looking for a good, cheap rangefinder.

mehguy · May 30, 2015

im looking for a camera that i can take with me and not worry about focus, aperture etc. something that can be cheaply bought. suggestions?

Ian Grant · May 30, 2015

Fed 3 & Jupiter 8 lens I bought one for £10 (>$16).

Ian

Sewin · May 30, 2015

If you want really cheap point and shoot look for an old Ricoh autofocus as they tended to have good lenses.

Really cheap is the FF-9, slightly more expensive is the FF-20.

Another sleeper which is nicely constructed and better quality is the Ricoh RZ 3000.

I was quite impressed with the motorised automation, easy loading and more importantly the images from the FF9 and RZ3000, both picked up for sub £10.

Sewin

macfred · May 30, 2015

What about the Olympus XA - series http://www.diaxa.com/xastart.htm ?
I prefer the original XA http://www.diaxa.com/xa.htm .

---

In the autumn of l979, Erich Hartmann from Magnum Photos set off on a journey around France -
his camera was the Olympus XA. He brought a lot of beautiful photographs :
http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2K7O3R1VUF5N

bernard_L · May 30, 2015

not worry about focus, aperture etc.

So that's not really a rangefinder... Anyway, you want an Olympus MjuII (Stylus Epic in US). Excellent 35mm/2.8 lens, auto-everything. Fits in a shirt pocket. Yashica T4 is considered more upscale, but I still have to see why (have two of each).

Ian Grant · May 30, 2015

What about an Olympus Trip ?

You really want a Point and Shoot Autofocus camera. There's a lot of good ones, in my experience the Pentax PC35 AF's are excellent, I used my mothers a few times.

Ian

mehguy · May 30, 2015

What about the olympus af 10? Anyone try that one?

Ko.Fe. · May 30, 2015

If you wanna it cheap and in auto - any working P&S wth prime lens and AF.
Some normal brand. Oly is good one.

ic-racer · May 30, 2015

...not worry about focus, aperture etc..

Ian Grant said:
Fed 3 & Jupiter 8 lens I bought one for £10 (>$16).

Ian

That would be the rare autofocus, auto-exposure Fed

Actually there are not very many autofocus/auto-exposure rangefinder cameras out there. I can't think of any off hand.

ColdEye · May 30, 2015

Konica Big Mini.

Richard S. (rich815) · May 30, 2015

ic-racer said:
That would be the rare autofocus, auto-exposure Fed

Actually there are not very many autofocus/auto-exposure rangefinder cameras out there. I can't think of any off hand.

Though there's argument as to whether it's a "true" rangefinder or not the closest thing and cheapest that'll do all the OP asks is a Contax G1 with a 45/2 Planar lens. Not sure what his definition of cheap is though.

Otherwise an Olymus Mju II.

Richard S. (rich815) · May 30, 2015

ColdEye said:
Konica Big Mini.

I have one of these and they are very nice performers. Though the LCD back displays go on these frequently.

Richard S. (rich815) · May 30, 2015

Oh one more I thought of is the Konica Hexar AF. They often go for $400 or more but I got mine, a total user, for less than $200, so they are out there occasionally cheaper. Amazing camera and terrific 35/2 lens.

ic-racer · May 30, 2015

I don't know what the reasoning is for people wanting P&S rangefinders. Although the topic may warrant a new thread, I personally think SLRs like the Nikon N75 (and others of this same early-millenium era) were the best P&S cameras ever made. Even better than the P&S mode of the Nikon F6 because of the built-in flash. This is based on experience with these cameras in my hands and in the hands of my kids. Almost every frame of a 36 exposure roll properly exposed and in focus. The cameras are small and very light-weight also.

hamradio · May 30, 2015

I think we're going way beyond the criterion of "cheap." If it's a P&S you're after, a Konica Big Mini is over $100 usually, Stylus Epic/MJUII around $100, etc. Not a lot of money, but I have a hard time throwing that much at a 35mm point 'n' shoot, when $150 buys a Bessa R...

You can get awesome results for $30 or less. Nikon L35AF runs about $15 on ebay, Olympus Stylus Infinity/MJUI is about $25, and so on. These things are everywhere at thrift stores, too.

Richard S. (rich815) · May 30, 2015

Nah, the Konica BM-300 goes for $40-50 usually...

rbultman · May 30, 2015

How much is 'cheap'? 35mm? MF? How about the Fuji GA645?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

mehguy · May 31, 2015

Like 30-50 bucks.

R.Gould · May 31, 2015

Why not look for something like a Voigtlander Vitomatic ? you can often pick them up fairly reasonably, or maybe a Rangefinder folder, again they can be found fairly reasonably priced if you don't mind using a fixed lens, Personally I find fixed lenses to be liberating, with any of these older cameras you can find cameras that are cosmeticly not perfect, but working perfectly, for anything around £40 to £50, at least, over this side of the pond they are plentyful

02Pilot · May 31, 2015

mehguy, what you're describing is not technically a rangefinder, but an auto-focus, auto-exposure, or point-and-shoot, camera. Some good ones have already been mentioned, and there are many other options as well. No matter your budget, condition is everything if you want a camera to take photos with (as opposed to sit home on a shelf looking pretty). Given the budget you are working with, see if you can find a good, known-working Nikon L35AF, Canon SureShot AF35ML, or if you prefer a smaller camera, Olympus Stylus (also known as the Mju). Any of these should be within budget, perfectly suitable for your intended usage, and quite capable of producing very good photos.

Richard S. (rich815) · May 31, 2015

Yeah the meaning of "cheap" should have been a little more explicit on the first posting.

Olympus Mju is your best bet. Olympus XA a better choice in my opinion owning both and finding the XA lens better but the XA is not AF. Or the Konica Big Mini BM-310 I mentioned but they do not come up that often and when they do the seller's often wrongly associate them with the more expensive versions of the Big Mini and ask too much on eBay.

macfred · May 31, 2015

There is nothing more ``point and shoot´´ than a Konica Pop with a Hexanon 36mm f/4 lens.
It has fixed focus, one shutter speed and manual film advance by lever.
Those should fit your budget (maybe you can get two).

Konica pop - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

mehguy · Jun 1, 2015

macfred said:
There is nothing more ``point and shoot´´ than a Konica Pop with a Hexanon 36mm f/4 lens.
It has fixed focus, one shutter speed and manual film advance by lever.
Those should fit your budget (maybe you can get two).

Konica pop - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

Hmm... how much do they go for nowadays?

hamradio · Jun 1, 2015

The last one I had, I sold for $40ish. If you watch ebay close and don't want one of the crazy color ones, maybe $15. I still think the Nikon L35af would be a far more versatile camera for your money, or an olympus stylus infinity/mju1. The Pop is more of a toy camera.

mehguy · Jun 1, 2015

Anyone try the leica minis? even though they are a little bit out of my price range, i would buy just to say i own a leica haha

looking for a good, cheap rangefinder.

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