In your opinion, what are the best non-Leica rangefinders ever built?

[Sirius Glass]

Is anyone here else a fan of the Zeiss Ikon ZM?

Uh, no.

 

[warden]

Is anyone here else a fan of the Zeiss Ikon ZM?

Oh hell no. Terrible cameras. The lenses are awful too. ;-)

 

[davela]

On the whole, all the Canon LTM bodies were excellent and many work quite well even today. From Japan, besides Canon, there were several other decent Leica copies made, many now rare, but all the models made by Nicca were standouts in my opinion as far as reliability. The Retina IIIS sold Kodak, but made in Germany, is a very good and often neglected non-Leica-standard beauty, and many still work fine.

Of course Nikon has already been mentioned. I have found however that many of the bodies need servicing today (and it's usually well worth the expense). The original S is a rock solid Nikon body.

 

[Pioneer]

Is anyone here else a fan of the Zeiss Ikon ZM?

Yep. It's my favorite rangefinder.

 

[cliveh]

Yep. It's my favorite rangefinder.

And I thought you were a Leica man.

 

[Pioneer]

And I thought you were a Leica man.

I enjoy working with Leica cameras and I still have four or five Barnacks I shoot every now and again. But my eyes are not what they used to be and for everyday use I have found myself going out the door with the ZM every time I intend to shoot street. Who knows, that may change at some point in the future and I'll pick up another M camera. But for now I'm pretty happy with how the little Zeiss Ikon performs and I am very happy with that viewfinder. Once you master keeping your eye centered that viewfinder/rangefinder is very hard to beat.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Pixii is the ONLY non Leica digital rangefinder available today. So it has the to get the top spot. First things first this is a real rangefinder with rangefinder mechanism and framelines for 28mm, 35mm, 40mm and 50mm. It’s sleek and modern. It has no screen for review, is made to be connected with a phone and has no card interface.

Welcome to APUG Photrio!!​

 

[chitat11]

I like Nikon S2 as it can allow you to focus with one hand, and with 1:1 50mm frame.

 

[bluechromis]

1.) I definitely agree about my website. The files are just wayyy to big. I'm working on it!
2.) You are absolutely right. All of my work has hitherto been shot with medium format and large format cameras on a tripod. The reason why I'd like a rangefinder is because I'd like to expand my practice and use a rangefinder for fast, handheld work - different work than currently seen on my website. A rangefinder's size appeals to me because I can carry the camera with a few lenses in a small bag and get away with photographing in more restricted areas, getting in, taking the shot, and getting out. I can't tell you how many times I almost got a shot with my large/medium format cameras on tripods only to have someone or a security guard threaten me or threaten to call the police. I had a horrible experience just a few weeks ago when someone ran up to me and threatened to smash my priceless Linhof Master Technica Classic because he thought I was photographing his house! I definitely would like to avoid that going forward. Also, as you've mentioned, I tend to shoot wide. 50mm to me is practically a telephoto lens! I seem to be most comfortable with and in between the 28mm to 45mm focal lengths, occasionally using a 20mm for my nicely featured Minolta Maxxum/Dynax 7. The Minolta Maxxum lenses are very good, but I'm not convinced that they're the best for wider angles. I noticed this since I digitally scan my negatives to fairly enormous sizes.

Anyway, that all said, cameras like the Contax G1/G2 also scare me a bit because of the many stories I've heard of them turning into unusable bricks and how all the LCD screens eventually bleed. In contrast, however, I've heard great things about the Minolta CLE, Konica Hexar RF, and Voigtlander Bessas.

I feel partial to the Minolta CLE and Voigtlander Bessa R4a (for wide angle shooting), in that order. I still like the idea of the Contax G1, particularly because I have a Sony a7R IV - that I almost exclusively use for scanning my negatives - and those apparently amazing Contax/Zeiss lenses can be adapted to said Sony a7R IV.

At the end of the day, and definitely tell me if my thinking is wrong or erronous, but I think I'd like a mostly mechanical rangefinder (even though the G1 would contradict this).

That all said, I think the winners for me are (in order):

1.) Minolta CLE - would only need the 28mm and 40mm lenses
2.) Voigtlander Bessa R4A - since I shoot almost exclusively wide angle/standard, this might be a winner for me with 25mm, 35mm, and 50mm lenses
3.) Contax G1 (Green Label) - would be happy to shoot with just the 28mm, 35mm, and 45mm.

-Of these 3 cameras, which ones do you guys think are the best?
-Would the Contax Zeiss lenses beat out the Voigtlander lenses or Minolta lenses or vice versa?

Firstly, I want to commiserate with you regarding the hostility your face in taking pictures. In my area, it is very biased. People seem not to mind if people take phone snaps, but if you have a real camera, you are treated like a criminal.

I know you are looking for a rangefinder. You said you wanted something small and light. I would agree with another poster that it could be worth it to at least take a look at SLR's. My Minolta XD-11 is relatively small and quiet and has a good meter. Olympus SLR's can be even smaller.

 

[chuckroast]

For my money, the best value for a 35mm RF is a Leica IIIf (or g) with a 50mm f/3.5 collapsible Elmar on it (or the f/2 Summicron, but those are way too much money). The camera still holds up well after all these years and the lens - even the uncoated ones - is just tack sharp. The nice thing is, that these thread mount lenses can be refitted to an M body later, with the appropriate adapter.

Leica doesn't have to be expensive. It's only expensive if you have to have the latest thing and are a hipster willing to spend nosebleed money to impress the other hipsters at the lousy coffee place on the corner ...

 

[cliveh]

For my money, the best value for a 35mm RF is a Leica IIIf (or g) with a 50mm f/3.5 collapsible Elmar on it (or the f/2 Summicron, but those are way too much money). The camera still holds up well after all these years and the lens - even the uncoated ones - is just tack sharp. The nice thing is, that these thread mount lenses can be refitted to an M body later, with the appropriate adapter.

Leica doesn't have to be expensive. It's only expensive if you have to have the latest thing and are a hipster willing to spend nosebleed money to impress the other hipsters at the lousy coffee place on the corner ...

I would totally agree with this and have never had a camera with a shutter as quiet as a Leica IIIF. Pure Barnack genius an precision.

 

[Pioneer]

I would totally agree with this and have never had a camera with a shutter as quiet as a Leica IIIF. Pure Barnack genius an precision.

A lot of rangefinder are quiet but the Barnacks are certainly very nice.

 

[Don_ih]

The most silent rangefinders have leaf shutters.

 

[markjwyatt]

I guess the Contax (iia/iiia/ii/iii )is considered a really noisy rangefinder, with its metal slat shutter but compared to an SLR it is near silent. The Retinas as @Don_ih implies are really quiet with their leaf shutters. I would say rangefinders tend to be pretty quiet, and comparisons between them are pretty minor relative the difference between rangefinders and SLRs.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The most silent rangefinders have leaf shutters.

Many silent rangefinders have leaf shutters that need a CLA so the the leaves will no longer be stuck.

 

[warden]

I guess the Contax (iia/iiia/ii/iii )is considered a really noisy rangefinder, with its metal slat shutter but compared to an SLR it is near silent. The Retinas as @Don_ih implies are really quiet with their leaf shutters. I would say rangefinders tend to be pretty quiet, and comparisons between them are pretty minor relative the difference between rangefinders and SLRs.

Ditto. There is little meaningful difference in the volume of say a Zeiss Ikon and an M3 for instance, but the type of sound is certainly different, with the ZM sounding more metallic.

 

[Don_ih]

The sound of the Leica shutter is comforting....

 

[Sirius Glass]

The sound of the Leica shutter is comforting....

… but nothing as solid, strong and comforting as a good THA-WHACK!! from a Hasselblad​

 

[Don_ih]

THA-WHACK!! from a Hasselblad

The only Hasselblad I've used had a leaf shutter.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The only Hasselblad I've used had a leaf shutter.

Me too. I was advised against getting the 2000 or 200 series by my Hasselblad repairman.

 

[davela]

The Contax IIa is pretty impressive. Many work fine today.

 

[Pioneer]

The sound of the Leica shutter is comforting....

I do enjoy using Leicas, particularly of the Barnack persuasion, but there are a few other cameras with shutter sounds that I find more to my liking. But since this is a rangefinder thread I will stick to rangefinders. I do actually find the sound of the shutter in my Contax II more enjoyable than most others. It is not the quietest but it has a gentle, authoritative, metallic snick at about 1/50 that I really like. It is more sudden at 1/500 seconds and more drawn out at 1/10 seconds but there is never any doubt that this shutter is special whenever you hear it. I have always liked it. No other camera I own sounds like it and I think I would recognize it wherever I heard it even if I weren't the one pushing the shutter release. I don't think of the sound of the Leica shutter as being special in that same way.

 

[Don_ih]

I don't think of the sound of the Leica shutter as being special in that same way.

I like the sound of the clockwork at 1 second, then the shump of the shutter closing.
It's not special - but it sounds reliable.
The Contax shutter is swell, if it works. Almost none of them work properly.

 

[GRHazelton]

I like the sound of the clockwork at 1 second, then the shump of the shutter closing.
It's not special - but it sounds reliable.
The Contax shutter is swell, if it works. Almost none of them work properly.

I have a Contax IIa which, after a proper CLA, works wonderfully well. The camera is a mechanical work of art. And its 50mm Sonnar f1.5 yields excellent images.

 

[cliveh]

The only Hasselblad I've used had a leaf shutter.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought all Hasselblads had a leaf and focal plane shutter?