Which rangefinder should I get

ac21755 · Mar 24, 2017

Hello,

I'm new to film photography and am looking to get my first rangefinder camera.
After some researched I found that Canon Canonet ql17 and Olympus 35 RC are really small and good cameras.
Which one would you recommend best? Any other alternatives?
Preferably the one with the best possibility for bokeh effects as I want to learn how to do that. (please note that I know very little about this sorry If Im saying anything stupid).

Thank you!

Pentode · Mar 24, 2017

Welcome!

Either one of those cameras would be perfectly fine to start with.

There are countless other options but, since you're just starting out with film and both of those cameras are good performers, I'd worry less about which RF you go with and focus your efforts on learning about shooting film.

As a beginner, just about any of the fixed-lens RFs from that era are going to give you comparable performance and will be pretty comparable to shoot with.

Theo Sulphate · Mar 24, 2017

Welcome to APUG.

Yes, either of those two cameras are very nice.

Don't forget about parallax on close-up shots. I made that rookie mistake last month: photographed some cool items inside my house at about 1.5 meters only to discover later that what I saw in the viewfinder wasn't exactly what the lens saw. Doh!

flavio81 · Mar 24, 2017

ac21755 said:
Hello,

I'm new to film photography and am looking to get my first rangefinder camera.
After some researched I found that Canon Canonet ql17 and Olympus 35 RC are really small and good cameras.
Which one would you recommend best? Any other alternatives?
Preferably the one with the best possibility for bokeh effects as I want to learn how to do that. (please note that I know very little about this sorry If Im saying anything stupid).

Thank you!

I'd choose the Olympus 35RC. It is smaller so you can use it even more. I think it is one of the best Olympus products ever. And i'm not even an Olympus fan, quite the opposite, in general Canon is my favorite camera brand and Olympus more or less my least favorite (within the list of favorite brands)!

But in this case Olympus wins !

Sirius Glass · Mar 24, 2017

Welcome to APUG

What can you afford? But more importantly:

How does the camera feel in your hands?
How well do you like the viewfinder?
Can you see and use the focusing spots comfortably?
How hard is it for you to load the film?

narsuitus · Mar 24, 2017

How did you arrive at the conclusion that a rangefinder camera was what you needed?

Visually Conscious · Mar 25, 2017

Welcome!

Both cameras are great. I would choose the Canon Canonet QL17 because of the extra stop. I personally owe the Canonet and shot with it in 1 1/2 years. I called those cameras a great low budget rangefinder, it have some disadvantages to it but as long as you take care of it, you will enjoy it.

Gerald C Koch · Mar 25, 2017

I agree that it is very important how the camera feels in your hand and how easy it is to execute all the functions. Be careful with small cameras as they may be hard to work for people with normal size hands. A couple of years ago I decided to get a d*****l one. (Alas we must not speak that term here.) It was small, had a metal body and an excellent German made lens. Unfortunately the shutter release button was recessed. This combined with the camera's small size made it hard to reliably trip the shutter. For something larger than the Canonet and Olympus I would suggest the Yashica Electro 35's. All the models save one have a really sharp f/1.7 lens. Combine this with an auto exposure in excess of 8 seconds and you have a really nice camera for night photography. They are also quite reasonable.

mynewcolour · Mar 25, 2017

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

^ lots of options and comment here.

It sounds like you want a camera for close/medium-distance subjects? These photos can have a shallow depth-of-field (and therefore lots of 'bokeh') if you shoot at wide apertures. Rangefinders can do this just fine but aren't really the obvious choice for this kind of shot, SLR cameras have inherit advantages.

Paul Howell · Mar 25, 2017

I have used a Canon QL 1.7 for many, many years, easy to use, manual override, build quality is good but it is a consumer grade camera good but not pro build. I have used the Olympus so can not comment. To muddy the waters Konica S2 or S3, the S3 likely has the sharpest lens on a rangefinder, down size is no manual override.

Platelayer · Mar 25, 2017

Theo Sulphate said:
...
Don't forget about parallax on close-up shots. I made that rookie mistake last month: photographed some cool items inside my house at about 1.5 meters only to discover later that what I saw in the viewfinder wasn't exactly what the lens saw. Doh!

I had a similar problem a couple of weeks ago photographing buildings reflected in puddles. Left the interesting detail just outside of the frame...

Consider the weight of each camera and how long you're going to be carrying it with you. A Canonet QL17 G-III will give great photographs, even wide open, but it is a bit heavier than some of the other options - about 620g for the QL17 G-III, 540g for the Canonet 28, 415g for the Olympus 35RC. Personally, I've used both of the Canonets and found the focus mechanism a little tricker to use on the QL17 as the focus is changed by a lever rather than a lens ring, but that's very subjective.

John Koehrer · Mar 25, 2017

I've liked the Canon GIII, It's just a bit larger and fit my hands better..The Canon's 3.5oz heavier so no big deal unless
you want to carry it in a pocket but the Olympus fits a shirt pocket. The pocket then wants to hang as low as it can go.

ciniframe · Mar 27, 2017

Cameras that use the battery only for the meter are an advantage. Full manual control of exposure is an advantage in learning the relationship between shutter speed and aperture and why and in what circumstances you would choose a particular combination. For instance, the "correct" exposure for a scene could be; 1/500 at f2.8 or 1/30 at f11, both expose the film to the same amount of light. Which one YOU chose will depend on what you desire the final picture to look like. Learning what effect a given combination will have, or if, for that particular scene it will have much effect at all is easier with a camera that allows manual control. Some fixed lens RF's are auto exposure only and without the battery are just a paper weight. Both cameras you mentioned in your post will fully operate even without a battery so should be good for learning about exposure control.

Ko.Fe. · Mar 27, 2017

Get one which is in better condition and works 100%.

ac21755 · Mar 28, 2017

Thank you for all the suggestions.

I purchased a Olympus 35 RD camera. Will be arriving soon hopefully working.

saman13 · Mar 28, 2017

For my second camera body, I bought a cheap used Minolta 7S. They're beautiful classic cameras that can be had for cheap because most people want their slightly smaller younger sibling, the 7SII. All of these old rangefinders use those old mercury batteries, but what I like about this Minolta is that there is a small window on the lens that gives the E.V. of the current aperture and shutter speed combination so it is super easy to use without a light meter.
http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm
Print out the exposure value chart on this website, determine which lighting situation you're in, and set the right number in the window.
I was blown away by the sharpness of the lens on this camera. All of this has reminded me I need to finish the roll of HP5 I have loaded in it...

wastelanded · Apr 25, 2017

+1 for the Minolta Hi-matics. Good build quality, very nice glass, and not too expensive. I just got a Hi-matic 9 which I like very much, for $60 serviced and shipped.

But OP did very well with a 35 RD. Compact, quality, mechanical and one of the nicest lenses ever. They were a beautiful line of cameras. I have my grandfather's 35 DC and it's a great camera, but it's electronic and I sorely wish it was an RD or RC.

Which rangefinder should I get

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