Decent Rangefinder for under $125 [preferrably compact]

[Vanishing Point Ent.]

Try an Olympus XA W A-16 Flash.

Well the title says it all. I dabbled with 35 mm and medium format 3 or 4 years ago for fun, now i'm in college and i'm taking a b&w 35mm class, and i love my f4 (that i bought for the class), however, i've always been rather interested in rangefinders. i would love a compact one that i can carry around the city with me and barely notice it. I've also hear they are awesome for candid shots and quick focusing. If anyone can make me some reccomendations, i would greatly appreciate it.

As I've recently just learned, that the image quality,
or the ease of use, or advanced features aren't the
highest priority, but the price is the ONLY THING
THAT MATTERS, here's what I would suggest,
since this camera has been mentioned, but not
elaborated on.

Look for an Olympus XA with an A-16 flash.

This camera is:

Aperture Priority, with a Manually set ISO, with a
+1.5 exposure Backlight switch,

By having a manually set ISO, you can compensate
for B&W & Color Negative mislabeled ISO's.
DX won't allow you to do this,

Featuring a 35 mm 6 element, ( planar type ),
f 2.8 lens, the lens can deliver 11 x 14's,
( I've done it ),

A slightly powerful flash with a Leaf Shutter which
will synch up to the maximum 1/500th sec shutter
speed, of the camera,

While the A-16 flash takes only 2 AA batteries, but
if you use Lithiums it's O.K., but just don't keep
the batteries in the flash, when you're not using it,

Also, the flash only has settings for ISO 100 & 400,
but this can be worked around & is not significant,

Completely Manual RF split image focusing but with
a Hyperfocal Focus Setting at f 5.6 @ 5 ft,
when it's needed, ( and it works, I can tell you ),

By size will fit in a Large Cell Phone Holster.

 

[Ryuji]

Konica Auto S2. I have a couple of them in working order for sale but besides, it's a good camera with excellent lens. It's a bit big and heavy though.
(I also have some parts only as well... time to clean up my storage)

 

[Ryuji]

Oh, another thing. I dunno if you can find one for $125 but I also have Olympus 35RC somewhere. It's not a bad camera, very compact for the design, but the optics is not as good as Konica Auto S2. Many small size rangefinders used tessar type optics.

 

[narsuitus]

I recommend the Canon QL17 Giii 35mm rangefinder with 40mm lens or the Minolta Hi-Matic 9 35mm rangefinder with 45mm lens.

Both are great for street shooting because they are small, quiet, unobtrusive, and capable of producing high-quality images. Neither needs batteries for operation.

Batteries are only needed for the built-in light meter.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/11336821@N00/5227629588/

 

[thuggins]

If you're really looking for unobtrusive, then it would be an XA. Although it has a rangefinder, it is hardly needed with the 35mm lens. The 35RC has both a shutter priority and a manual setting, and is proported to be the smallest full feature rangefinder of the chrome age (Cameraquest's opinion). Adapters for the mercury cell are readily available or use a zinc air hearing aid. The 35SP in a legend, with too many avantages to list here. See this great write-up about it.

http://www.ph.utexas.edu/~yue/misc/35SP.html

You might get it for $125 at that auction site.

 

[Red Robin]

$125.00 Rangefinder

One of my favorites is a Canon P. 125.+shipping maybe a year and a half ago. The M-39 lens mount opens you up to some wonderful glass. If a fixed lens is what you perfer others have already covered those options.

 

[elekm]

The Konica C35 Automatic is a nice little camera or its clone, the Vivitar 35CA. They use trap-needle programmed autoexposure, which gets things correct most of the time. They have a rangefinder, and they're small and unobtrusive.

I use the zinc-air hearing batteries, which work fine. You can buy 10- or 12-packs for $10 or less, and that gives you enough power for several years.

The Olympus 35RC also is a nice choice with the added advantage of manual settings.

On the German side is the Rollei XF 35 and its Voigtlander stablemate, the VF135. The Rollei has a Sonnar lens, while the Voigtlander has the same lens, which is badged as a Skoparex.

If you don't need a meter and don't mine the weight, the Kodak Retina IIa is highly recommended, while the knob wind Retina II also will do the job.

I like the Konica I, II and III series and particularly the II. There are also of plenty of other offerings from Zeiss Ikon, Voigtlander, Yashica, Canon, Minolta, Petri, Balda, etc., etc.