hanging out with RF folks

bspeed · Jan 8, 2009

soon..in a few days or less, I will have my $30 yashica Lynx 1000. Yea, thats was probably $19.50 too much to pay But it should be fun if she works well. First rangefinder for me, since oh, about 1968 or 70.

Sanjay Sen · Jan 8, 2009

Good for you! I am returning to rangefinders after a while, though not as long as yours. I took out the Yashica Electro 35 GSN, and I've added some more cameras to the list!

bspeed · Jan 8, 2009

it arrived
but oh well...back latch mechanism is sprung bit, wont close correctly and light tight. maybe just door warp, maybe not.
at least I have some black tape... lol

jolefler · Jan 8, 2009

Rf's are too much fun!

I rediscovered them a couple of years ago. Way faster than the "Is this as in focus as it can be" trouble I got with SLR's and older eyes.

You didn't get ripped....I just gave up $31 for a Fujica Half! It is pretty cool, though. "Am I EVER going to get to the end of this roll?"

jolefler · Jan 8, 2009

Gonna fix it yourself?

I mean more fixed than the Holga light proofing method

Jo

bspeed · Jan 8, 2009

it's all good. got to learn "light proofing" anyway, as I seem to have a slowly but steadily growing array of old cameras.

IloveTLRs · Jan 8, 2009

RFs are great. After switching to them from SLRs I never went back.

leicarfcam · Jan 8, 2009

I'm a Leica user myself but still like to play with the other rf's..

Mark Fisher · Jan 9, 2009

I have a number of the RF wonders and I love them. I thought I'd like a Leica based on the experience and I really didn't so I sold it. The view finders dedicated to one leaf shuttered lens is simply bliss.

phc · Jan 9, 2009

I have an old Yashica Minister-D which I really quite like using, but I hardly ever do so for some reason. I stick to the Leica Ms for day-to-day use, even tough I only ever use a 50mm on them. I must be nuts! Why don't I just sell the Leicas, take the money and buy a handfull of Ministers and a new car or two?

Cheers, Paul.

Ralph Javins · Jan 9, 2009

Good morning, BSpeed;

You are right: The 35 mm range finder cameras of the 1960's and 1970's are a joy to use. My first one was a standard Yashica Lynx that was replaced by my first Minolta SR-1b. Recently I have found a Yashica Lynx 1.4. This is the camera that I wanted, but could not really afford as a young man. Now I have it. In comparison with my Minoltas, it does have one outstanding virtue; it is quiet. The soft "snick" of the in-the-lens leaf shutter is much nicer than the "clank-vzzzssst-flock" of the SLR mirror and shutter motion. Is the Lynx 1.4 large and heavy? Yes, but I like it. Yes, it also cost more than the price of the camera for the CLA, but it will go another 30 years or so now.

Paul Jenkin · Jan 9, 2009

Mark Fisher said:
I have a number of the RF wonders and I love them. I thought I'd like a Leica based on the experience and I really didn't so I sold it. The view finders dedicated to one leaf shuttered lens is simply bliss.

I've owned 2 RFs in my time. A Mamiya 7 which I loved but was a pain when it came to using in a tripod due to the position of the latch for the film door. I traded it for a Leica M6. I'd aways wanted one of these but, again, I found the film loading process a complete bind. It also felt too small and I had trouble getting it comfortable in my hands.

I now own a Bronica SQ-B with 40mm, 80mm and 150mm lenses but I'm seriously thinking about getting a Canonet, Olympus Trip or similar as a 'carry it everywhere' camera.

andrewc · Jan 9, 2009

$30 for a Lynx 1000 is most certainly a worthwhile investment. If you've not used this particular camera then you're in for a treat. I think this is one of Yashica's greatest cameras, one of the best classic RFs you can find. In fact I much prefer the Lynx 1000 over the Electro 35 GSN, if for no other reason than the full range of manual control you have, and the 6-element f/1.8 Yashinon is simply superb. I've had three of them, two of which I sold due to a non-working meter on one and a broken rangefinder on the other. The third one is near-mint and gets a lot of use. It really is a superb camera that's well worth the money you spent. Congrats!

Andy

bspeed · Jan 9, 2009

Sweet from all the replies, I can tell how passionate you all are, I never expected to make this many new RF forum friends!

Well, I have ordered a light seal foam kit - also needed for a mamiya c220 aquired today. so hope to have both the lynx and the tlr working soon.

Chaplain Jeff · Jan 12, 2009

Hello,

That sounds like a decent price to me.

My introduction to RF was on the Minolta 7 and 9 series before getting a 7sII, which is probably my all-time favorite in this class. I shoot Leica, LTM, Minolta M, and Minolta Super A mount RF's as well these days but the small simple cameras are still a joy to shoot with.

Have fun with it!

Pete Millson · Jan 26, 2009

I completely love rangefinders. No matter how great a Nikon slr (or whatever brand) might be in terms of quality or even 'feel' you can't get away from being 'aware' of the lens being either in focus or out of focus. With a rangefinder, you'd like all your shots to be bang on, and, if you've time, they can be but it really doesn't matter. What matters is you ALWAYS GET THE SHOT!!
PETE.

hanging out with RF folks

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