Smallest fixed lens RF camera?

ciniframe said:

Yeah, I'd recommend a Olympus 35rc also. Reason? Solid build and FULL MANUAL CONTROL!
I don't care how smart a meter is, sometime you just need manual control.

The minus features of the 35rc are;

Excessively long shutter stroke, a product of trapped needle exposure control in auto.
You will find that with a little practice you can take up the slack in the shutter button every time and then press that last 1/2mm to take the shot.

The stupid 43.5mm filter size.
I solved this by ordering a 43.5mm to 43mm step down filter adapter from a Chinese vendor. I just leave it on all the time. It does not interfere with the meter window and and only adds 3mm to the thickness of the camera. The 43mm size in filters and hoods are very easy to find.

Uses a 625 size mercury battery no longer available.
I substitute a zinc air #675 hearing aid battery. Bought in cards of 12 about 85 cents each and will last about 3 months or more after you pull the sticker off. After you pull the seal off let the battery sit open for 5 min. to let it come up to power, then install it. I don't even use a centering ring and mine works fine.

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The RC is a beautiful little camera and well deserves the love and admiration it has earned over the years. To amplify a couple of your points:

-Trapped needle metering invariably has the drawback of a long, stiff shutter release. But I find the RC to be "just right". The travel and pressure is much less that what is required for its big brother, the SP. It compares favorably to the OM's and unmetered VF's/RF's. It is much preferable over the electronic release of the XA's.

- 43.5mm is an odd filter size, but Oly used it a lot (including on the Trip 35). Skylight filters are pretty easy to find but more exotic filters could be a problem.

- The discussion of the silver oxide cell had been beaten to death. The hearing aid batteries you mention are one solution and the MR9 adapter works great, too. This really does not merit the classification as a "problem".

I believe it is general knowledge that the XA is/was the smallest true rangefinder ever produced. Why Olympus felt the need to put a rangefinder on a 35mm FL seems odd, as they themselves demonstrated when they omitted it from all the subsequent models in the series. My personal favorite is the XA1, which gets by just fine with a fixed focus lens just one stop slower than the original XA. And of course, they were the most pocketable cameras ever produced up to that time, thanks to the innovation of the sliding dust barrier (yes, it is called a "sliding dust barrier", not a "clamshell", "camshell", "clampshell" or any of the other names that folks seem compelled to invent).

Often overlooked are Kodak Retina folders with rangefinders. Folded they are pocketable, and relatively inexpensive (given your fixed lens criteria).

For full frame 35, besides the XA, there's the Kodak Signet.

Couple of folders worth considering, one is the Zeiss Ikon Contessa, Tessar lens and one of the easiest rangefinders, in terms of seeing the center spot, I have ever come across, also the Contina, non coupled rangefinder, but small, and wgen folded you could fit them both in your pocket, another in a Certo Super dollina, again a dinky folder with a tessar lens,
Richard

How classic do you want to get? There are lots of Japanese RF's from the 1950's (and some German) that are quite beautiful and also quite useable, such as the Beauty, and Olympus 35, early Minolta or others. Many are quite compact, in a 1950's sort of way (squat, metallic), and it may be hard to find one in really good shape, but photo shows and estate sales can be good shopping grounds. We currently have about 100 of them in the PHSNE warehouse. I'll check for a good one and send you a PM if I have anything you might want.

Do not forget Tessina. (But, of course, it did not use the full 24 x 36 format.) - David Lyga

Retina 11a? c? dont remember what mine is, but its tiny, good rangefinder and has stellar xenar lens.

michr said:

Often overlooked are Kodak Retina folders with rangefinders. Folded they are pocketable, and relatively inexpensive (given your fixed lens criteria).

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If we're going into 35mm folders, the Voigtlanders certainly need a mention. Although the Vito II is not a RF, it is much smaller and lighter and the build quality is (IMHO) better than the Retinas.

David Lyga said:

Do not forget Tessina. (But, of course, it did not use the full 24 x 36 format.) - David Lyga

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TLR, David, not RF.