Cheapish film camera required...

Ross_Curtis

Ross_Curtis

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A friend at work is looking into getting a high quality well made film camera. He doesn't know much about cameras, however his benchmark is the Olympus trip which he seems to think is the greatest camera ever made (I don't think Ken Rockwells 5D comparison helped), he wants something nice to hold and use like an X100 but with film (manual focus is OK). Unfortunately I don't know that much about them (other than owning a Bronica ETRSi before I got into digital) so am unable to offer much advise.

He's looking to spend a few hundren pounds, and is happy with a fixed lens, ideally between 35 and 50mm.

There is a beautiful looking Voitlander rangefinder in the for sale section which looks superb, although it might be slightly over budget. Although this might push his skill set a little.

Any reccomendations?
 
Definitely wants 35mm? Any particular brand loyalties (for compatibility with a digital body he may have?).
 
I'd say for ease of processing I think 35mm would be best. No brand loyalty or the need for using lenses on a digital body.
 
I have the Voigtlander R3A and if I didn't I would definitely be biting the hand off the seller for the R4A in the classifieds. Bargain. Its small, light, a doddle to use, produces superb images and is a Leica M fit so you have loads of Leica, Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses to choose from and you don't get much better than that.

Heres one from my R3A


Meall-nan-Dearcag by andysnapper1, on Flickr

Cheers

Andy
 
Thanks Andy,

You can't fault the image quality, very sharp.

I'll certainly speak with him tomorrow and suggest this camera, very tempted myself!
 
albeit a very expensive system to buy into, and image quality which is perfectly obtainable with Nikkor, Canon, Zuiko and other manufacturers' glass. There are hundreds of excellent film SLR systems out there, rangefinders are not the only solution.
 
There's any number of possibilities here, from a Zorki 4k/Fed 2, Leica compacts, the Hexar RF, maybe a Zeiss Ikon (Contax IIa?), Nikon rangefinder (S3 if you're lucky), Canon Demi half frame... heaven forbid you could actually suggest an Oly Trip 35, or XA if they like the look of it ;)
 
Don't do the trip down, its actually an awesome camera for the pittance it costs now. Superb lens that takes lovely images! ;)
 
Ross_Curtis said:
He's looking to spend a few hundred pounds,
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Cheapish! Apart from a couple of Nikons and my Voigtlander nearly all of my film cameras came in under a £100 and most of them a lot less than £30.

If he wants to spend a few hundred I'd be looking at the Voigtlanders and maybe the Hexar.
 
If he likes the trip, then one of the Olympus rangefinders from the same generation would seem a good way to go. The 35 SP is the top of the range, but I like my 35 RC. Nice lens and quick to focus. I use it in fully manual, but you should be able to get one, get it CLA'd and get its meter adapted for modern batteries well within budget. He can use the spare cash for filters and film. It's a bit heavier than the trip, but it's a similar size and slips into cargo pant pockets nicely.
 
RaglanSurf said:
Cheapish! Apart from a couple of Nikons and my Voigtlander nearly all of my film cameras came in under a £100 and most of them a lot less than £30.

If he wants to spend a few hundred I'd be looking at the Voigtlanders and maybe the Hexar.
Click to expand...

Agreed - aside from the EOS-3 body and the Bronny, everything else has been under £30. :naughty: Of course the glass for the EOS-3 has probably come to about £3k by now, and I still really like a 24mm t/s and maybe a zeiss distagon 21mm ZE :thinking:
 
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