some of the bear's features. That's the main idea of modern marketing propaganda.

By using classical old cameras I feel more connected to ''true" photography, the same as by using the newest digital plastic, consumers feel as an integral part of the ongoing digital-technological revolution.

Is it all a question of feelings ? Not at all. Photography and many of its masters have allways been at the cutting edge of technological advance. Digital is progress, and much of it is still hidden from us by military use. I do not own any digital camera just for the issue of price/convenience, as I am no pro, in need of immediate results for the crazy market.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
Byuphoto said:
I hope you are not referring to me. I thought that was the principle this country was founded on. I am not a sheep and do not follow the flock. This will get you run over a cliff
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, I thought everyone on the planet had seen "The Princess Bride". The whole movie is rather tongue in cheek. I was joking that many of us, probably myself included, do it just to be different, whatever reasons we may tell others (and ourselves). The actual quote is "You have an overdeveloped sense of vengeance, and it's going to get you in trouble one of these days", said by the six fingered man (Count Ruegen) before he begins the fight with Inigo. (Inigo wins). I highly recommend seing the movie - but dont watch it by yourself the first time - you need friends to watch this one. Think Monty Python suitable for the whole family. It's probably one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.
 
Last edited:
XAos, "To be different" it may be.......but that could be because the masses images don't satisfy our desire in either capturing or viewing the final image. Sometime traveling the road less traveled will get us to our desired goals. Doing something that has been time tested and proven even if it is unique or different by todays standards will still end up with the time tested results.
 
Honestly, I like the process/journey as much or more than the outcome/destination. I recently read a bit about a photographer from the area where I grew up, Russell Cothren. He made an interesting assessment of his work that I think resonates with many of us here. “You look and see a picture. I look and see a memory… As an artist, my muse is about exploring my land and its people,” says Cothren. “My photographs are postcards of the experience.” For me, the process is as much a part of the experience and memory as is the subject.

(1) No bats
(2) Unique quality of pictures
(3) User control
(4) A myriad of alternatives
(5) They're cheap
(6) No plastic
(7) I like shooting cameras that are at least my age
(8) And ahh shucks ~ I just like lookin' at the little rascals!

I think the fact that I’m fifty pretty well explains a lot of it. But from many age groups, I’m seeing more kindred spirits here. When bass boats got bigger and faster with sonar and GPS - I bought a fly rod and went lookin’ for a creek. When multi-cylinder plastic Japanese crotch-rocket motorcycles flooded the streets – I bought a Norton. When rock turned to disco I bought country. When country turned to rock I bought bluegrass.

I refuse to eat with those danged little plastic spoons with teeth and don’t even try to serve me coffee in a Styrofoam anything. I want a heavy mug. I drink Starbucks with friends, but use Folgers at home. I prefer to dine at eateries where waitresses bring real plates to your table; I don’t like standing at a trough waiting for my paper feedbag. I like Coke from a glass bottle, old books and my Bible has a leather cover – not “pleather.” I guess the further down the road I get, the more I want to slow down, look around and enjoy the journey.

Yep, I shoot 35mm RFs because, like I tell my granddaughters, “I’m fifty and like being fifty and acting fifty. Deal with it.”
 
Last edited:
cvblz4.84765344 :)

i'm with ya except for the coffee you drink.
folgers & starbucks! eeewwww....

send me your address and i'll send ya some 'nabob full city dark', my favourite blend.
good canadian coffee maker that 'nabob' is.

joe
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom