Smallest modern quality film cameras

[snaggs]

Looking for a film camera for my wife which is purse'able, can be P&S'd, but has a good fast lens (no zoom) so that the flash is rarely needed for photos. Looking at Leica Minilux, Fuji Natura S, any other ideas?

Daniel.

 

[AllanD]

Add the Ricoh GR1 to your list. Excellent 28/2.8 lens, very small and an includes exposure compensation dial and manual aperture control.

Unfortunately, you may have to buy secondhand, but as this is a well made camera, I think it would be OK to do so.

 

[Nick Zentena]

The Pentax *ist is supposed to be the smallest SLR. I think the thing is almost too tiny to use. It'll take almost any K mount lens you want. Maybe stick the 43mm LTD lens on it?

 

[skahde]

Olympus mju II. Very good 2,8/35mm lens. Available in black and champagne, as small as they get, water resistant, spot-metering + ae lock + focus lock, cheap as dirt (don't mention that last point in front of your wife). ISO setting is only by DX, though, IIRC.

Stefan

 

[FrankB]

I also have a mju II. All that Stefan says is true. Excellent 35mm ultra-compact P&S.

The only point I'd raise is that there is no manual control over aperture / shutter-speed, not even a landscape/portrait/sports mode selection. Other than that, it's very difficult to beat.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

Another vote for the Stylus Epic (mju II). The Yashica T4 should also be noted as a great little number.I picked one up last week,2nd hand,and just shot/developed my first roll of B+W film. I like what I see.
Mike

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I got a T4super (T5 in Europe) for my wife as well, and it's a nice little camera, but they don't make them anymore with the Zeiss T* 35/3.5 Tessar. If you can find one used, it's a good choice. B&H bought out the last stock, so they may have some left, but I doubt it. Also has the peculiar feature of a built-in angle finder for over the head, waist-level, and stealth shooting. One downside (and this may be common to many of these P&S cameras)--The DX coding only reads nice round values and defaults to ISO 100 if you are shooting something like Portra 160NC (a little overexposure being not necessarily a bad thing with color neg) or Ektachrome 320T (a lot of overexposure being definitely a bad thing with color slide).

 

[Whiteymorange]

T4 kudos

Another peg for the T4. All of what has been said about the DX is true, but seldom a problem in the real world of P&S users. I bought one for my son on his graduation from high school since he would be traveling a lot and the size of a full SLR would make him leave it behind more often than he would a camera thatvery easily fit in a shirt pocket. He traveled Europe, dropped the darn thing while climbing, got it wet in the rain, kept it in the bottom of a dirty backpack while camping for weeks at a time - and came home with stunning negatives.

Ebay is a good source for a T4 Super. They do come up in the $100 range. Worth twice that IMHO.
Whitey

 

[Dave Wooten]

Yashica T4 Zoom Date Kit

is listed in B and H catalog, page 89---arrived yesterday---169.95... Zeiss lens tessar t*28 - 70 , self timer, af 1.6' to infinity, auto flash, fill flash, flash off, night portrait, red eye reduction, quartz date imprint, 4.4 x 2.5 x 1.6" 6.9 oz passive multi beam 5 point auto focus or spot auto focus..

 

[jamesdak]

This might not meet the "modern" criteria but I've picked up a Minolta Hi-matic 7SII for a daily carry around camera. 40mm f/1.7 lens that is extremely sharp and an automatic mode if needed. Very small by my standards but I am used to carry around a camera bag daily so this might taint my judgement. It is the most highly regarded Minolta specific rangefinder. Meter is built into the lens so that it automatically compensates for filters. It was built to use a mercury battery but if shooting film you should have enough exposure latitude to compensate.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

That's a different version with the zoom lens.

 

[fingel]

If price isn't an issue the Contax T3 is a nice camera. I believe that you can still find a new ones out there.

 

[BradS]

another vote for the little Olympus stylus epic (AKA Mju II). Great glass for you pocket and easy on your wallet too.

 

[Gerald Koch]

Probably the smallest full-frame 35mm camera is the Rollei 35. The best models are those with a Sonnar or Tessar lens. No rangefinder, but not really necessary with the 40mm lens. The best of the series is the 35SE with a tack sharp f2.8 Sonnar and CdS light meter. Look at site http://www.cameraquest.com/rol35se.htm.

 

[removed account4]

another vote for the t4 -
we have had and used ours ( bought from b&h ) for about 4 maybe 5 years and have put maybe 200 rolls of film through it without any problem.

if you can get away with a 110 camera ... look for a pentax auto 110.
i have been using one for about 5 years and think it is a great little camera.
it has an pan-lens that makes it basically a P&S and the optics on the other lenses are pretty good. i have all the lenses but the pan lens and the zoom lenses, and i have never had any trouble with it. a friend who has a pentax MF kit laughed when he saw it because it is basically a sub-mini version of his camera

 

[skahde]

Probably the smallest full-frame 35mm camera is the Rollei 35. The best models are those with a Sonnar or Tessar lens. No rangefinder, but not really necessary with the 40mm lens. The best of the series is the 35SE with a tack sharp f2.8 Sonnar and CdS light meter. Look at site http://www.cameraquest.com/rol35se.htm.

A 35SE is also on my shelf and goes with me if I wan't to travel light. The sonnar is really extraordinary and the main reason why I can hardly imagine to part with it. But by todays standards the Rollei 35 isn't small and certainly not light and feels like a small brick when you hold a mju II in your other hand. The lighmeter is also a bit dated with its low sensitivity and the interface is auto-nothing. Nevertheless, a very fine camera.

 

[Loose Gravel]

Sounds like alot of T4 lovers here. I like it, too. Got my wife one. Now it says battery low even with fresh battery. Anybody know how to fix this?

 

[Mike H]

The Pentax *ist is supposed to be the smallest SLR. I think the thing is almost too tiny to use. It'll take almost any K mount lens you want. Maybe stick the 43mm LTD lens on it?

Film Camera? P&S? You're in the wrong forum.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Sounds like alot of T4 lovers here. I like it, too. Got my wife one. Now it says battery low even with fresh battery. Anybody know how to fix this?

If you haven't already, first thing is to take a pencil eraser to the battery contacts. If they're a little dull from oxidation, they can produce enough resistance to cause this (and not just on a T4).

 

[Joe Symchyshyn]

Another Yashica vote...

I bought a T4 for my wife and she loves it... I bought one for myself (the next version with the zoom lens and remote control). A FANTASTIC point and shoot!

joe

 

[Nick Zentena]

Film Camera? P&S? You're in the wrong forum.

Eh?

 

[AllanD]

Are all these quality P&S cameras doomed ?

BTW, I found this site regarding the Ricoh GR1.

Dead Link Removed

Outstanding !

 

[Donald Qualls]

Are all these quality P&S cameras doomed ?

Eventually, they probably are. All of them rely on batteries that will likely not be available in another ten years.

For instance, I have (well, just appropriated, since my wife uses the digital exclusively now) a Yashica PZ 3125 Quartz Date -- quite nice, auto-everything with a few overrides (like flash lockout and long exposure night shot capability, self timer, 38-125 zoom, and date imprinting back with no-record setting). It's in excellent shape, only about 4 years old -- but depends on a 3V round lithium cell a little fatter and a little shorter than a AA.

Duracell is closing the plant where these batteries are made (it's local to me here in north-central North Carolina -- there go another 280 jobs) due to the drop in demand as NiMH for digitals replace lithium and alkalines for camera use. I suppose I could do as I've done with my Polaroid -- solder in a 2xAA battery holder to avoid the need for the exotic battery (the holder and the time it took to install cost less than one battery for the Polaroid).

 

[MCTuomey]

I second James' comment about the Hi-Matic. Auto-only mode, my Hi-Matic E is my fav "P&S" rangefinder. The problem is these are comparatively heavy. The Oly Stylus Epic, which I've enjoyed as a family camera for years, is better in this regard. But for quality negs, oh my, those Hi-Matics are just great.

 

[Phong]

Looking for a film camera for my wife which is purse'able, can be P&S'd, but has a good fast lens (no zoom) so that the flash is rarely needed for photos. Looking at Leica Minilux, Fuji Natura S, any other ideas?

Daniel.

I used a lot of the high quality P&S (Contax T2, Yahica T4, Leica Minilux, Olympus Epic) and they all have their quirks.

My vote is for the Minilux (fixed lens one) over the other ones. I sold mine last year, but probably will buy it again one one of these days. I currently use the old Voightlander and Kodak folders for pocketable film cameras. The Minilux is a bit pricey though; also it's not as pocketable as some of the other ones, though is no less pursable.

- Phong