Aperture-priority auto-exposure rangefinder with lens around 40mm, f/2?

At the moment I am quite happy with my Voigtländer VF101

rangefinder. I really love that camera and it has served me well in

difficult situations. I am still surprised how accurate the

aperture-priority auto-exposure feature is, although it is not perfect

in low light (with shutter speeds up to 4 seconds!). It is a very

convenient camera and the four-element Color-Skopar 40mm f/2.8

produces wonderful images.<p>

But sometimes I wish it had a little larger aperture wide open, and

maybe a little wider lens, or that I could set a faster speed than ISO

400. I read a lot of websites on old 60s and 70s rangefinder cameras,

but most cameras seem to lack the aperture-priority feature which is a

must for me (for my everyday carry-around camera).<br>I am NOT looking

for full AE (like the Canonet 28 has) or shutter-priority AE. I really

hate shutter-priority and think it is a totally stupid design that

might look great on a design sheet but is pretty inconvenient in the

field.<p>Minox cameras (and their copies) seem to be an expensive but

viable alternative. I will definitively try the Olympus XA in the near

future, although it also is "only" f/2.8 wide open. But what are your

further recommendations for another aperture-priority rangefinder? Do

you know of any that are affordable (e.g. not Leica, Contax or modern

Voigtländer)? Are there any?<div></div>

Have you thought about a Konica Hexar AF. It has a fast 35mm lens that is razor sharp, excellent Auto-focus or manual focus, and geat meter.

Well, the Konica Hexar AF sure sounds nice, but... NO rangefinder (and I am not into autofocus) and WAAYYY too pricey. I paid only €17 (incl. p&p) for my second, not beaten up VF101 (after purchasing the one above for €10). I don't like carrying around a camera that cost hundreds of $ or €, sorry.

Have you tried the Konica Mike?

Good question most compact RF cameras are shutter priority. I think this is because they have mechanical shutters. This being the most suitable technology of the day. You have the choice of a few aperture priority cameras, and a few meter manual cameras.

 

For aperture priority cameras there is the Yashica X 35 line where X is CC, GSN, and letters like such. These are big cameras with no option of manualy setting the shutter and aperture. The Olympus XA has aperature priority, and unlike the Yashicas the shutter speed is displayed in the viewfinder. The Yashicas have faster lenses, the Olympus has a 35mm lens. There is a rare Yashica with aperture priority AE, and 35mm focal length. (BTW, aperture pri. AE is better than shutter pri. AE, IMHO).

 

The compact RFs with meter manual include Olympus SP, Yashica Lynx 14, and Petri Colour 35. The SP is slightly smaller than Yashica, the Petri is smaller than most cameras. I should add I only have experience with the SP.

Lynxes are big brutes, not that much more compact than a small SLR. More to the point of Bueh's question, they're generally pricey. The Minolta Hi-matic was available with a f1.8 lens of good quality and I'm pretty sure at least one model was aperture priority, although nearly all had a full manual mode. They come up fairly cheaply these days though I don't know about 10 euros....

{Aperture-priority auto-exposure rangefinder with lens around 40mm, f/2?}

 

Only one 70s AE rangefinder I know of that fits your criterion, the Minolta CLE.

Great. Now tell us all where you saw a Minolta CLE for 10 euros......

>Only one 70s AE rangefinder I know of that fits your criterion, the Minolta CLE.

 

Only it wasn't available until 1981.

How could I have forgotten the Yashicas?! Of course, the GSN's (etc.) are aperture-priority. I have one and while the results with slide film were okay, I think the VF101 is more accurate. I even have the wide and tele adapters, but never used them actually (f/4 is a real bummer). And the Yashicas are pretty large, heavy cameras...<p>

I have the Lynx 14 (well, in fact I have two, one 14E beaten-up, with light fungus and dead electronics, and a nice 14 -- got each for around €35) but it is not aperture-priority. But as the light meter is nearly 40 years old I only use the camera with my electronic incident meter, a slow, not very inconspicuous approach. Still, I think it is a classy camera with a great lens and a very quiet leaf shutter. I got nice results shooting a night-time street protest with 1/15 and f/1.4 at ISO 400, but the rangefinder is pretty dim and useless in low-light situations (back to guestimating). Besides, the camera is a real beast and way too bulky to fit in my coat pocket.<p>

I couldn't verify that there is a Hi-Matic model with aperture-priority. While there are (and I have) tons of cameras with AE and/or manual metered controls, aperture-priority seems to be not too common. I wish the Canonet 17 wasn't shutter-priority. Matt has a <b><a href="http://homepage.mac.com/mattdenton/photo/cameras/chinon_35eeii.html" target="_new">Chinon 35EE II</a></b> that seems to be AP. Maybe I will check that out when I find one, as well as the Yashica 35 CC. I already knew of the Minolta CLE, but price-wise this is Leica territory, unfortunately.

As you seem to be located in Europe: The Chinon 35EE was sold by the German mail oder company "Foto Quelle" as "Revue 400 EE". I got one of those of ebay.de for less than 5Eur.

Why not just set a shutter speed that gives you the aperture you want? It is easy to estimate the f stop using the sunny 16 rule.

Olymbus XA, lens is a f/2.8 like you say but this is a really tiny camera with true

rangefinder focusing and aperture-priority exposure. Because it is so small you can

hand-hold it or balance it on a beer can for low-light. Literally smaller than almost

everything else, the size of a pack of cigarettes. A lot of camera in a small package.

 

Canon GIII QL 17 -- has the 40mm f/1.7 lens, very popular camera, not sure about

aperture priority but has full manual controls for both shutter speeds + apertures.

 

AGFA Optima 1535 -- only sold in Europe, another small true rangefinder with a

friendly big orange shutter button. check these out.

 

NB. in the long run you may be better off with a totally manual shutter rather than an

aperture-priority electric set-up because the electronics will fail in the next 5-10

years and it will be very hard to get parts. Whereas all mechanical cameras can always

be repaired (albeit at high cost as time goes by...)

Yashica Electro35 CC is the answer to your question. 35mm f/1.8 lens of excellent quality, aperture priority autoexposure with a very accurate meter, uses current batteries, relatively small body [NOT the gsn size but more like canonet ql17 giii], black painted it even looks cool, iso settable up to 800 i think [might be 500 only - can't check, the one i had was stolen in january].

 

disadvantage is that it's somewhat rare and more expensive than the gsn. and max sh speed is 1/250.

 

If wider than 40mm lens is no serious criterion, the gsn is the answer. iso1000, 45/1.7 excellent lens, aperture priority, shutter speeds automatic down to 30 seconds [or more], simple and good.

The Canonet GIII 17 is shutter priority and the Agfa 1535 is full autoexposure with no manual settings, like the Canonet 28.

What really bugs me about the Yashica 35 CC is that the camera reportedly switches to 1/30 sec shutter speed once you plug in a flash unit. I could really use a camera for low light photography with flash and "B" or normal exposure times (several seconds) sometimes. And the minimum focus distance is also not so great for a lens this wide.

Weren't the Minolta Hi-Matics aperture priority? I never had one, but I had that impression from somewhere...

Rick, the hi-matic 9 i have is full-auto or metered full-manual.

Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII: 40mm f/1.7