Fixed lens mechanical rangefinder

[photomat-]

Hi,

I have been considering a Konica Auto S2 from Weber Camera but was wondering about other rangefinders that can be operated without a battery that I should be considering. I am used to using a separate light meter with my 120 cameras so am not too bothered about a working meter and the various adapters you might have use with some of these older cameras because of their defunct batteries. Is this possible with a Yashica Lynx 14/1000/5000?

Thanks for any help you can provide,
Matt.

 

[Brian Legge]

I've been having a blast with an assortment of fixed lens rangefinders. My most used are the Canonet 17 and Olympus 35DC. The Canonet 17 is my go-to all manual rangefinder (or at least thats how I've been using it). The DC is my automatic choice. I think I'm also a little attached to the DC as it was the first camera I put a bunch of time into repairing, so I may be a little biased. The size of each of the cameras is also a huge plus for me - if size/weight/noise/response to the camera was irrelevant I'd just carry an F4s.

I've got rolls in 5 cameras at the moment. As soon as that number goes down, I'm going to dive into a Lynx 14 purchased over APUG. At this point, I feel really guilty about not shooting it but I ended up with a bunch of events where I needed to a camera I had experience with. The size is a bit of a turn off after shooting some of the smaller cameras, but I shouldn't really comment until I've made more use of it.

Depending on what you are looking for, the Canonet 17 and the Lynx cameras are definitely worth looking at. There is a lot of info out there on the net about them - if you have any specific questions, definitely ask. I'm probably the least informed person here to answer but I'll give it a shot.

 

[photomat-]

I would prefer something smaller that can operate manually but I am not opposed to something larger if it has a sharper or faster lens. I have handled an Electro 35, is the Lynx any smaller?

 

[BobD]

Before Olympus made their 35R-series of rangefinders (35-RC, etc) they made
a series of all-mechanical "Olympus 35" rangefinders that had no built-in meters.
They are excellent.

 

[wruzin]

I have the Yashica Lynx 14, Lynx 14E, and Electro 35 GS rangefinder cameras and all are great performers. The optics of each are top notch and you will be amazed at what they can achieve. The Lynx are larger and a bit heavier than the Electro 35 but offer full manual operation; a big plus in my book. The Lynx are not battery dependent for operation, but do have batteries which power their metering systems. Using a hand held meter is probably the best way to go when using these cameras because the internal light meters often don't work very well due to age related issues. The Lynx 14 has one of the ( if not, THE ) fastest lenses of the 1960s genre rangefinder cameras. F 1.4 is an excellent advantage to have when shooting in low lighting conditions. Good luck with your search.

 

[Anscojohn]

If size is no problem, a well-working FED 2 is a great picture taker. Ditto the Canonet GIII. I have both. And why not a classic LTM Leica?

 

[Mark Fisher]

I just bought a lynx. Great camera, but it is big. The lens takes a 58m filter. I got it because I really wanted a seriously fast lens. It is by far the cheapest way to get such a nice fast lens on a rangefinder! I'm waiting on the battery converter from yashica-guy. For $10 I can use standard batteries (hopefully)

 

[maderik]

Yes, the battery on the Lynx models only runs the coupled light meter and is not needed to operate the camera. Most of the pre-Electro rangefinders are this way; it's when they started putting that little atom logo on the bodies where the batteries became required.

 

[photomat-]

I like the Electro series but needing a battery is a deal breaker for me I think. Anything with the word Leica in it is probably out due to cost. I recently bought a Hasselblad and a 50mm Distagon, not sure the wife is going to be pleased at another big outlay So I have been wanting something 35mm that wasn't an SLR, easy enough to carry around (maybe even pocketable ) and not too expensive. This is how I arrived at Rangefinders. The choice seems to be quite wide so narrowing it down has been a problem, but I think it is a straight choice between a Lynx 14/5000 or the Konica Auto S2.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Brian Legge]

Try to get your hands on a Lynx before deciding. The size of the 14 may be a big deciding factor, particularly after holding one of the more compact rangefinders. CameraQuest has a good example of the size difference - check out the image at the bottom of this page: http://www.cameraquest.com/yaslyn14.htm

I actually found the site really useful when getting up to speed on these cameras. Check out there comparison between various 50s-70s rangefinders here if you haven't: http://www.cameraquest.com/com35s.htm

If you are looking for something manual pocketable, the Olympus XA seems like a popular option.

Edit: Actually, I think the S2 is large as well. The S3 was a little more compact. If you've held the S2 and it works for you, the Lynx might not be as much of an outlier. Its size was particularly notable for me as I started out with the Canonet 17 and a Hi Matic E.

 

[wblynch]

The Konica Auto S2 requires a 1.35v mercury battery. You can use the hearing-aid/air-cell batteries or make adaptations for use of modern 1.55 volt silver-oxide cells.

Although my Auto S2 still has a functioning mercury cell inside I will be modifying the camera with a schottky diode to work with silver-oxides.

 

[Zuikopath]

The Electro 35 series and the Konica S and S2 are very similar in size and weight - all have highly regarded lenses.

It would be beneficial to try and get handful of each one if you know what I mean - I have the Lynx 14 and it is a great lens but it's a big handful.

The 35RC/Canonet sized cameras are very compact which inspires pocketability, this includes the Konica S3 which is much more compact than the S and S2...they are all highly respected glass carriers - I have two 35RCs.
The Russians are also worth a look with interchangable-lens rangefinders available at bargain prices - The Zorki/FED ranges are often to be found very inexpensively and some of the Russian glass is excellent.

If I may be so bold, I would suggest the S2 from the two you suggested in your opening salvo - easy to get around the 1.35v battery situation these days and it's a lovely camera to shoot.

Good luck

 

[karthik]

Hi,

... other rangefinders that can be operated without a battery that I should be considering.

Matt.

Maybe a Minolta Hi-matic 7s/7sII/9?

I use the 7s often and like the fact that you can see the EV for the selected combination of shutter speed and aperture. Very handy if you can estimate EV. These may not be as highly regarded as the ones suggested in the earlier posts, but you can sure find one of these for <50 bucks.

 

[Andrew K]

If you don't mind a big camera look at the Ricoh 519 - it's fully mechanical, and has super sharp lenses...

Ricoh also made the compact 500 Series - the ME is great, doesn't need a battery to work, and even took a funky accessory spring wind motor....

If you can live with a battery operated camera grab a Olympus XA - I've owned a few and they have all been great...

My own choice for a smallish mechanical camera is a old FED or Zorki Leica copy - the 3.5 collapsible lens is sharp, although the wiewfinder (Like any screwmount Leica or Leica copy - except the 3G) is all put useless....

then again from what I've read Cartier Bresson used to pre-focus his lens, point the camera and shoot - composition was by intuition......

 

[photomat-]

Brian: Thanks for those links, the second was very useful in summarizing the category. The Olympus XA looks like a great pocket option but the 2.8 lens is a turn off. You mentioned the Canonet and the Hi-Matics. The Canonet was the first camera that got me looking at this genre and peaked my interest. I like their size and the Minolta's too. Must admit I was under the impression the Canonet's needed a battery like the Electro's. I have done a lot of Flickr tag searching on the various models and it seemed like the Yashica and Konicas had the sharpest lenses. The results for the Hi-Matics didn't really stand out for me.

wblynch: Assuming I bought an S2 from Weber Camera, it comes with adapted for readily available batteries as part of the price. I am sure it probably uses that diode that you mentioned but haven't seen a picture of what they do.

Zuikopath: Not sure I am going to get a chance to handle a Lynx 14, how much bigger is it than the Electro 35? I thought that was quite big when I first saw one in the flesh so to speak. That 1.4 lens would be fun to use I would imagine. The S3's look like a great proposition but they seem to command a much higher price. As for the Russians, I am wary of the reliability issues and the ones I have seen that are serviced are over $200. The Weber Camera S2 is $165 plus shipping, serviced and warranted for 6 months. I think that might be the better value.

Karthik: Interesting about the EV available, I wasn't aware of that. My old Gossen meter works using EV numbers and my new Sekonic has an EV mode. This is one of the things I like about Hasselblad lenses, the EV lock.

Andrew K: Those Ricoh 500 series cameras look nice and the lenses seem sharp but a bit harder to find it seems. Pre-focusing is something I am going to try out with whichever rangefinder I end up with. It is going to see a lot of street time

This is one of the people I found on Flickr using a Lynx 14 to good effect: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kumasan/tags/lynx14/

Thanks everyone for your replies, some great info and has given me a lot to think about. I can see this ending in me buying more than one! lol!

 

[maderik]

Not sure I am going to get a chance to handle a Lynx 14, how much bigger is it than the Electro 35? I thought that was quite big when I first saw one in the flesh so to speak.

The Lynx and Electro bodies are almost exactly the same size (width & height). The Lynx' lens sticks out only about 1/4" more than the Electro's - it just looks bigger because of the large diameter but that doesn't affect the actual dimensions much. It does affect the weight - the Lynx is almost 200g heavier.

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, Matt;

Karthik brought up the possibility of the equivalent Minolta RF cameras. When comparing the Yashica Lynx14/1000/5000 with the Minoltas, I preferred to stay with the Minolta Hi-Matic 9. While the Lynx 1.4 does have that lens which is a 1/2 stop faster, both of the cameras do have a full range of shutter speeds. The Minolta 7 Series of cameras do not have the same full range of shutter speeds. I have all of the cameras mentioned, and the Minolta Hi-Matic 9 is my preferred, admittedly followed immediately by the Yashica Lynx14. The Lynx1000 and 5000 are next, with the Minolta 7 Series up after that. I am still not sure why the Minolta 7 Series seems to be the preferred versions in the Minolta line, other than their smaller size physically.

The Hi-Matic 9 also has the "A" settings for both the lens aperture ring and the shutter setting ring. Together they give you a fully Automatic mode, or what we would now call a "Program" mode.

Having said all of that, I actually admit that I do enjoy using all of these cameras, but the Hi-Matic 9 and the Lynx14 are the most capable and versatile. As a young man in school at the time, I do recalling looking longingly at the Yashica Lynx14, but I could afford the Lynx 1000 at the time.

 

[sangetsu]

I have boxes of old rangefinder cameras, but my favorites of the lot are the little Yashica rangefinders, namely, the CC, CCN, and GX. These cameras are little jewels, exceptionally well made, with wonderful lenses. The CC/CCN cameras come with at 35mm 1.8 lens, and the GX comes with a 40mm 1.7 lens. These are excellent and usable focal lengths, and the lenses are quite speedy as well.

These cameras really shine in low-light photography, the CC has a 15 second minimum shutter speed, and the CCN has an 8 second minimum shutter speed. I'm not especially sure what the minimum speed is on the GX (strange, as I own 3 of them), but the GX offers parallax compensation in the viewfinder and a wider range of ISO speeds.

The only bad thing about these cameras is that they are a little hard to find, and somewhat expensive, but they are listed on eBay from time to time. Though a little pricey, for the quality of their manufacture, and the pictures they produce, they are well worth the money when you can find one.

 

[photomat-]

Ralph: interesting info on the Hi-Matic 9, I'll take a look at these.

Sangetsu: I really like the size of CC's etc, just don't like the dependence on a battery.

 

[Dan Grisez]

The Yashica Electro series will run at 1/500 sec without a battery, so you could always use 400 speed film and sunny 16 it. I've used my GSN and MG-1 in this fashion with great results. Another alternative...although it is not a true rangefinder, the Olympus Trip 35 has a selenium cell meter (no battery) and is a wonderful little camera to use. You can find them pretty inexpensively on eBay or pay a little more and get them from Tripman in fully CLA condition.

 

[darinwc]

I just picked up a Yashica GSN locally and it is about the same size as a medium-sized SLR. The top is all shiny chrome, more mirror-like than other cameras.
It has two tabs around the focus ring. This camera feels solid in the hands and has a big viewfinder. The Yashica came with a big mercury battery. I will have to get a special adapter.

I also have a Canon QL17 Giii. It is slightly smaller than smallest SLRs. It will fit in a jacket pocket, but not flush due to the lens barrel. I am very impressed by the fit and finish of this camera, which feels much more solid and refined than the ebay pics show. The rangefinder window is smaller than the yashica but brighter. There is a lever for focusing instead of a ring. This takes some getting used to but I found that I could use my first and second fingers to focus. This freed my left thumb to go behind the camera and thus I could grip the camera with both hands. The canon takes px625 batteries but you can use the zinc air batteries which are easy to find. Also the canon has the quickload feature.

I also had an Olympus RC which is about the same size as the Canon.

 

[photomat-]

So I ended up with a Konica Auto S2 from *bay. Will likely get it CLA'd by Weber Camera at some
point in the near future. I will be on the lookout for a Yashica Electro CC, CCN or GX for their size. As rare as they seem to be, I won't be holding my breath!

 

[Lanline]

If you can find a Minolta A2 RF very nice, very underrated.

 

[sangetsu]

So I ended up with a Konica Auto S2 from *bay. Will likely get it CLA'd by Weber Camera at some
point in the near future. I will be on the lookout for a Yashica Electro CC, CCN or GX for their size. As rare as they seem to be, I won't be holding my breath!

Keep looking on eBay, I happen to know a good seller from Japan who puts a couple up for sale every week...

 

[TimmyMac]

I was thinking about this recently and decided on a Kodak Retina, which I picked up for under $40. 50mm f/2 Schneider lens, and supposedly folds quite small (smaller than the usual minolta/canonet/konica suspects). Just waiting for it to get here now.