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

Don_ih · Jul 15, 2023

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

I have a Hasselblad SWC, which only has a leaf shutter. I actually know nothing about other Hasselblads.

Sirius Glass · Jul 15, 2023

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

The 2000 and 200 series, not the V series.

MattKing · Jul 16, 2023

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

The most common Hasselblads - the V series cameras like the 500C - work with just one shutter - the leaf shutter in the lenses. They are SLRS, meaning they have movable mirrors in the viewing system. The mirror and other mechanisms in the body serve as well as closeable blinds which allow the user to change film magazines - but there are no shutters in the bodies themselves.

GregY · Jul 16, 2023

Rangefinder cameras. If i weren't using Leica, and especially looking at used camera prices....I'd get one of the 2000 or 2005 Nikon S3, SP and a few lenses. I'm sure they'd do the trick.

cliveh · Jul 16, 2023

MattKing said:
The most common Hasselblads - the V series cameras like the 500C - work with just one shutter - the leaf shutter in the lenses. They are SLRS, meaning they have movable mirrors in the viewing system. The mirror and other mechanisms in the body serve as well as closeable blinds which allow the user to change film magazines - but there are no shutters in the bodies themselves.

I only had a 500C and was unaware of this. I stand corrected.

polka · Jul 27, 2023

In 1967, I bought myself IMO the best budget rangefinder that could be found at that time : the just released Yashica Electro35 : it had a very good 1.7/45mm Yashinon lens (made by Tomioca as they said) and a revolutionnary electronic analogic shutter that did automatic exposure between 1/500 and 2 minutes (with aperture priority).

I had several other cameras since, but this one still works (after repairing the "pad of death").

POLKa

armadsen · Jul 27, 2023

GregY said:
Rangefinder cameras. If i weren't using Leica, and especially looking at used camera prices....I'd get one of the 2000 or 2005 Nikon S3, SP and a few lenses. I'm sure they'd do the trick.

I have a 2000 S3, and while it's certainly not quite as refined feeling as my MP, it's a wonderful camera, and I use it regularly just because I love it.

davela · Jul 30, 2023

davela said:
The Contax IIa is pretty impressive. Many work fine today.

I agree, and the same goes for the IIIa if one can forgive often non-working meters. Despite what some posters above have said, it's shutter on a properly working example is whisper quiet in my experience - not quite a Leica M3 in the that regard, but close to it. They are beautiful machines and notably superior to the pre-war versions.

Sandokan63 · Aug 10, 2023

I think my S3 2000 is better than the M3, certainly the lens is as good as any Summilux. And focusing is much more accurate which means the photos are sharper - except for the ones that got away because you were still turning the lens to focus

chuckroast · Aug 10, 2023

You want a quiet RF? Get a Fuji GW690II - winding the film is another matter ...

armadsen · Aug 10, 2023

The Fuji GW690III is possibly the loudest camera I own. It's the (lifetime) shutter firings counter that makes the noise, though. I assume the shutter itself, which is a leaf shutter, is fairly quiet.

armadsen · Aug 10, 2023

Sandokan63 said:
I think my S3 2000 is better than the M3, certainly the lens is as good as any Summilux. And focusing is much more accurate which means the photos are sharper - except for the ones that got away because you were still turning the lens to focus

I think my S3 2000 is overall my favorite camera I own (and I have several that I love). But it's definitely not as "smooth" as my MP. Everything from focusing to winding is just a little rougher and less refined. And the rangefinder patch is much harder to see. I do love the 1:1 viewfinder, though.

GRHazelton · Aug 10, 2023

davela said:
The Contax IIa is pretty impressive. Many work fine today.

I have a IIa. After some TLC it is excellent; the shutter is quiet and since it is metal, it is invulnerable to the sun's rays, unlike most Leica RFs. Sad to say the Leica M3 - and Zeiss' inability to develop it further - left the Contax RFs behind.
Mine is the black dial version which requires a kludgy attachment for flash usage. I have the attachment, although I rarely use flash. The color dial variant has a proper PC connector, but costs more, of course.

Sandokan63 · Aug 10, 2023

armadsen said:
I think my S3 2000 is overall my favorite camera I own (and I have several that I love). But it's definitely not as "smooth" as my MP. Everything from focusing to winding is just a little rougher and less refined. And the rangefinder patch is much harder to see. I do love the 1:1 viewfinder, though.

The MP in BP is by far the best looking camera ever. It is smooth and my only regret is buying the 0.72x version when I could have had the 0.85x version (but I had the M6 LHSA BP at the time in 0.85x). I have no problem with the rangefinder patch?

chuckroast said:
You want a quiet RF? Get a Fuji GW690II - winding the film is another matter ...

For quietness, my Voigtländer Bessa iii 667 and Fuji GF670W are so quiet that in the street even I cannot hear them The loudest camera I have is the Mamiya RB67 and there is no mistaking that, except maybe the Pentax 67 which I never bought.

chuckroast · Aug 10, 2023

armadsen said:
The Fuji GW690III is possibly the loudest camera I own. It's the (lifetime) shutter firings counter that makes the noise, though. I assume the shutter itself, which is a leaf shutter, is fairly quiet.

It doesn't matter how loud or quiet the shutter is - the film advance process is generally a very noisy business.

Hunter_Compton · Aug 10, 2023

Answering the question posed in the title, I'll leave this here:
(I don't know if many will agree with me though)

bags27 · Aug 10, 2023

Sorry if this was already noted, as I haven't read the entire thread.

But for me the greatest RF is the Mamiya 7.

armadsen · Aug 10, 2023

Sandokan63 said:
The MP in BP is by far the best looking camera ever. It is smooth and my only regret is buying the 0.72x version when I could have had the 0.85x version (but I had the M6 LHSA BP at the time in 0.85x). I have no problem with the rangefinder patch?

Oh, no problems at all with the MP’s rangefinder patch. I was saying that the S3 2000’s patch is not as good as the MP’s.

RestroomSoap · Aug 11, 2023

I absolutely loved my contax g2. Regret selling it. I really want a nikon sp.

manfrominternet · Aug 12, 2023

I have the Fuji GF670 and it takes the cake for the quietest (leaf) shutter in existence.

Also, while I really love the Mamiya 7, my fixed-lens GF670, with the sharpest and most unique lens I have ever used across any format (80mm f/3.5), runs circles around the Mamiya 7 (and also Mamiya 6 as the GF670 is able to self-mask its film gate to 6x6, including the ability to shoot 12 shots). The viewfinder is simply phenomenal, just about as good as my Fuji GW690III. I absolutely love using my GF670. I might add a Fuji GSW680III with its 65mm f5.6 lens to go along with my GF670 and I’ll have a good light rangefinder set with a normal and wide-angle lens.

It’s definitely my desert island camera... for now.

Sirius Glass · Aug 12, 2023

manfrominternet said:
I have the Fuji GF670 and it takes the cake for the quietest (leaf) shutter in existence.

Also, while I really love the Mamiya 7, my fixed-lens GF670, with the sharpest and most unique lens I have ever used across any format (80mm f/3.5), runs circles around the Mamiya 7 (and also Mamiya 6 as the GF670 is able to self-mask its film gate to 6x6, including the ability to shoot 12 shots). The viewfinder is simply phenomenal, just about as good as my Fuji GW690III. I absolutely love using my GF670. I might add a Fuji GSW680III with its 65mm f5.6 lens to go along with my GF670 and I’ll have a good light rangefinder set with a normal and wide-angle lens.

It’s definitely my desert island camera... for now.

Who wants silent?!? I like the THHHH-WACK! of a shutter boldly stating that "I am here! Hear me roar!"

darinwc · Aug 12, 2023

armadsen said:
The Fuji GW690III is possibly the loudest camera I own. It's the (lifetime) shutter firings counter that makes the noise, though. I assume the shutter itself, which is a leaf shutter, is fairly quiet.

The fuji G-690 series cameras have a spring-driven cam in the body that when relased triggers the leaf shutter. It is this cam that makes quite a bit of noise and vibration.
The copal leaf shutter itself very quiet.

cptrios · Aug 14, 2023

Hunter_Compton said:
Answering the question posed in the title, I'll leave this here:
(I don't know if many will agree with me though)

View attachment 346216

Holy crap, that baselength...

MattKing · Aug 14, 2023

Hunter_Compton said:
Answering the question posed in the title, I'll leave this here:
(I don't know if many will agree with me though)

View attachment 346216

If only they hadn't been extraordinarily expensive for their time, and had reliable shutter mechanisms.
They are beautiful in real life though.

GregY · Aug 14, 2023

manfrominternet said:
I have the Fuji GF670 and it takes the cake for the quietest (leaf) shutter in existence.

Also, while I really love the Mamiya 7, my fixed-lens GF670, with the sharpest and most unique lens I have ever used across any format (80mm f/3.5), runs circles around the Mamiya 7 (and also Mamiya 6 as the GF670 is able to self-mask its film gate to 6x6, including the ability to shoot 12 shots). The viewfinder is simply phenomenal, just about as good as my Fuji GW690III. I absolutely love using my GF670. I might add a Fuji GSW680III with its 65mm f5.6 lens to go along with my GF670 and I’ll have a good light rangefinder set with a normal and wide-angle lens.

It’s definitely my desert island camera... for now.

I hope the honeymoon lasts. I was going to buy one early on, but my colleague who is extremely careful with his bought a GF670 and had no end of issues with it's lens alignment and after several times shipping to NJ for repairs which sometimes came back unrepaired....he sold it. Fingers crossed for you. I'm a big fan of the GW/GSW 680/690. I've sold many large prints from those negatives.

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

Don_ih

Sirius Glass

MattKing

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GregY

cliveh

polka

armadsen

davela

Sandokan63

chuckroast

armadsen

armadsen

GRHazelton

Sandokan63

chuckroast

Hunter_Compton

bags27

armadsen

RestroomSoap

manfrominternet

Sirius Glass

darinwc

cptrios

MattKing

Moderator

GregY

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

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