Question:
Hi, I am going to buy a backup for my SLR. I think about not very expensive, bright full frame rangefinder. Compact PS’s don’t allow manual mode. Medium wide angle lens is enough for me. Private investigation results: Olympus 35RD Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII Konica Auto S3 Canonet GIII QL17 Ricoh 500G I am happy to know your opinions and/or other solutions. Best regards – Marek
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I am going to buy a backup for my SLR. I think about not very expensive, bright full frame rangefinder. Compact PS’s don’t allow manual mode. Medium wide angle lens is enough for me. Private investigation results: Olympus 35RD Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII Konica Auto S3 Canonet GIII QL17 Ricoh 500G I am happy to know your opinions and/or other solutions. Best regards – Marek
Not familiar with the Ricoh, but any one of the others is up to the job. All kinds of these are on ebay, but the Canonet’s are by far the most common. I have two of them and they take great photos. For an evaluation of these go to http://cameraquest.com/classics.htm
Response:
Hi, I am going to buy a backup for my SLR. I think about not very expensive, bright full frame rangefinder. Compact PS’s don’t allow manual mode. Medium wide angle lens is enough for me. Private investigation results: Olympus 35RD
I don’t have this one, but it’s on my list. This is one of the later model Olympus compact rangefinders, all of which were pretty nice. It uses the unobtainable 625 mercury battery (USA, anyway); you would need to consider one of the work-arounds in powering the meter. Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII
Some folks swear by these. I have found the Minolta compact rangefinders, in general, a bit too cheaply made (well, other their their collaborations with Leica). Konica Auto S3
This is a wonderful camera, with one of the best lenses ever — nice and wide, too, at 38mm/f-1.8. I’ve been looking for one, at a good price, for years. It doesn’t meet your qualifications, though, as it’s aperature-priority auto-only, no manual speeds. If you get one, get the flash, too; the S3 has the most sophisticated automatic flash coupling system in any rangefinder of the day. Canonet GIII QL17
I have one of these; highly recommended. These are fairly easy to find, too, since Canon sold over a million of them, in the model’s 10-year run. The 40mm f-1.7 lens is nice and sharp. It’s got a nice, comfortably large film-advance lever for this class of camera. It has manual settings, but you don’t get the meter with these (like many of these types, the meter simply sets the exposure and tells you about it, it’s not geared to work as an uncoupled meter). The viewfinder is bright, and has real, moving parallex correction marks, kind of rare in this class of camera. The one downside (and really, this is the only thing I have a problem with — I still actively use mine) is that, like many early-to-mid 70s cameras, the GIII QL17 takes the 1.35V 625 mercury cell, which is outlawed in the USA. You can easily use the 1.5V alkaline version, 76A, but these are far from ideal — they start out high, but die slowly, so you’ll be well below 1.35V before they croak outright. The reason everyone used mercury was that they stayed dead-on at voltage until the bitter end. Silver oxide batteries are similar in this respect, and you can get a 1.5V silver oxide in the 76S type. Ideally, you’d have a regulator added, or (if possible, and opinions vary) a recalibration of the meter for 1.5V, to make this really work. I generally use the 76S and adjust the film speed. Given today’s latitudes, this gives results well within the capabilities of the camera, at least for print film. There are other solutions. Ricoh 500G
I don’t know a great deal about this one. However, the combination of the relatively slow f-2.8 lens and that same mercury battery would rule it out for me. One of the main advantages of the small rangefinders is a fast, sharp lens. I am happy to know your opinions and/or other solutions. Best regards – Marek
"Whomever dies with the most cameras wins"
Response:
HI Also consider the Minolta Hi-Matic 7s. It is a little different to the 7sII It is fully auto or fully manual and the meter works in the manual mode which some other cameras don’t. Allan
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I am going to buy a backup for my SLR. I think about not very expensive, bright full frame rangefinder. Compact PS’s don’t allow manual mode. Medium wide angle lens is enough for me. Private investigation results: Olympus 35RD Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII Konica Auto S3 Canonet GIII QL17 Ricoh 500G I am happy to know your opinions and/or other solutions. Best regards – Marek
Response:
Thanks Dave for explanation, I don’t have this one, but it’s on my list. This is one of the later model Olympus compact rangefinders, all of which were pretty nice. It uses the unobtainable 625 mercury battery (USA, anyway); you would need to consider one of the work-arounds in powering the meter.
I live in Poland, here PX625 is easy available for 1.5$. I have bought one last week for my Yama124G. Konica Auto S3 This is a wonderful camera, with one of the best lenses ever — nice and wide, too, at 38mm/f-1.8. I’ve been looking for one, at a good price, for years. It doesn’t meet your qualifications, though, as it’s aperature-priority auto-only, no manual speeds.
The compensation by film speed change is enough for me. But S3 is quite rare on ebay in Europe. I like it too:-) Canonet GIII QL17 I have one of these; highly recommended.,,,
I won an auction for it and I am waiting for delivery. To be precise, it.s also a heaviest in the family. But I hope I will be satisfied with mine. Otherwise I will put it in the auction again, Battery is not a problem, see above. Best regards – Marek
Response:
HI Also consider the Minolta Hi-Matic 7s. It is a little different to the 7sII It is fully auto or fully manual and the meter works in the manual mode which some other cameras don’t. Allan
Also have one of these. Bright viewfinder and great metering sytem for this class of camera. The downside is the larger size of the camera and the slightly less wide 45mm lens.
Response:
I assume you want it to have a built in meter, but that you aren’t requiring interchangeable lenses. I’ve had the 7sII and was dissapointed with the quality of the lens. Maybe I had a bad one. I also didn’t like the fact that metering only worked in automatic mode (not in manual). I also had a 7s and though it was significantly larger and heavier (close to SRT101 size), the lens was much better and it was also much cheaper. Don’t know much about the others you mention. However, if you’re willing to do without a rangefinder and scalefocus you might consider the Minox 35GT or it’s later cousins. Very small, very compact, very light, great lens, good meter. No manual mode though. If you can do without the meter, the Konica postwar cameras such as the Konica III can be a great, rugged camera with a great lens and a bright clear viewfinder. No meter though. There is one with a meter, but it’s fragile, avoid it. For a little more money, the Canon 7 can be a pretty decent buy. Leica thread mount lenses (50’s are cheap), built in selenium meter that seems to be pretty accurate (mine is at least), great viewfinder/rangefinder, and a pleasant rugged body. The 7s’s and the 7sZ’s are pricy, but the 7 isn’t too bad with a 50 attached. Anyway, good luck whatever you buy. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I am going to buy a backup for my SLR. I think about not very expensive, bright full frame rangefinder. Compact PS’s don’t allow manual mode. Medium wide angle lens is enough for me. Private investigation results: Olympus 35RD Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII Konica Auto S3 Canonet GIII QL17 Ricoh 500G I am happy to know your opinions and/or other solutions. Best regards – Marek
Before you buy.
Response:
The Konica S3 does have both manually settable shutter speeds and apertures. Or at least my two do. When the battery (or electronics) fail you lose the meter but not the shutter or aperture. Very nice camera. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This is a wonderful camera, with one of the best lenses ever — nice and wide, too, at 38mm/f-1.8. I’ve been looking for one, at a good price, for years. It doesn’t meet your qualifications, though, as it’s aperature-priority auto-only, no manual speeds. If you get one, get the flash, too; the S3 has the most sophisticated automatic flash coupling system in any rangefinder of the day.
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