Interchangeable lens rangefinder

Sir SR

Sir SR

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Apart from the lovely leicas anybody have any recommendations.

No objection to leicas but the lenses are also very pricey!!

I really like the portability of my petri with its 45 f1.8 fixed lens. A camera that actually fits in my coat pocket!
 
Mmm. Contax... :)

... and, of course, various Russian made Feds, Zorkis, Kievs etc.
 
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Konica Hexar RF. One of a number of Leica M mount compatible rangefinders.
 
If you want a bit more competition in the lens market, maybe one of the L39 screw mount rangefinders? As well as the classic Leicas, there are the various Russian knock-offs, ad a range of Voigtlander screw mount cameras as well.

I had a Leitz Minolta CL (M mount) with a lovely M-Rokkor 40mm f/2 lens, and a Voigtlander Bessa R3A that used the same lens, but sold them both when I began to research the market for other focal lengths!
 
L39 screw mount rangefinder, you say?


Canon P Collection by Strappy, on Flickr

That's my Canon P with 50mm f/1.4, 35mm f/2 and 100mm f/2. It's fully manual with no meter and absolutely gorgeous. Produces results like this on Agfa Vista 400.


Arundel-4 by Strappy, on Flickr

And this on Tri-X.


Hitching Iron by Strappy, on Flickr

I looked around for a while before settling on the P, it doesn't carry the kudos of a Leica, Nikon or Contax so can often be found a bit cheaper. Same cannot be said for the lenses, particularly as they can be used on all sorts of mirrorless cameras, the 50mm in particular seems to have a bit of a following. Single dial for shutter speeds up to 1/1000th and framelines for the three focal lengths I've got are in the finder, which is 1:1 so it's possible to use the camera with both eyes open.

There aren't many known problems, the rangefinder goes out of sync but it's so simple to reset that I check it every time I go out. Horizontal adjustment doesn't even need tools and I've done it standing in a field before now. The biggest issue is creases in the shutter blades. The shutter curtains aren't cloth (so no possibility of burning a hole in them) but very thin steel blades. Given the age of these cameras, they can crease just through wear; mine has a couple of light creases that have absolutely zero impact and I haven't read any horror stories but it's worth checking that they don't look like tinfoil!

I also have a Zorki 4 that is your typical Russian brick. The Jupiter and Industar lenses are surprisingly good but also have a following.
 
Nikon do the S series which are highly regarded, but they are expensive. My suggestion, and it is always my suggestion as I'm definitely a fan, is a Voigtlander. They are 95% of Leica quality for a quarter the cost. The lenses are excellent and are Leica m fit (you can also get an adapter to use Leica screw fit lenses), and the rangefinder patch is huge and bright especially in the R3a/R4a versions.

Andy
 
Andysnap said:
Nikon do the S series which are highly regarded, but they are expensive. My suggestion, and it is always my suggestion as I'm definitely a fan, is a Voigtlander. They are 95% of Leica quality for a quarter the cost. The lenses are excellent and are Leica m fit (you can also get an adapter to use Leica screw fit lenses), and the rangefinder patch is huge and bright especially in the R3a/R4a versions.

Andy
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... and IIRC the Bessa R3A also has a 1:1 viewfinder, which is nice. It's a glorious camera. But you've got M lens prices to contend with... OTOH there are some very good and well-priced non-Leica M lenses, as well as adapters for L39 lenses (do these still work with the RF?)...

One of the advantages of the better M film rangefinders is that they can be viewed as essentially free! I mean that, when you sell them again, you have a very good chance of making back what you paid for them. A novel concept in today's digital photography marketplace!
 
A leica M body or if you prefer focal lengths wider than 35mm, a Bessa R4A with some moderately priced Voigtlander Skopar glass

Having a Leica body doesn't mean that Leica glass is obligatory......even some Jupiter lenses are perfectly adequate
 
I guess I like doing portraits, shallow dof is something I also enjoy with the added benefit of low light capability. The ability to use it with the studio flash is also a consideration.

I like the idea of having a small camera that I can actually take with me when out and about too.

I like (or should that be I leica) the idea of a Leica but couldn't afford to spend the crazy amount on high quality lenses!
 
The Voigtlander R3a has framelines for 40 / 50 / 75 and 90mm lenses and as Chris says it does have a 1:1 viewfinder, stunningly bright. The Voigtlander 75mm f1.8 VM Heliar is a perfect portrait lens with a nice shallow dof.
 
Andysnap said:
The Voigtlander R3a has framelines for 40 / 50 / 75 and 90mm lenses and as Chris says it does have a 1:1 viewfinder, stunningly bright. The Voigtlander 75mm f1.8 VM Heliar is a perfect portrait lens with a nice shallow dof.
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What sort of price for the body/lenses on the open market?
 
I sold my Bessa R3A body on here for £280, it was for sale elsewhere for £100 more than that without takers.

One tiny caveat, a few M lenses don't work with it due to the possibility of some of them hitting the shutter, see this post from my sale thread... (the post points to and quotes a post on Cameraquest, an authoritative source on Voigtlander stuff).
 
Sir SR said:
What sort of price for the body/lenses on the open market?
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Mid to high £300's for the R3a body, the lenses, well, depends on what you are after. You can pick up Jupiter lenses for £60-70 but the actual Voigtlander lenses are considerable more (not as much as Leica though.

Ffordes have a fair selection and they are at the high side of reasonable.
http://www.ffordes.co.uk/category/L...cending&PageIndex=1&SortExpression=SalesPrice

Obviously you can get an occasional bargain on ebay. I really liked the 40mm Nokton f1.4 on my old R3a, cracking little lens and pin sharp, I've never used anything longer so I can't recommend other than to say that I don't think you will go far wrong with any of the Voigtlander lenses.
 
Sir SR said:
What sort of price for the body/lenses on the open market?
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As it happens I might just have the perfect portrait lens for you. Voigtlander 90mm f3.5. Leica screw fit but it also comes complete with genuine voigtlander L39/Leica M adapter.

I can post in the classifieds if you're interested, once you've decided on your preferred choice of camera of course ;)
 
One thing to note about some of the non-Leica rangefinders is that they often have a shorter RF base (or whatever it's called... the distance between the many viewfinder window and the rangefinder window). This limits the accuracy of the rangefinder, which is typically a problem at wider apertures. So for example, my Leitz Minolta CL (and the subsequent Minolta CLE) was not recommended for lenses wider than f/2. The Bessa R3A however can take lenses up to at least f/1.4.
 
If you fancy trying a fully manual LTM rangefinder, I've just put one in the Classifieds here. ;)
 
Strappy said:
If you fancy trying a fully manual LTM rangefinder, I've just put one in the Classifieds here. ;)
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I think I'm going to save up for one of the cameras mentioned above. I already have a trip which is not being used yet. Enjoying using the petri and the bronica!

Trying to explain to the wife why I want a Leica

Along side the bronica/ petri/trip/d800/d750

I kind of see her point!!
 
The trick is to have enough cameras that when t'missus asks if that's a new one, you can say, "what, this old thing? Nah, had this knocking around for ages." ;)
 
Sir SR said:
Hmmm. I've put my d750 up for sale.........
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Ah, the final step onto the greasy, slippery slope to total filmaholic :D
 
Sir SR said:
We are supposed to be curbing the spending as we're getting a campervan[emoji15][emoji15][emoji15]
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What are you looking at, classic VW or one that works?
 
Sir SR said:
I think I'm going to save up for one of the cameras mentioned above. I already have a trip which is not being used yet. Enjoying using the petri and the bronica!

Trying to explain to the wife why I want a Leica

Along side the bronica/ petri/trip/d800/d750

I kind of see her point!!
Click to expand...

Well what I preach and never practice is.."know your camera and film" o_O h'mm for me I have a system where I can buy any lens going for peanuts and have a camera body to fit..and I've ended up with loads of 35mm cameras, so never really get to know most of em :rolleyes:
 
Some of the LTM Cosina-Voigtlander lenses are very good, and they work fine with M- mount adapters. Also much cheaper than the later M-mount versions. I have the 35mm Color Skopar and 90mm Apo-Lanthar, and they're both excellent (modern glass and superb bang for the buck - compared to Leica glass, they're like 90% of the lens for 10% of the cost if buying second hand). The Skopar on my M2 is one of the best camera & lens combinations I've ever used. I also have an old Jupiter-3 50mm f1.5, but these need to be adjusted for accuracy at close focus if used on a Leica (partial dismantle, and need a camera with a back that opens to expose the film plane, if I remember correctly). Something to do with having a Contax focussing helicoid, which has a different pitch from Leica, meaning the displacement of the rangefinder lever in a Leica is wrong for the lens. Calibrating it for accuracy at close focus means infinity goes slightly out, but DoF takes care of the error at that end.

At the cheaper end of things, a Zorki 4 or 4K is hard to beat for value and usability, but can be more of a gamble because they tend to not to be as well maintained as the higher end stuff. (I have a 4 that's well worn and works fine, and 4K in much better condition but has a sluggish shutter - hardly used over the decades and now a bit gummed up).

Most lenses will be fine on the Bessas regarding reach into the film chamber. It's only those with rear elements that extend a long way that are at risk - like the FSU Juipter-12 35mm (Zeiss Biogon copy with a huge mushroom rear element). (That lens is fine on Leicas, incidentally.)
 
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