Cheap old 35mm rangefinders

[sun of sand]

I just bought (worked off) an Olympus DC from a friend. Pretty cool take everywhere kind of camera. 40mm lens is as good as pretty much anything and it's quite small. That entire line of 35's were great, it seems. The DC is cheap like peanuts. $25.

 

[NormanFX]

I have the Voigtlander VF101. Its really a Rollei made by Rollei Singapore. For the price, its a good camera and the meter can use commonly available zinc hearing aid batteries. And it does look cool.

 

[yellowjeep]

Since I am not the one that dug up an old thread I don't feel bad posting in it.

I have a Konica S2 that I bought on the bay for 20 bucks. It looked really nice but the mirror had fallen off and the aperture blades were stuck fast. I fixed it myself which was a very gratifying experience aswell as using one of Jon Goodman's seal kits (great!). It is an awesome camera and the Hexanon lens is great. The only draw back to the S2 is its size which is about as big as my Konica T3 SLR.

For my go everywhere camera I use an Olympus 35ED that was a complete impulse buy at an antique mall. Completely auto exposure which I didn't realize when I bought it and I was kind of put off but I have grown to love it. The 2.8 Zuiko lens is sharp as anything and finder is bright. It really is a great little camera, although I am just waiting for a cheap XA to come along I am not in a hurry.

 

[elekm]

I have the Voigtlander VF101. Its really a Rollei made by Rollei Singapore.

Great camera, but here's more about the lineage. Although production of the final cameras was by Rollei in Singapore, it really began life in Germany as a Zeiss Ikon product, after Zeiss Ikon had fully taken control of Voigtlander.

This is a shared design with the last Zeiss Ikon Contessa -- the Contessa S 312, which arrived on the market just as Zeiss Ikon shut down in the early 1970s.

Voigtlander was sold to Rollei, which then produced the VF101 and used the Voigtlander Icarex cameras as the basis for its own line of SLRs (the SL series). Throughout the 1970s, there were always a Voigtlander and a Rolleiflex version of its SLRs, ending with the SL 35 E. There was no comparable Voigtlander version of the SL 2000/3000 series.

Interestingly enough, Rollei never produced its own branded version of the VF101, but it probably didn't feel a need to do that, as it had its highly successful Rollei 35 cameras (Rollei 35, 35T[E], 35S[E] and the lesser B35, C35 and 35LED), as well as its Rollei XF 35.

The VF101 is a great little camera and can be easily converted to use a 3-volt lithium battery.

 

[Robin A]

Hi,I'd recommend a Kodak Retina IIc.Solid,well made with GREAT glass.

 

[elekm]

I shot a lot of great photos with folding Retinas. In particular, I love the IIIc. I know the Big C versions are preferred, but I like the uncluttered viewfinders of the Small c cameras.

In any case, all of the folding Retinas are wonderful cameras. Even the early models are excellent, once serviced and once you get used to zone focus.

 

[bdial]

Do you have any recommendations for Retina repairs and service?