I have this thing where I think I need to experience the rangefinder way of working, and I particularly want a Bessa R3 because of the 1:1 viewfinder. However the entry price for a Bessa or used Leica is a thousand dollars or more and that's a lot to me. I was thinking I could get a Canonet for much less money and try that for a while, and if I really liked it, spring for the Bessa or Leica.
That's essentially the route I went. Though I have no experience with Canonets and their viewfinders, the Yashica Lynx's VF I started with only served to wet my appetite further for a brighter, contrast-ier one. It proved to be very small taste. So I settled on an R3M and the Yashica has since been relegated to torrential downpours and blizzards. In other words, I rarely use it. In hindsight I'd rather have had the $50 I spent go to the VC kit I eventually selected.
That said, I'm looking to sell my R3M. While the 1:1: VF is fun, and is what drew me to the camera initially, I'd rather forgo the 1:1 and have plenty of space around the 40mm framelines inside the VF to anticipate and compose my shot. I find the 75mm framelines ideal for that particular camera. The 90mm ones are pretty good, too.
I prefer full manual operation. I use an SLR camera now, but I've been wanting a rangefinder for snapping pictures of the kids; I find it hard to focus the SLR fast sometimes.
In general, getting from the MFD to infinity and back is going to be faster for all manual focus rf lenses as compared to slr lenses thanks to a shorter focus throw. I've also found focusing to be much easier with an rf in low light as well, but only if the rf patch is nice and bright.