Besides 35mm rangefinders, another (pricey) candidate might be in medium format, such as the Mamiya 7. It has an
almost silent leaf shutter in the lenses, and can be used both in manual and auto modes. The shutter is battery powered
and the meter takes its readings from a small area just below the center of the frame. The camera is roughly the size of a
full-frame DSLR, but probably weighs less, and the lenses are not massive either. A roll of 120 film yields just 10 large
exposures, which means that you won't have to make 36 exposures before developing your film.
Also, there are just a handful of amazing lenses to choose from, which although not cheap, compare very favorably with
high- end 35mm choices.
It also depends, however, on one's artistic sensibility. Mamiya is almost clinically precise. Being able to mount Soviet
lenses, and whatever other fun things out there, could point towards the M-mount lens choice universe. Heaven help me
with that one!
