favorite small normal 35mm pocketable cameras?

[mark_hahn]

just wondering what people like in this genre... am I missing something...

doesn't have to be the greatest or fastest lens... just little 35's with 50mm

lenses that will fit in your pocket. All the *newer small 35's are 40mm or less...

 

thanks!

[winfried_buechsenschuetz1]

A 50mm lens and a pocketable camera might be hard to find since all camera manufacturers turned to 40mm or even a bit less in the early 70s or so.

 

The early Retinas (Retina I) come to my mind, they come with a 45mm lens but of course have no lightmeter (the later Retinas have one but they are much heavier and somewhat bulky even with the lens retracted).

[tony_lockerbie]

A Retina 3C, Voigtlander Vitessa or Agfa Karat 36. These are not really very compact like an Olmypus RC or XA but do fold down to a big pocket size and all have 50's.

 

Tony

[mharris]

Rollei35 or a Minox. I'd go Rollei since finding a Minox with a working shutter is a nightmare.

[mharris]

oops sorry I didn't see that you wanted a 50mm. Nevermind :)

[robert_mounier]

Voigtlander Vito II is the most pocketable camera with 50mm lens. Another choice must be Agfa Super Solinette, this one with a build in rangefinder.

[kevin h. y. lui.]

Rollei 35, Retina IIIc, Vitessa (Very good at snap shot), Vito series. Vitoret series too!

[colin carron]

If you have ro have a 50mm then I agree with Winfried the early Retina series stand out. The later ones got a bit heavy for the pocket.

 

Otherwise I would go for the Olympus Trip 35 (original) or one of its older brothers like the Olympus 35 RC. These had 40mm lenses but the quality is so good you could crop to 50mm quite easily.

[michael_p2]

The Leica III with a 50mm collapsible Elmar is just about pocketable - flat but heavyish. If I want something really small and light I use the Olympus XA, which has the very nice Zuiko 35mm lens.

[Andy Collins]

If it has to be 50mm, then I would have to choose the Retina IIIc as my choice for pocketable camera, as long as the meter continues to work, or the impressive Vito II, which is very pocketable. Less than 50mm, I'd choose the 35RC or 35DC which brings a fast f/1.7 to the table and is the definition of simplicity. The XA is also a great choice for a pocketable camera that can deliver superb results as well.

[charles_stobbs3]

Retina Ia, IIa, Agfa Solinette (Ansco Regent).

[Brian]

My Vito I has the 5cm Skopar so it meets your criteria. However, I don't rate it much as a user because the viewfinder is so hopeless. I'd go for the Oly 35RC, though it's 40mm.

[Troll]

Personally, I prefer a shorter lens (if I'm only going to have the one size). The Olympus XA (35mm lens) was my choice for "35mm pocketable." My Retina IIa (50mm lens) is small enough for a jacket pocket, but too heavy.<P>Honestly, although I carried a Minox in my pocket for 40 years (no smart-ass comments, please), for the last three years I've been carrying a little digital camera with zoom in my breast pocket -- first a Minolta Xt (wonderful), and now a SONY T-100 (big mistake).<P>I think you should consider a CANON SD1000.

[carbon_dragon]

There are lots of candidates except for the 50mm restriction. I'm thinking maybe a Leica IIIf BD or IIIc with either an elmar 50 or a Summitar 50 (both collapsable) and a Voigtlander clip on meter.

 

Another candidate might be the Leica CL with a 50mm lens, except that the meter prohibits (I think) the collapsable lenses.

 

The Kodak Retina IIa is a nice small package but you will need the clip on meter.

 

Maybe the Canon 7 (with a working meter) and a collapsable 50mm lens. Only this camera is a bit bulky.

[kentish_townie]

Hi Mark,

 

If you can put up with a 45mm lens, rather than a 50mm, I would happily recommend the

Zeiss Ikon Contessa. It's a neat, little, folding, coupled rangefinder with a very nice coated

Tessar lens. The focussing is easy and accurate and, so far (only had it a few weeks), I'm

happy with the results.

[mike_gillespie]

I use the following and like the results: Retina IIIc, Vito II and III, Super Ikonta IV, Leica IIIf with collapsible elmar, used to use vitessa with ultron, the folding vitessa, but the advance pushrod is troublesome, by far the most pocketable is the vito II, and a great lens, no rf though.

[skygzr]

The Olympus XA. It doesn't meet the "classic" criteria but it's a great camera anyway.

 

When it's closed there are no sharp edges or awkward bumps. You really can keep it in your pocket.

[doug grosjean]

Olympus XA, seconded.

 

Was my first real camera, bought new by me out of high school in the early 1980s, and still a joy to use.

[Matthew Currie]

I've carried around one or the other XA2 for many years. I know the lens is 35 mm, and it's newer, but it's pretty hard to beat as a pocket camera. The Rollei 35 is fun, but not really all that handy to use in a hurry. The Olympus 35RC comes closer to the ideal, and a little closer to the desired focal length, but it's not quite as pocketable as the XA family. The tradoff with the short focal length is the ability to take quick, unaimed shots, even surreptitiously. The XA2 is the ideal "hip shot" camera, and at family events, weddings, etc., I always carry one, even if I'm using something else as well.

 

Back when they were cheap and abundant, I used my Leica IIIb and collapsible Summar lens as a pocket camera, caseless, or slipped into an old sock! It seems a little over the top these days, though. Nowadays I'd have to get a fancier sock.

[richard_moore5]

I have a preference for solid metal-bodied cameras although I do agree the XA is a nice little camera. I gave my XA and XA4 to my daughter and her boyfriend respectively as presents.

 

I like pocketable cameras and use my Rollei 35 and 35S ubiquitously. I also use a Retina II (lovely Xenon lens) and a couple of Tessar-lensed folding Zeiss Continas (I and II) fairly frequently which also give nice results.

 

For a 50mm lens small camera (but I need my coat with the bigger pockets for them because they're like little bricks) I've had excellent results with Voigtlander Vito Bs and their good Skopar lenses. Unfortunately their big brother (or sister) the Vitomatic IIa is just a little large to get into a pocket.

[tim_huggins]

A Pen Ft with a 38mm, f2.8 pancake lens is about as pocketable as you can get. The 38mm lens at half frame is equivalent to a 55mm lens at full frame, so it meets your requirements nicely.

[minhnguyen9113]

If 40mm lens works for you, Canonet QL 17 is the one.

[glenn_mabbutt]

<b>Matthew Currie</b> - <i>Back when they were cheap and abundant, I used my Leica IIIb and collapsible Summar lens as a pocket camera, caseless, or slipped into an old sock! It seems a little over the top these days, though. Nowadays I'd have to get a fancier sock.</i>

<p>

If only this board supported signatures :)

[ellis_davison]

Just a comment to the Canon 7 suggestion - many collapsable lenses will gouge the interior baffles when retracted. Found this out the hard way with a 50 mm Leitz Summitar. Although a great camera, not much of a candidate here any way - a bit big and heavy.

[mike_gillespie]

Forgot about the Contina folders, they are great, very small and thin, tessar lens, and non coupled r/f, best of all they can be had for next to nothing on e bay. The Contessa is better has meter and coupled r/f but much heavier and thicker.