Why are rangefinders so expensive?
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Why are RFs so expensive?
Hello Forum.
To the question "Why are RFs so expensive?," I say they can be but they do not necessarily have to be.
I have a 1969 Kiev 4a which came from Ukraine for USD $40. I have a 1959 Leica M3 which I bought used for USD $600, then spent another USD $280 getting it cleaned up and adjusted. That's a pricing ratio of 22:1 between a Kiev 4a with a 50mm f2 Jupiter 8M, versus a Leica M3 with a 50mm f2 Summicron.
Both take pictures that are very good. In fact, they are indistinguishable by folks not intimately familiar with fine cameras. Good working samples of former Soviet Union cameras deliver excellent price performance.
Hello Forum.
To the question "Why are RFs so expensive?," I say they can be but they do not necessarily have to be.
I have a 1969 Kiev 4a which came from Ukraine for USD $40. I have a 1959 Leica M3 which I bought used for USD $600, then spent another USD $280 getting it cleaned up and adjusted. That's a pricing ratio of 22:1 between a Kiev 4a with a 50mm f2 Jupiter 8M, versus a Leica M3 with a 50mm f2 Summicron.
Both take pictures that are very good. In fact, they are indistinguishable by folks not intimately familiar with fine cameras. Good working samples of former Soviet Union cameras deliver excellent price performance.
I'd like to mention simplicity and ease in repairs. My Zorki 5 developed a bad case of rangfinder double vision and my Zorki 4 had a bad light leak. Now, I'm the type of person that hates shipping my gear out for repair so I started to do my homework. I found several sources online with repair instructions with diagrams. So, with a $20 investment in tiny tools I gave it a go and tried my hand at fixing both RF's. I had my doubts at first but after I stared I was surprised that it wasn't that difficult. Both cameras are back in operation and I feel confident that I can pretty much take care of whatever may go wrong with them in the future.
So, now when I find a inoperative RF on the cheap I grab it!
So, now when I find a inoperative RF on the cheap I grab it!
Excellent point, Joe.
Good for you, fixing your FSU cameras like that!
I replaced the ribbons in the shutter of my Kiev 4a in 2002 with a few camera repair tools and some guidance from Rick Oleson's website. To be fair, it wasn't altogether trivial, but with a bit of patience I proved that even a total novice in such matters can do it. The camera has worked flawlessly ever since. From what Rick says, in ten or twenty years I might need to do it again. Not scary at all now that I know what to do.
The internet has changed so much in our lives. Google has empowered so many to do so much that they would have never attempted in the past.
Happy day.
Good for you, fixing your FSU cameras like that!
I replaced the ribbons in the shutter of my Kiev 4a in 2002 with a few camera repair tools and some guidance from Rick Oleson's website. To be fair, it wasn't altogether trivial, but with a bit of patience I proved that even a total novice in such matters can do it. The camera has worked flawlessly ever since. From what Rick says, in ten or twenty years I might need to do it again. Not scary at all now that I know what to do.
The internet has changed so much in our lives. Google has empowered so many to do so much that they would have never attempted in the past.
Happy day.
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