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Decent Rangefinder for under $125 [preferrably compact]

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1970s fixed lens rangefinders would fit the bill with the added advantage that you can't buy more lenses in the future thus saving you money. My four suggestions: Konica Auto S3, Olympus 35RC, Minolta Hi-Matic 7SII, Canon QL17.
 
perkeleellinen said:
1970s fixed lens rangefinders would fit the bill with the added advantage that you can't buy more lenses in the future thus saving you money. My four suggestions: Konica Auto S3, Olympus 35RC, Minolta Hi-Matic 7SII, Canon QL17.
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Out of those, which one would you get if you were to buy one?

brucemuir said:
Nice thing about the Canon LTM's is they are made well, reliable and reasonably priced but would run over your budget.
The lenses are very good and reasonable also.
Click to expand...

What's a good model out of the LTM series?
 
BryceEsquerre said:
What's a good model out of the LTM series?
Click to expand...

Bryce,
I'm sure they are all good it's just a matter of features.
If you really wanna go Canon I'd weigh the price/features to see what you can live with. Some top out at 1/500 on the shutter an some have better/larger viewfinders or combined vf/rf windows.

I don't own a Canon (so I won't recommend a specific model) but seriously considered one at one point until I happened into a Leica IIIf.

The Canons offer good value if you want an interchangeable lens setup.
 
Brian Legge said:
You'll see a lot of posts about a seller on ebay named 'interslice' who sells kits. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to be active anymore
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He was active in April of this year, I ordered seals for a Canonet and some Nikons from him...try JGood21967<at>aol<dot>com (with the appropriate replacements, of course)
Great guy, great product, great price and great instructions.
 
Almost pocketable and good enough for me : Chinon 35EE. Many derivatives exist (e.g. under GAF brand in the USA). Cheap enough (I wouldn't consider the collectible rangefinders branded Leica Canon or Nikon as carry-everywhere tools).
 
When Jon Goodman (interslice) and I last corresponded, he was in the process of setting up his own, non-eBay retail portal.
 
What do you guys think about a zorki with a jupiter 8 f/2 for $60? offered to me by a member of this site and supposed to be in great condition. is a zorki a good first rangefinder?
 
BryceEsquerre said:
What do you guys think about a zorki with a jupiter 8 f/2 for $60? offered to me by a member of this site and supposed to be in great condition. is a zorki a good first rangefinder?
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Did he mention which Zorki?
FSU (Soviet) cameras can be hit or miss but if the seller is a respected member you should be okay.
Sounds like a possible decent deal.

Jupiter 8 can be quite good.
 
If you want discrete, one of my dream RF's is a Olympus 35 SP. Although the price might be just around your pricepoint, maybe a smidge more?
 
jnanian offered me a zorki 4 with the jupiter 8 f/2. i've been reading up on them and they get very mixed reviews. but do seem to be capable of awesome photos.
 
The free iphone meter works well enough for my needs.

Save the money for a camera, glass and FILM and darkroom chems/supplies (bw and color if you do color)!!

Below are some reviews of the iphone meter, I bet there are similar on Android...

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
 
You can get a gossen Luna Pro for around 20.00 with patience on ePay but I actually prefer the selenium Gossen Pilot.
The Pilot is small and needs no batteries. The Luna Pro takes older mercury batterie so you'd need to adapt hearing aid batteries.

I have both and the Luna Pro is better for real low light.

btw: welcome from a fellow Freestater
 
The Super Pilot is bigger than the first Pilot.
There also is a Pilot 2 but idk too much about specifics on that one.
I think the Super Pilot may be Cadmium Sulfide & may take modern batteries also but dont hold me to that.

Selenium is older tech and not as sensitive in low light.
Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) is older tech also.
Newest meters use a silicon diode technology but can be pricey.

That meter you linked isn't a deal but it's not a rip either if it works properly.
 
BryceEsquerre said:
i think im going to go for it, can anyone reccomend me a cheap light meter to use with it?
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If you are going to go with the offer from jnanian make sure you download a manual and have a good read first, essentially a simple camera with a couple of quirks you want to be aware of.
regards
 
Craig Swensson said:
If you are going to go with the offer from jnanian make sure you download a manual and have a good read first, essentially a simple camera with a couple of quirks you want to be aware of.
regards
Click to expand...

i emailed him the manual last night :smile:
 
He's got it on lock craig :smile:. I'm well aware of what to watch out for with this camera. I've been obsessively reading up on them, and fsu cameras in general.
 
great, you guys are organised.

Obsessively reading very easily becomes obsessively buying.:smile:
enjoy it
regards
 
Hi-Matic G wouldn't fit your requirements (not a RF and I'm not sure about manual controls). Also beware of the special batteries that it requires. Buying an adapter (or making one yourself) will be needed before you can use it.
 
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