Your favorite Cult/Posh Point 'n Shoot?

Just to add the favorites of Akalai (I forgot to refresh before posting :) )

Rollei
35 111
35s 1
35t
35se 1
35te
classic
Prego 30 1

Yashica
T-AF 1
T3 1
T4 1
T4super 11
T5 1

Konica
Hexar AF 1111

Leica
Minilux
CM 11
IIIc 1

Contax
T 1
T2 1111
T3 111

Nikon
35Ti 1
28Ti
F !?! 1

Olympus
XA 1111111
XA2 11
XA4 1
35rc 1
Stylus Epic/Mju II 1111111

Ricoh
GR1 111
GR1s
GR1v 111
GR21 11
R1S 11

Minox
35gl 1
GT 11
GTE 111
ML 1

Agfa
Karat 36 1

Fuji
Natura S 1
GA645 !?! 1

Zeiss
Tenax II 1

Minolta
TC1 11

Lomo
LCA 11

Canon
Canonet QL17 11

Fujica
ST901 1

Welta
Welti 1

Vivitar
35ES 1
 
jan normandale said:
having followed this group for a while now. I believe that most of the Oly RC's in North America have passed thru Joe's hands at some time. I'm looking at 2 more in his post and he has sold several to RFF'ers, so how many of these little bricks have you seen Joe?
Click to expand...


for a time i was buying them like crazy.
i still have my 'first good cam' my original oly 35rc.
i bought the 10 buck cdn oly from chris, who found it in a second hand shop. g'man worked his magic on that one.

from here i also bought one from rob, one from l.mar and i think that's it.
also from ebay, i think, a few. they are great cams, take a beating have a great lens and full auto if i choose to ignore the meter, small light and r fairly quiet.
i traded gene w one for his old canon film scanner which i bought back only to sell to...you...i think.

if i could only have one camera and lens this is the one i just might choose.
joe
 
My favorites are the Olympus Epic. I find that it takes very sharp pictures. The controls are a little limiting, but it is very fast and very stealthy... Next on my list is my Canonet QL17. Without a case, it almost fits in my pockets...
 
as mentioned before, the best stealth camera would probably be the Minox 35 series.. zero shutter lag, scale focusing.. almost completely silent.. very good (borderline, excellent) lens.. as small as a pack of cigarettes

unfortunately, they're not exactly what I'd call reliable.. or at least durable.. the shutter on mine stopped working after 3 rolls of film (I bought it used, so I have no idea how well it worked before that).. but while it was working properly, it was great for street photography

the Contax T is the 'real version' of the Minox.. much more reliable, and a lens that rivals anything from Leica.. I'm not as fond of the T2 or T3, but I'm sure you can't go wrong with them, either
 
I've got the following "P&S" cameras in order of point-and-shootiness:

Yashica T4
Pentax Stylus Epic Mini
Olympus XA
Minox 35GL

The T4 is what I've had the longest and therefore used the most, followed by my wife's Stylus. Both have been used all over the world and are great for shooting capturing a moment that you might have missed fiddling with exposure or focus. The T4 is especially nice and sharp (although a little slow) and has the auxilliary look-down finder that is *invaluable* for taking candid shots. Exposure/focus lock is nice and a way I've done exposure compensation on it.

The Minox I've had for about 5 years and makes you want to shoot with it the moment you hold it. There's just something about it. The scale focus and aperature priority system forces you to think about DoF and when you have the time I think adds some depth to pictures.

The XA is a recent 'back-to-film' asquisition and has really wowed me with its sharpness (probably about the same as the T4's Tessar, maybe better) and the rangefinder makes me get more in-focus shots than with the Minox. Finally, the A11 flash is a really nice and discreet addition to it. Of all the :p&S cameras I have I'd probably recommend having this one because it's pocketable, reasonably quick to use and gives you some creative control. The T4 comes a close second. Geez this was longer than I intended! -A
 
XAos said:
Being a schemer and dreamer, I took a look at just how small you can get a 35mm camera, and the answer is - the the XA is already about 90% as small as it is theoretically possible to make a 35mm camera. Take two 35mm canisters, space them 24mm apart. That's the minimum theoretical dark box film holder camera you can get in a full frame camera. The bulk of the balance of the space in the XA is taken up by the viewfinder/rangefinder (for the XA0).
Click to expand...

Still the TC-1 is smaller than the XA

XA : 102 x 64.5 x 40 , 225g
TC-1 : 90 x 59 x 30, 185 g (dimensions in mm)

I'd say quite a difference
 
Oly XA, Canonet 28 (same size as the QL17 GIII, but a lot lighter) and my A70 digicam :)
 
I'm not the 'point and shoot' type, but more than a few moons ago I saw the original Contax TVS at a dealers showroom and just had to have one - with the justification it was for my wife.

It was and still is a really nice camera; not too big, not too small, very solid made, great 'normal range' zoom T* coated Carl Zeiss lens that goes to 28mm ( a big plus in a compact zoom ), a bit of manual use with the machined zoom ring and tab, auto or manual focus with rangefinder assisted focus, aperture [ or programed ) priority shutter that goes to 1/700 second, exposure compensation, titanium camera outer cover with a real sure rubber grip surface, filters and hood. Enough balance between the auto and manual features to make a camera that even a diehard basics camera guy like myself could use. It was quite expensive new, in the( outrageous ) $1,200 range if I remember - did I really pay that much!

On the down side the finder is dim in low light ( but this really isn't a 'low light' camera ) and only about 80-85 % of actual picture, and for a longtime Leica person the shutter action is not as quick as I would like, pre-focus does help. Still, a very nice camera.
 
Where to buy Natura S?

Where to buy Natura S?

Hey, Doug K, you mentioned the very camera I'd like to track down, but I've been unable to find anyone selling them.

I got my Fuji F2.8 (24-50) from Henry's in Toronto, but they dont have the 'S'.

I'd be most grateful for any leads.

yossarian
 
Popular Photography had a feature on the Natura S, but I've not seen them advertised anywhere in the US. A 24/1.9 is a remarkable lens in any event, but in a point and shoot? I'd love to hear how these cameras are.

I vote for the T4, the Stylus Epic, the GR1, and the Hexar AF.
 
I loved my Minolta TC-1 before I sold it and am still loving my Nikon 28Ti... The click in perfectly round apertures on the TC-1 had lovely bokeh. The 28Ti lens was very amazing also. Framelines lit up red in low light...
 
I consider my Canon 300D my "point and shoot". Although I use Aperture Priority mode 99.9% of the time with it, I don't have much control over how to focus if I don't set it to MF or completely manual mode, which is a bit silly on a digital SLR. I get to think with my Canon 20D, but with the 300D, pretty much compose and shoot.
 
T3!

T3!

Contax T3 with optional flash bracket and a small Sunpak flash. Amazing quality and will fit into a belt pack along with a couple rolls of film.

An XA for 'tough' situations/locations. :eek:

ScottGee1
 
Here are my experiences with some of the cameras you mention:

Rollei 35se - Ok camera, didnt like the lens that much, maybe it was only that camera in particular. It is quite loud for a leaf shutter camera, people did turn around and looked at me while taking pictures. It is thick enough to be too big for pants pocket. You loose some time extending the lens if you want to grab a quick shot.

Konica Hexar AF (Not very compact though)- Great camera, great lens. Very well though for shooters. As big as an M, never knew what was focused on (same problem I had with the G2). I had M´s at the same time, so it was redundant, now I would consider it as a stand alone camera.

Contax T - The only one I still have. Great camera, very user friendly, a bit thicker than the minox, but still quick to open and good glass in it. Good exposure system. Delivers good quality.

Stylus Epic - Didnt like it that much. Easy to use, Nill control over pictures apart than the spot mode. Had quite a few missed photos due to wrong focus point. Usually shoots 2.8, so 4 people could have the 2 on the sides slightly out of focus. Found it to be great for color but not that much for BW.

Minox - Had an EL, till my ex GF broke it. Great camera, very portable, light, good metering, good lens. Easyer to focus than Contax T or Rollei (very short focus throw, and lightly dumpted so you can go from infiniti to 1m at miliseconds and with one finger only, unlike the higher friccion Contax T and longer throw Rollei 35) but no RF.
 
My point and shoot, slip in the pocket, take everywhere camera is an Olympus Trip 35. Not posh, but very functional.

Wim
 
I forgot to list a classic P&S that I own... the Olympus Trip 35. Not good for low light, but pop in a roll of 400 speed film and you have a great daytime street shooter with a tack-sharp lens. Operating this camera is a breeze and I've never lost a shot due to focusing issues or bad exposure choices from the camera. Not bad considering it only has two shutter speeds. I use this camera a lot when I want "no-brainer" photography and still have the capability to print up to 11"x14" (I've done several of those from this camera).
 
Olympus Stylus Epic - I want to love it, but I just cant. The damn camera is programmed to use as high a shutter speed as possible at the expense of aperture which mean MANY times ( if using 100 speed film ) you are shooting wide open. even with 400 speed film, depth of field is always limited because its shutter priority programming....

Now, I admit this baby has a great lens- but wide open isnt great on any camera....also, the lens vignettes at F 2.8 and 4 pretty badly. AND, the focus does miss fairly frequently. On the other hand, I just got a great pic of my wife and son that easily blew up to 8x10...

Should have never sold my Contax T
 
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