Pocket non-electronic 35mm compacts

[dg1]

I hope this isn't off topic, but this seems to me like the best forum to pose

this question (comprised as it is of so many film luddites ... just

kidding..sort of).

 

I'd like to get a nice 35mm pocket camera, but I don't really want another

electronic type like the Stylus Epic, T4, or that ilk. You know where you half

press the shutter the lens makes a motor sound and moves into position and all

that.

 

What I'd like is a small all mechanical compact light enough and small enough to

pocket in at least a jacket. I'm aware of the Rollei 35 and I'm considering

finding one, but I'd appreciate any other suggestions, or advice on this.

[ken munn]

Olympus XA. I've still got one somewhere. Must find it and give it an expedition.

[john_shriver]

The Olympus XA is very very quiet, since it has manual film advance. Tiny rangefinder, not that easy to use, but effective. Lens vignettes a lot at wide apertures, but is sharp. But it is battery dependent.

 

There's always the Kodak Retina (IIa or earlier are compact, the IIc and later are rather bloated).

 

Or, a screwmount Leica or Canon rangefinder and 50/3.5 Elmar.

[pje]

Rollei 35 family. Collectors like the SE but the S or T models are great too. Very compact, not

a rangefinder but scale focusing. The battery is only for the light meter if you want to use it.

Also it can be used as a weapon if needed. I take mine just about everywhere.

[andy middleton]

the olympus as written above is great ....the metering is excellent and it is a REAL pocket

cameras..the rangefinder is indeed small but usable.It is my favourite take everywhere

35mm camera.

I never warmed to the Rollei, even though I have two!

I found the metering and the scale focussing not for me..but there are many followers of

this camera so probably my inability, not the cameras.

let us know what you decide

 

andy

[andyaitken]

Olympus XA is indeed a superb little camera (or XA4 if you like it wide and can find one)

 

or some of the 35mm Minox's.

[dg1]

I see KEH has some XA's and XA2 and XA3'S . There's a couple XA's graded EX with the A11 flash units that are $139 and $165. Do these seem like reasonable prices?

 

I think the XA will fill the bill for me perhaps more than the Rollei 35 as they are lighter weight and allow some manual focusing vs scale focusing, although I may have to get a Rollei 35 eventually.

 

I love the suggestion of a screw mount Leica or Canon with the collapsible 50mm, but I did have a Fed2, and although compact enough with the lens collapsed, it was as heavy as a brick. Don't know how the weight of the actual Leica or Canon would differ, or if it would differ enough to make a difference. In the case of my Fed2, as mentioned regarding the Rollei 35 above, it could be quite a formidable club or projectile in some dire situation. But that wouldn't be my primary consideration ;)

[charles_stobbs3]

Agfa Solinitte (Ansco Regent), some Zeiss Ikonta models.

[henry_chu2]

Zeiss Contessa for an elegant alternative!

[MTC Photography]

XA's shutter is controlled by electronics, it is not an electronic compact camera<p>

 

Beside the Rollei 35, Rollei 35S, there is another smaller camera using 35mm film, the Tessina TLR 35mm camera, Swiss clockwork shutter

mechanism with master spring, for up to 8 shots per winding<P>

<p>

<center>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/5786368-md.jpg"size=550><P>

Tessina TLR

</center>

[jonathan_reynolds]

Rollei 35 is beautifully conceived, capable of great results, and TAKES FILTERS AND LENSHOOD. At one stage I thought it was all the camera I needed. But the ergonomics are terrible, and it will pull the pocket off your coat (I carry mine in a belt pouch or in the hand).

 

The Minox family are very light and lens quality is excellent if you like a wide-angle lens and have tiny fingers for the focus ring. Seem very tough too.

 

I haven't used any of the other alternatives mentioned above, but suspect each is let down by either quality or ergonomics. I've often thought about trying a Retina or Retinette for a bit of fun.

[mark_hahn]

Yes, shot my Retina IIa on my recent trip to Catalina Island, nice mechanical RF that fits in a large pocket. Leica SM or knockoffs are wonderful as well (I have a Fed w/50 Elmar knockoff) takes nice photos and can be mounted with other lenses. The Rollei's are nice, but I kind of like having a range finder (though with my Minox I get by just fine without one... I think it is more psychological)

 

There's always the Kodak Retina (IIa or earlier are compact, the IIc and later are rather bloated).

 

Or, a screwmount Leica or Canon rangefinder and 50/3.5 Elmar.

[andrewlamb]

What about the Contax T?

[michael s.]

Quite a few cameras are <a href=http://www.cameraquest.com/com35s.htm>listed, pictured, and described on the camerquest site</a>, Dean.<p>

 

Among the smaller rangefinders with manual override is the Olympus 35 RC. I've seen it, but never used it.

[pete1]

You might consider one of the finest 35mm non-Leica cameras ever made, one that Leica should have copied and used their M lenses on. The Olympus Pen FT or better yet, the Pen FV half frame, SLR 35mm. Very compact - very "Leica Like". I had one and sold it like a dork.

[mark_hahn]

if we open this up to mechanical focus cameras, the little XA's are quite versatile and fun as are the Oly RC and ECR's etc. (I never really took to the RC and just kept my ECR after giving the RC to my niece for her photo class).

 

The XA is aperture priority, but with manual ISO setting you get easy EV correction, so are very versatile... with no shutter lag at all.

 

Personally, just for the film handling etc. I would not get a Tessina or half frame unless you are really into that sort of aggravation (I can swing both ways on this myself). If you are scanning, you want the full frame IMO and the access to super cheap brainless processing (BW400CN, CVS and my Coolscan V produce amazing results).

 

I really find the Leica/Barnack cameras by far the nicest handling for a "serious pocket camera."

[MTC Photography]

Film handling with Tessina in fact is not an issue, it uses 35mm film

reloaded into Tessina cassette; the loading can be done in broad daylight with Tessina loader, hence it is much simpler than cutting

Minox film from 35mm stock. It is by far the smallest 35mm film camera

only 2.5 x 2.1 x 1.5"

[MTC Photography]

Contax T has a rangefinder, but it is an electronc camera.

[dg1]

The Oly XA is very accessible and relatively inexpensive. OTOH there's a certain allure to owning something akin to a mechanical watch, and it just seems so compatible with film, conceptually anyway. I think I may be looking for something that doesn't need to be "turned on".. no whirring noise as the thing wakes up, something that is always on, because it's never "off". A small camera that I can engage with. I know in many ways I'm describing a Leica, but something even smaller.

 

The suggestion of the Olympus Pen certainly grabbed my attention because as I shoot primarily digital with some 4/3rds DSLRs, and half-frame is very familiar to me.

 

The Tessina is also very appealing. I've looked at cameraquest but need to spend some more time there for sure.

 

Not that it matters, but the reason I'm looking is that while I love what I can get with digital on the DSLRs, the compact digicams I've had and have (and I've had many) leave something out that I look for, though I feel I've gotten some very successful photos with them. I took a Rollei Prego 30 (nice camera but makes whirring noises..) to Chicago with some meat and potatoes Fuji Superia 400, and the little 30mm triplet lens came through with image quality that really inspired me. If there's a digital compact that can pull that off, I'd love to know about it. But in the meantime I'd rather have a nice little 35mm that I can manually operate.

 

REally interesting discussion and lots of great information. Thanks everyone. There's obviously a lot of options -- I'm on the fence about many of them.

[robert meier]

Do you realize how small a Leica can be? A IIIc or IIIf (or any earlier model, for that matter) with a collapsible Elmar, either f3.5 or f2.8, is a very small package and slips in a pants or jacket pocket easily. And it is very reliable and the lens is very good.

[Brian]

The Olympus 35RC is a beautiful little camera. It's an electronic auto exposure metered camera but can also operate manually without metering. It's also got a pretty good rangefinder. The lens is regarded as one of the best in a compact. I've got a Rollei 35 and though it too is beautiful in its own way, I think it's a victim of its own small size in a way that the Oly 35RC is not. The Oly packs far more functionality and usability into only a slightly larger package.

[glenn_mabbutt]

The Oly XA and 35RC are a couple I've used in this category - both good, the 35RC is a little bulkier and often doesn't come with a lens cap (although I'm told there are filter size adapters that will let more commonly available caps be used). I do find the 35RC's rangefinder is brighter.

 

I've also heard good things about portability with the Leica I/Leica Standard with a collapsible lens - these don't go that cheaply (and usually requires a trimmed leader to properly load film). I don't have the link handy, but there is a guy who took a Zorki I (Russian Leica II clone), removed the attached rangefinder, and with a little ingenuity made his own "Zorki Standard".

 

I'm tempted to try it as I already have a Fed-2 with a FED-50 collapsible lens (the FED-2 is nice, but larger than I'd like for this application). Also I've done some searching in the last little while and it seems Russian "Leica copies" of the Standard do pop up from time to time on eBay, but finding one that's chrome and not brass/"gold" plated *and* is set at a reasonable price to pay for essentially a Zorki I is a bit challenging.

[doug_nelson3]

See Stephen Gandy's page at accompanying articles at

http://www.cameraquest.com/com35s.htm

 

Several of these (Konica, Minolta, smaller Olympus) might offer better optics than the Olympus XA series. I like my XA for the aperture-priority exposure, and tiny size. I dislike it for its vignetting at every aperture and its mediocre lens (maybe I have a bad sample).

[david_barts2]

As the owner of a recently-acquired XA, I'll second (third? fourth?) the recommendation of

it.

 

Very compact (the most compact full-frame 35mm rangefinder ever, I believe), common

on the used market, reasonable price. It is battery-dependent, but the only thing the

battery is used for is metering and shutter operation, so the batteries last a good long

time if you use genuine silver-oxide cells (SR44 not LR44) as you should. Biggest

drawback of the XA is that there's no manual mode; you're always in aperture priority

mode.

 

Can't recommend the Rollei 35 as a shooter. It's a nice little camera, but it's popularity

with the collector crowd has driven its price way out of line with its functionality. Why

anyone would buy it when for a fifth the cost one can easily get a good user XA that

(unlike the Rollei) comes with a parallax-corrected rangefinder is beyond me. (Unless, of

course, you just gotta get a Rollei 35 to complete your collection.)

 

Only way I'd shell out over $100 for an XA is if it's recently been professionally CLA'ed and

comes with a warranty. I got a good user (with recently replaced light seals) on eBay for

about $55 including shipping.

 

One last thing -- if buying an XA, be sure it comes with a working flash. XA uses a

nonstandard flash, and it can be tough to find just a flash on the used market. (Hey, it still

beats the upside-down flash on the Rollei 35.)

[vincenzo_maielli]

Both Olympus XA and Minox 35 are true pocketable cameras but are both electronics. If want a true mechanical pocketable camera, the only way is Rollei 35 S.

Ciao.