Rangefinder and 50mm Lens Recommendation

Dismayed · Jul 6, 2012

Konica IIIa. Quiet, superb lens, and an amazing finder.

http://www.dantestella.com/technical/koni3.html

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Jul 7, 2012

Just dont buy japanese disneyland tourist camera , Kodak Retina , Screwmount Leica or Russian FED1 with Leica lens is what you need for good quality.

Argenticien · Jul 7, 2012

sangetsu said:
A Canon 7 or Canon P would both be good choices. They offer larger viewfinders than many of the Barnack type cameras or Soviet copies. The Canon rangefinder cameras are relatively inexpensive, and they are usually fitted with very good quality 50mm lenses. 35mm and 28mm lenses were also produced, or you can use LTM lenses made by Leica, Voigtlander, Nicca, etc. You can easily find a clean Canon 7 or Canon P with a 50mm lens for less than $500

Agreed on the P at least. (I haven't got a 7.) There are many threads on rangefinderforum.com comparing the viewfinders of these two cameras (and other models), such as this thread. I studied such things before settling on the P. I have thick eyeglasses for nearsightedness, and the 50 mm frame lines in the P's VF work well enough for me. The 35 mm ones are absolutely useless to me as they are way out at the edges of the VF. But you won't care if you're getting only a 50 mm lens.

The P is a really nice camera. I bought a QL17 first, as my rangefinder gateway drug, but the P is a whole different (higher) level of quality and makes the Canonet feel plasticky by comparison. The major advantage of the QL17 is the QL: I love that fast, foolproof film loading. Oh if only they had invented that early enough to put it into the P! The P of course is all mechanical, no meter. Get a Sekonic L-208 and bung it in the accessory shoe, if you need metering.

I got a P with the 50/1.8 lens (both in excellent cosmetic and mechanical shape, no CLA needed) for USD 300.

You'd pay much more with the 50/1.4, and the gain of 1/2 stop (or whatever it is) is not that crucial. I've heard the 1.4 is brilliant, and I'm sure that's true, but the 1.8 is a really good, unheralded lens and does less damage to your budget. Start with it, then move up to the 1.4 later if you come into more money and get lens lust.

--Dave

kivis · Jul 8, 2012

Leica M3 and a Rigid Cron, nuff said.

Argenticien · Jul 9, 2012

kivis said:
Leica M3 and a Rigid Cron, nuff said.

One mightn't disagree, except the OP said he had USD 500 to work with.

carbon_dragon · Jul 16, 2012

You may wish you'd spent the extra money for an M2 and a 50/2 summitar at least in the long run. However, the Konica rangefinders are pretty good. My first camera was the Konica I (very good lens) and no collector interest. I second the Canon 7 and P. Good working cameras, but not as sexy as Leica. The Kodak retina I is pretty nice and very pocketable. You could probably find a Leica IIIf but frankly I have trouble seeing through the tiny finder windows. The prominent 50/1.5 is a great lens, but the Prominent camera is really weirdly set up for use. I wouldn't go with that camera.

The problem with the Canon 7 is that there is no accessory shoe for a finder or a meter. If your meter works and you're happy with the finder frames the 7 has, it's a wonderful camera. If not, the add on shoe is impossible to find and expensive. But it's a nice camera.

The Leica CL with the 40 isn't quite as expensive as the M2 and is still my favorite pocketable film camera.

Red Robin · Sep 13, 2012

Bill Burk said:
I can't remember what the refinement of the GIII offered, think it was very minor.

It would be good to get one for $60, try it out as-is and see how it feels. Keep $140 in your budget for CLA. Chances are the foam seals need replacement.

Bill, mine was 20 bucks new seals another 45. 65 well spent dollars witha well built little tank of a camera, even had a case!

elekm · Sep 13, 2012

$45 for new seals? That's way too much. The material costs less than $1, and the biggest factor in replacing them is the time it takes (about 1/2 hour).

elekm · Sep 13, 2012

Possibilities for a $500 budget:

- (Cosina) Voigtlander Bessa-R2 (or other models) with a 50mm lens. Good value for the money.

- A screwmount Leica with a clean 50mm Summitar.

- Zeiss Ikon Contax II or IIa with a clean 50mm Sonnar (f/1.5 or f/2.0). I sold several IIa models with the f/1.5 Sonnar for $450 -- one of the best classic camera lenses ever. I don't have any for sale currently.

- Nikon S with f/2.0 50mm Nikkor. You might get lucky on price. Always check the curtains for pinholes.

- Konica II or III. Excellent build.

- Among German classic cameras: Kodak Retina IIC or IIIC, Kodak Retina IIIS, Zeiss Ikon Contessa, Voigtlander Vito III, Voigtlander Vitessa, Carl Zeiss Jena Werra 3,

- I'm not a fan of the Voigtlander Prominent. Big, heavy, clunky, not fun to use.

- I think that the 1970s compact fixed-lens rangefinders are overpriced. They're all good cameras. They just aren't that good. But demand always dictates price, and I think that they've become cult cameras. For a while the Olympus 35 RC was going for $75 or more.

matti · Sep 13, 2012

Now people will disagree. But my $10 Russian Jupiter-8 50mm f2, (Sonnar clone?). Is really sharp in B&W with smooth out of focus areas. Maybe a bit low contrast wide open. But why cares? If it wasn't a bit harder to handle, I would use it more often than my Summicron 50/2 on my M6.

/matti

thomasw_ · Sep 15, 2012

If you have ~500 put aside for this, I'd save more for a M3 and a DR summicron 50/2. Very versatile and it might be all you ever want from a RF kit...
That said, if you ever think you'd want to use a 35mm lens in RF, I'd get a M2 and DR summicron instead.

gb hill · Sep 22, 2012

Been three months since the start of this adventure. Wondering what Darren might of settled on. I have both a Canonet GIII & Bessa R. Both are fine cameras. Shutter is louder on the Bessa but the vf makes up for the shortfall. The Canon's vf isn't too shabby either & I'm an eye glass wearer, well I'm susposed to.

elekm · Sep 22, 2012

I probably already answered.

If you wear glasses, a lower-cost alternative is one of the Cosina Voigtlander Bessa models, which have excellent viewfinders. And then you can pick up one of the many Zeiss, Voigtlander or Leica lenses for it.

Among fixed-lens cameras, the Konica IIIS has an excellent viewfinder and a very nice Hexanon lens. Also, a working Kodak Retina IIIS with the Schneider or Rodenstock f/1.9 lens is a good choice.

Most of the 1970s-era small rangefinders have good viewfinders.

BrianL · Sep 27, 2012

Look for some of the Voightlanders classics with the Color Skopar lens such as the Vito II. This series of lenses are magnificent and the body is absolutely solid with a chrome finish the is diamond solid.

Another I really like is the Zeiss Ikonta that has folding front. Lens is very good, quite heavy for its size so staple handheld. When folded it fits a shirt pocket.

Neither use meters, purely mechanical cameras. You can pick up a nice Pilot meter with its flash mount and mount it on top. These selenium meters are quite accurate, light, easy to use and I think may still be in production. Used, they are inexpensive. For a bargain otherwise, look for a Western Ranger; a great meter that is just not on most persons' radar screen.

Rangefinder and 50mm Lens Recommendation

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