Vibration sensitivity of rangefinders?

[Steve Goldstein]

I'll soon be heading off for a week of skiing and would like to bring a camera along. In the past I've carried my Olympus XA, which fits nicely in an inside pocket but is difficult to operate while wearing gloves. This year I'm thinking about taking my Zeiss and 40mm Rokkor, which would probably have to travel in my backpack. My main worry is about the bouncing around knocking the rangefinder out of alignment. Does anyone have any prior experience in this area?

I'm aware of the appropriate precautions for dealing with cold and condensation issues, what I'm specifically asking about is the bouncing and vibration. In the worst case I know I can take the XA.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[EASmithV]

Sorry, your Zeiss what? Ikonta? Contax? I'm not aware these had Rokkor lenses, unless you're suggesting bringing a hi-matic?

 

[Steve Goldstein]

Sorry, it's the newest version, recently discontinued, with the Leica M-mount. I often use it with a 40mm Rokkor that was made for the Minolta CLE.

 

[Newt_on_Swings]

I think it all depends on how good a skier you are... haha. Jk! I think the early Zeiss M rangefinders had problems keeping rangefinder alignment, with many off right out of the box. This was fixed later and I think most problems of this sort went away with the later bodies. But any rangefinder is susceptible to vibrations and shock skewing the alignment, its just a matter of how hard the shocks are and how long they last, but I have heard of tales where people have taken rangefinders on long motorcycle trips strapped to the back or to the tank, and the cameras worked fine. id bring both, the xa for the skiing and the zeiss of the other moments. I wouldnt want to worry about whats in my pocket the whole day and miss out on enjoying the snow.

 

[thegman]

I'd say it depends on how lucky you are. Some people have all kinds of grief keeping range finders aligned (or at least, feel they do), some never do it in their lives. I'd take it and not worry about it. Also, if you're shooting in the day at f/8 or whatever, you barely need a range finder to scale focus accurately.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

I'll soon be heading off for a week of skiing and would like to bring a camera along. In the past I've carried my Olympus XA, which fits nicely in an inside pocket but is difficult to operate while wearing gloves. This year I'm thinking about taking my Zeiss and 40mm Rokkor, which would probably have to travel in my backpack. My main worry is about the bouncing around knocking the rangefinder out of alignment. Does anyone have any prior experience in this area?

I'm aware of the appropriate precautions for dealing with cold and condensation issues, what I'm specifically asking about is the bouncing and vibration. In the worst case I know I can take the XA.

Thanks for your thoughts.

If you mean vibration in your pocket/backpack while skiiing, I wouldn't worry as long as the camera is padded a bit. It will be "soft" vibration of low frequency and moderate amplitude.

 

[arpinum]

If you want to be really careful, consider a Zeiss Ikonta folder. They can't be knocked out of alignment (so I hear) from vibration or dropping, and the profile when folded is perfect for skiing.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

If you want to be really careful, consider a Zeiss Ikonta folder. They can't be knocked out of alignment (so I hear) from vibration or dropping, and the profile when folded is perfect for skiing.

That's a great idea, a 50-75 year old camera in frigid temperatures. Anything can be knocked out of alignment.

 

[elekm]

If you have a viewfinder camera (no rangefinder), then you probably would be OK.

I don't think that I would take an expensive camera while skiing. Or any bulky metal camera, which might break several ribs if you were to fall on it.

I think the Olympus XA is a good choice. Either that, or a compact P&S.

 

[Steve Goldstein]

I'm sitting in DFW waiting for my connection to Colorado. In the end i took the XA because it fits in a breast pocket. That makes it easily accessible and very unlikely I'll fall on it. Some day I'd really like to take the Mamiya 7, maybe if I get one of those chest packs like ski patrol use.