maxwailes

I think a screwmount Leica has been suggested more times to me than anything else which suggests it might be the right way to go. I think if I can find a nice Russar with finder and stick it on a 'K' version of one of the III series then I would have my perfect camera. I have considered these extensively and also found that you can get the lenses from them in L39 mount which might actually combine well with the screwmount Leica idea... I'm afraid I'm not looking for a digital at the moment. I've specifically tried staying away from battery power because I want the camera to be as reliable as possibly and offer me complete reliability in almost any condition and, whilst I know that there are a lot of battery powered cameras that can do that and I would probably never have a problem, there's just a peace of mind I relate to mechanical cameras. I find that a lot of places I want to go and shoot are increasingly very cold places and having a mechanical camera would be better for me in that situation; especially if I was camping and didn't have access to mains power to charge batteries for extended periods of time. I've had a few of them in the past and always liked them but the 40mm lens is just too long for what I want it for; that's originally what made me start looking for something similar. I have checked out this site and there are some really interesting cameras on there but not much in the way of things wider than 35mm unfortunately. I would probably mix the two up similar to the way I mentioned at the top of this comment for a Leica with a wide lens because I'm realising that 35mm is just not wide enough. I've had a look at this list and most seem to be 35mm lenses apart from the Kowa. I thought you were onto a winner there with the Minolta Auto Wide due to the way they've written the aperture/focal length on the lens but it turns out they've just done it the opposite way round to normal (2.8/35) and it looked like it was fitted with a 28mm f3.5 which would have been perfect! Oh well! They are but they're very beautiful and sturdy as far as I've heard. They would be the perfect example of what I'm looking for.

I had considered that but the size difference between the CL and my M6 is minimal enough that I don't mind the extra bulk as a trade off for not buying another camera. The Voigtlander lenses are nice though even so there are a couple of other lenses that I have been reminded of that I would prefer

Those are some good suggestions, I like the idea of the Olympus so I might have to have a look into it, thankyou!

Yeah I'm finding it's one of the only combinations of camera that hasn't been made properly. I hadn't considered a Werra! I think there's just something about them I'm not fond of though and I would rather go for something like an Olympus XA or even an Ilford Advocate which both have 35mm lenses although the XA isn't mechanical it does have aperture priority which is good enough.

Good suggestions but all the Minox I know of are battery powered fully automatic exposure cameras with 35mm lenses which is just too narrow for what I want unfortunately. The Petri Color 35 would be perfect were it not for the 40mm lens. Not massively familiar with other Petri's but I think they're mainly rangefinders and Color 35 adaptations with various frivolities added. I've considered that I might have to graft a wide lens onto a Rollei 35 but the Petri is another good option so thankyou!

Hi all, I've been through camera after camera in search of one that fits what I want but I can't seem to find the right one. I'm looking for a mechanical compact camera, with a wide lens (wider than 35mm at least) that's reasonably fast, manual exposure, and uses scale focus. Something in between a Fuji Natura 1.9 and a Rollei 35. I'm thinking it might just come down to finding the right lens for my Leica and leaving it at that so I suppose that's the second part of my post; what wide lenses would people recommend for Leica that would essentially make it into an overgrown compact? Something similar to the Voigtlander 25mm Skopar but more pancake-esque possibly...