Compact cameras for parties

ericdan · Jul 2, 2015

I use an M-body with a 35mm for everyday shooting and had a GR1v which I carried in my suit/jeans pocket going to work and going out at night.
The GR1v is perfect in size. When I go to parties, night clubs, bars or concerts it's perfect. I can set the pre-focus to 1m, turn the flash on and fire away all night in P-mode.

Unfortunately it broke the second time now. Ricoh is asking for a fortune to have it fixed and I know it'll break again within a year. The electronics are just not that great on this camera.

I then bought a Olympus XAII which is surprisingly good considering the HUGE price difference. The only issue I have with it is the flash unit.
I can pre-focus it manually to "close", turn on the flash but it doesn't work like the GR1v in P-mode.
The XAII's metering system doesn't seem to know I have the flash turned on.
It still tries to set aperture and shutter speed based on the meter reading.
Obviously that's a problem when I am in a bar at night and have 200 speed film loaded.

Any suggestions on how to get around that or any suggestions for another replacement camera?
I've been thinking about the Olympus mju II (stylus epic) but I believe it only does autofocus, which again will be a problem in dark places.

Thanks!

elcabezagrande · Jul 2, 2015

Contax T, if price is not an object.

ericdan · Jul 3, 2015

Those are not pocket size are they?

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ericdan · Jul 3, 2015

I wonder what kind of budget you operate on if you consider the GR1v that I am trying to replace 'cheap'.

AgX · Jul 3, 2015

Any cheap AF compact where you DIY-mechanically-arrested the focus setting.

SuzanneR · Jul 3, 2015

I'm not familiar with the Olympus XAII, but instead of P mode, could you set it to manual with the flash, and set the aperture/shutter speed where you want for the flash?

Theo Sulphate · Jul 3, 2015

Konica Hexar? Although it's nowhere near as compact as the GR1v or XA2. It does have manual focus in addition to AF. There's also the Hexar RF, which may take Leica lenses.

Will Ricoh actually repair a GR1v? JapanCameraHunter said they stopped repairing the original GR1 around 2012.

RobC · Jul 3, 2015

fuji quicksnap ?

RobC · Jul 3, 2015

I suppose the question should be, what is your budget ? There are plenty of used GR1v on the auction site if you like that particular camera.
Many years ago I used a Canon Snappy as my "Session" camera on nights out with the boys.

TenSpeed · Jul 3, 2015

Canon AF35ML

ic-racer · Jul 3, 2015

ericdan said:
I
Obviously that's a problem when I am in a bar at night and have 200 speed film loaded.

Use 400 or 100 film as indicated for the A11 flash.

ericdan · Jul 3, 2015

Theo Sulphate said:
Konica Hexar? Although it's nowhere near as compact as the GR1v or XA2. It does have manual focus in addition to AF. There's also the Hexar RF, which may take Leica lenses.

Will Ricoh actually repair a GR1v? JapanCameraHunter said they stopped repairing the original GR1 around 2012.

You can just go to Ricoh in Shinjuku directly. They'll repair it still as long as they have parts left for it.
The other place that can basically fix anything is Kanto camera in Kawasaki.
They are not cheap!

JCH can probably help you, too.

ericdan · Jul 3, 2015

RobC said:
I suppose the question should be, what is your budget ? There are plenty of used GR1v on the auction site if you like that particular camera.
Many years ago I used a Canon Snappy as my "Session" camera on nights out with the boys.

GR1v in decent shapes go for 400 usd roughly. Knowing how fragile they are I am probably not gonna invest in another one of those.
GR1s come a little cheaper but then I could just get my current one fixed. I was quoted 250 to fix it...

ericdan · Jul 3, 2015

SuzanneR said:
I'm not familiar with the Olympus XAII, but instead of P mode, could you set it to manual with the flash, and set the aperture/shutter speed where you want for the flash?

Unfortunately not. It's a very simple camera.
The XAII only has three focus settings and a shutter release button.
It's practically always in P-Mode.

TenSpeed · Jul 3, 2015

I have the Canon AF35M, Ive had great luck with it out at bars and such.. only had a few issues with the back being kinda loose and the film getting jammed up inside

Ive heard the L version is much nicer

baachitraka · Jul 3, 2015

...but then, flash in the parties are hmmmmm...

TenSpeed · Jul 3, 2015

maybe not compact enough though

elcabezagrande · Jul 3, 2015

You mentioned the XA2 in your first post as a replacement, so I had no idea what budget you were planning on.

My next suggestion would have been a Konica Pop. Between that and the Contax, that should cover the entire spectrum, as far as cost goes.

ericdan · Jul 3, 2015

Yeah, I've been meaning to buy another pocket-size camera and someone recommended the XA2 to me. Here in Tokyo I found it for 400 yen on yahoo auction.
Not really worth hesitating so I just bought one and tried.

BTW. Thanks (there was a url link here which no longer exists)
setting the iso to either 100 or 400 actually does the trick!
I thought those settings were purely for distance and/or flash intensity.

Thanks again!

Jeff Bradford · Jul 3, 2015

There's always the Contax T ix if you aren't opposed to APS/Advantix.

mehguy · Jul 3, 2015

ericdan said:
Unfortunately it broke the second time now. Ricoh is asking for a fortune to have it fixed and I know it'll break again within a year. The electronics are just not that great on this camera.

Ricoh still repairs these cameras?

trythis · Jul 3, 2015

Olympus stylus non zoom

Typos made on a tiny phone...

dynachrome · Jul 3, 2015

My favorite party camera used to be my Nikon Pronea S with a 20-60 zoom and with Fuji 800 speed color print film. At the wide end just about everything was in focus. The built-in flash didn't quite cover the lens as the 20mm setting but in a small space the light bounced around enough to make it work. When the 800 speed film became unavailable in the U.S. I ordered it from Japan. Now I can't get it from that source either.

ericdan · Jul 4, 2015

What? 800 Superia is in every store in Tokyo. Same is true for natura 1600. Every electronics and camera store has tons of it here. Where were you told that it's gone?

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gone · Jul 4, 2015

Maybe a Konica C 35? There are a lot of variants on this camera from different manufacturers. They have AE w/ AE lock, good viewfinders w/ a decent RF patch, and are very inexpensive w/ an excellent Hexanon lens. Tiny little things too. I never use a flash under any circumstances, but these cameras seem to have a feature that flashers like. Something about the flash guide numbers on the lens, whatever they are. Here's some info on them.

The wife and I used one on our first trip together for a travel camera, and the pictures from it were very impressive! There's tons of reviews on them, so here's one below. If you need a faster lens, there are millions of similar Japanese cameras out there w/ 1.7 lenses, or thereabouts. Most of them are full manual though.

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Compact cameras for parties

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