Most compact rangefinder?

[elekm]

No, the standard lens has always been a 40mm focal length.

If you change the focal length, you have to shorten the length of the lens tube.

The beauty of the manufacturing allowed Rollei to make two cameras by simply swapping the lens, top deck and aperture dial.

The Minox 35 cameras come with a 35mm lens. Very nice lens.

I don't care for the Rollei LED models because the cameras were meant to be used at waist level when metering a scene. Putting LEDs into the viewfinder turns metering into a rather clunky experience.

 

[2F/2F]

Yashica Electro 35s are dirt cheap, very light, good, and have a fast lens. They are not "compact", though. They take any battery that fits the hole and is 6V or thereabout. You have to devise some way to fill up the air space that was originally taken up by the original battery, which is larger than the ones you get today. I just wrap the battery in tape to take up the remaining width, and use a short, sawn-off piece of steel rod to take up the remaining length.

They cost almost nothing, weight almost nothing and are almost silent.

The drawbacks are: 1. fixed lens, and 2. auto exposure

 

[lens_hacker]

> I don't care for the Rollei LED models because the cameras were meant to be used at waist level when metering a scene. Putting LEDs into the viewfinder turns metering into a rather clunky experience.

At $15 for the Rollei 35TE, I'm not complaining even if it has LED's in the viewfinder! It's meter readout is a lot like my F2SB and FM, so it seemed fairly straightforward.

 

[Paul Goutiere]

I purchased a little Olympus XA from a local thrift store for $15.00. I didn't really know what to expect but I have been very surprised at the reliability and quality of the images.
It is battery dependent so get a spare.

 

[elekm]

$15 for a Rollei 35TE. Heck, I wouldn't complain either. That's a great bargain.

 

[WarEaglemtn]

Olympus Stylus Epic. Good enough to use on the sidelines of NFL football games. Small, operable with one hand, clamshell design that protects the lens when not shooting.
Good quality lens. Easy to use and lasts forever. Inexpensive.

 

[Paul.A]

I really like my Olympus XA4. Zone focusing, 28mm lens and close focusing ability make it a great little walkabout camera.

 

[IloveTLRs]

I would recommend the XA because it's very light, small (definitely fits in a pocket), fast to use and doesn't draw attention to itself. You can tape over the OLYMPUS on the front and make it solid black.
You might find yourself heartbroken if you loose/break your XA, however. Good thing you bought two

 

[Chaplain Jeff]

Check out the Minolta 7sII.

Great little camera in any of it's incarnations - I think Vivitar put out the same camera under its name and there is at least one other I think.

It's a tight little camera. Well made w/ A Priority and Manual settings. The flash on this little fellow is phenomenal with the appropriate Minolta flash - which can be had for $25 or so. These cameras are usually in good shape when you can find them and if not, there are plenty of good repairmen around who don't charge much to make them good as new.

I took one to Disney World a few years ago and shot the entire vacation with it. You can't tell the difference between those shots and ones I shot a few years later with a Leica M3 / M5 and CLE using a DR 'Cron 50mm/f2, Leica 90mm, f/4 and a Rokkor 28mm. Great lens on a great little body.

And no respectable theif would steal it - unless he knew his 70's era Minolta RF's.

Jeff M