Recommendations for a small, light, inexpensive 35mm camera w/ a 50 lens

[darkosaric]

XA series cameras are great, but OP asked about 50mm lens, not 35mm. Difference is pretty big.

 

[removed account4]

ME super is a great little camera!

 

[Zorkiphoto]

You're quite right....

In that case, an OM-2 or the Bessaflex...

 

[darkosaric]

small + light + inexpensive + 50 mm lens --> only solution is small SLR. From rangefinders with 50 mm you have Argus (big and heavy), Leica (expensive and relatively big and heavy), Zorki/Fed (relatively big and heavy), LTM Leica with elmar f3,5 (expensive) ...

One must choose 3 from 4 requirements .

 

[cuthbert]

Zorkis 5 and 6 and Fed 2 are big and heavy cameras? Sure?

 

[LarryP]

nikon n70s with the 50 e series?

 

[darkosaric]

Zorkis 5 and 6 and Fed 2 are big and heavy cameras? Sure?

I knew that this question will come - so I wrote relatively big and heavy. If you compare it with XA, or with Olympus RC35, Rollei, Ricoh 500 ... then yes, they are relatively big and heavy.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I sold OM10 with 50 1.8 for under 50$ not so long time ago.
Perfect, really small SLR with fine lens and huge viewfinder.

 

[Brett Rogers]

Voigtländer Vitessa. The Ultron versions are likely to be over your budget but you might find one with the 50mm f/2.8 Color Skopar for under $100. If you can handle the weight of either, a Vito B should definitely be within your budget. None of those have particularly fast lenses but you do not single that out as an essential criteria. I have all of those as well as a Vito BR with coupled RF but you will not find one of those inside your budget.

If you would prefer an SLR the original Contaflex is an exceptionally compact SLR (miraculously so for one with a lens shutter). You can easily fit it in a jacket pocket. Lens is a fixed 45mm f/2.8 Tessar. SLRs with non-interchangeable lenses are unusual, but, you only want one lens so who cares? What is likely to be more of an issue is finding one with a clean working shutter. I do my own so this doesn't bother me but the installation tends to put most people off, even though they're not really that bad.
Weight and size mean different things to different people. Some measurements would help. And market values can vary substantially depending on where on Earth you are.

 

[destroya]

if you want manual focus, I would go with a nikon FG and a 50mm 1.8 ai-s lens, either the larger first one or the later smaller pancake. i bought a FG from KEH a year ago that looked unused for $25. craigslist has them for a little more.

if you want auto focus, the nikon F80 with the 50mm 1.8d lens. i bought the lens new for $99 and a almost new in box f80 off craigslist for $30. i have produced some of my sharpest 35mm pictures with this setup

 

[John Koehrer]

Someone suggested folders. Great idea. Dozens of brands & models most of them using 50's.
You can even get 645 or 6X6 that are small & light. The problem is relative weight, they're made
of actual, genuine metal, so light; compared to an SLR plastic RF. Not so much but it's only
going to be a few ounces.
Size wise just slightly larger than a Barnack.

Like they say "YMMV"

 

[ME Super]

I second the ME Super as a small, lightweight, easy to use 35mm camera. If you put one of Pentax's 40mm (or so) pancake lenses on it, it'll come close to fitting in your shirt pocket.

 

[Paul Howell]

I second the ME Super as a small, lightweight, easy to use 35mm camera. If you put one of Pentax's 40mm (or so) pancake lenses on it, it'll come close to fitting in your shirt pocket.

ME are very light, another option is a Pentax AF body like a ZX 50, if you want to shoot MF lens just get a 50 or 40 mm A lens, or a ZX M manual focus and small. If you want to shoot AF either a 50mm prime or a kit zoom like a 35 to 80.

 

[trythis]

What about a Canon EOS rebel/2000 or whatever cheap eos body you can find for $20 and get an stm pancake lens? New the lens is $125.
The cameras are extremely light and small


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[Fixcinater]

Oly SP. if you are patient you might be able to find one in your price range. 42mm lens.

Cheapest option: thrift store Pentax plus 50/2.0.

 

[gone]

Like all recovering gear hounds, nearly every camera that's been mentioned lived here at one time or another. Some of them I forgot about, so hearing the recommendations has been helpful. If I forgot they were here, then on one level I didn't own them and can start again! That's the trap best avoided.

I have an FG that was modified to shoot in AE stop down and manual mode w/ an H 50 2.0 lens. The image quality is superb, so perhaps that's the camera. It fits the bill in every way, but lighter would be nice. Even non camera people have commented on how small it is. The problem is that when you put a filter and hood on that lens it makes for a much larger package. I hate to take the hit in bokeh IQ, but putting the pancake 50 1.8 WOULD make it a lot smaller, and maybe even lighter.

If I remember correctly, my Pentax ME Super w/ a 50 was small and pretty light (great viewfinder), but the shutter speed adjustment was far too cumbersome. For all intents and purposes it didn't have that feature, it was that slow to use, and it has no AE lock.The ME also has no AE lock and no way to compensate for tricky metering, like the EM. Leaving that out on a camera that had no manual override was a huge mistake in my opinion.

Well, maybe I could go w/ an ME Super, set the shutter speed, then use the aperture control to get the exposure right in tricky lighting. Or just keep the FG, put the Series E 50 on it and call it a day. Still, Konica C35 size and weight is the goal, but w/ at least a 45 lens. Or maybe an OM. That's one camera I've never owned. The last Minox I owned was just that, the last Minox I will ever own. Great lens I understand, but the electronics died on the first roll, and besides the lens is too wide. Ditto the Rollei 35, which is probably the king of small and light.

 

[fotch]

Personally, I don't trust the Nikon EM or FG. The few I have had or friends had failed. The Nikon FE or FM or solid performers. JMHO

 

[frank]

Momus, if I were you, I'd simply get a Nikon series E 50 lens for the fg you already have. That will definitely give you both a smaller and a lighter combo. I've had no reliability issues with the 2 fg's that I have.

 

[darkosaric]

I had FG and FG-20 (even smaller than FG) -no problem with those cameras. You have also 1/90s manual override if battery fails, nice little cameras.

 

[Les Sarile]

If I remember correctly, my Pentax ME Super w/ a 50 was small and pretty light (great viewfinder), but the shutter speed adjustment was far too cumbersome. For all intents and purposes it didn't have that feature, it was that slow to use, and it has no AE lock.The ME also has no AE lock and no way to compensate for tricky metering, like the EM. Leaving that out on a camera that had no manual override was a huge mistake in my opinion.

In that case you might consider the Ricoh XR-7 as it is a Pentax mount comparable to the ME Super in size and functionality but with AE lock and traditional controls.

Ad for the XR-7.

Of course a pancake lens will make it even smaller. If a 40mm f2.8 meets within your requirements, then the Pentax pancake is not only the smallest but it seems to sell for considerably less then all the other true pancakes.

 

[4season]

Great size comparison!

Anyone know how the aforementioned Contaflex would compare? I am intrigued but cannot seem to find actual dimensions or weight.

 

[4season]

the lens is too wide.

Learn to adapt?

For a time I carried nothing but a Ricoh compact w/28mm prime. Just wasn't feeling the love for that focal length, but over time I adjusted my shooting style, started moving in closer to my subjects and paying more attention to converging lines. Not fully accustomed to it yet, but have become much better at "seeing" the world in 28mm, with it's more exaggerated perspective and deeper DoF, and the more comfy I become, the less limiting the camera seems.

I used to heavily favor 50mm, but have since become very fond of the 40mm focal length, though it didn't happen overnight.

 

[ciniframe]

Wow, 46 posts in 2 days! Can only comment on my cheap 35mm SLR experience. A Sears KS500 (rebadged Ricoh KR-5) with 50mm f2 lens for $5, even had a working meter battery. Not as small as some but very lightweight. The standard lens has too strong detents at full stops but otherwise seems fine. Not a typical price but KR-5's with standard 50 f2 lenses can be had for under your target price all day long.

 

[Lauris]

Has anyone mentioned Retinas? My IIa isn't exactly bantamweight, but in the back pocket it doesn't pull my jeans down, and the 50mm f2 lens is lovely and capable. And you can get a nice one for less than half of a Rollei...

 

[waynecrider]

I'm more then happy with a purhase of a Chinon CM5. Simple, suprisingly good metering with just a 3 LED readout, lighweight, easy to hold, takes Pentax lenses. I shoot mostly screwmounts with it and it's fun to use and best of all won't break the bank.