an old film range finder to shoot 28mm and 35mm, for an intermediate on a budget moving from digital?

[glen_h]

<blockquote>

<p>There are a few Canon, Leica, thread mounts 28's that are not retrofocus<br>

</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I wondered about that, but I never saw one. Growing up, my father had two cameras and three lenses: A Leica If, a Canon VI, 35mm Schneider f/2.8 (with lens shade, it still fits in the Canon case), a Canon 50mm/2.8, and Canon 135mm/4.0. <br>

<br>

After he bought an SLR, I got to use those for many years, and really got used to the 35mm. When I bought my Nikon FM, I bought it with the AI 35/2.0, still my favorite lens. </p>

<p>Anyway, the Schneider lens is so short, it always has its lens shade on. I believe you could get to 28mm, but it would be tricky to use. There isn't much room for the aperture ring and focus ring to fit and grab onto.</p>

<p>But the retrofocus 35mm and 28mm for film SLRs shouldn't be so hard to find, and for reasonable prices. Though 50mm and the usual telephoto zooms are much easier to find.</p>

<p> </p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>I'm not fond of the Leica thread mount bodies because of the viewfinders which are tiny and hard to see for people with glasses. You can do it but if you're going to use this a lot you are better off with the later Ms.</p>

[james_elwing]

<p>35/50/90/135 were the RF lenses for mortals in the 1950's & 60's. They were also the lenses for early SLR's. I have a C/V 12mm now which fills the same place in my heart as 35mm did in 1979. Then, it was a wide angle lens. 28's were often pre focused. Pentax Takumar 28/3.5 SLR lens was a revelation to ordinary photographers</p>

 

[glen_h]

<p>The Canon P has a built in 35mm finder. Specifically, it has frame lines for 35mm, 50mm, and 100mm. The 35mm lines will be hard to see with glasses, as the image is big. </p>

<p>The Canon VI is very similar to the P, but has selectable 35mm and 50mm finders, with a wheel below the finder window. That is the only difference I know about, though there may be some hidden differences.</p>

<p>For 28mm, you will need an external finder. It should come with the lens, but maybe not by now. </p>

<p> </p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>The Canon P is a good camera. I had a Canon 7 (selenium model not the 7s or the 7sZ) and it was a pretty good user camera. It was well made though not on a par with the Leica M's which were contemporaries. It was easier to load (back loading) and had a good selenium meter which still was properly calibrated. </p>

<p>But the Leica M's are better, smoother, and more durable (and they keep their value well). It's more expensive to buy an old Leica, but how expensive will it be to buy a series of rangefinders till you end up at the Leica anyway? That is if you LIKE the rangefinder at all. It's pretty challenging to be a "working" camera as old as these are these days but at least the Leica M is still around in some way, even using film. You can still get it repaired either by a "older" repair guy or by Leica probably.</p>

[glen_h]

<p>I have never had or used a Leica M. The only one I have is a If that took my baby pictures.</p>

<p>For the Canon P and VI, there is a selenium meter that goes into the accessory shoe, and couples to the shutter speed knob. The one I have works some of the time, and tapping sometimes helps. <br>

But you can't use an external viewfinder if you use that meter. </p>

[Brian1664876441]

The Canon P is a great camera; figure ~$100~$150 for a body, and about $250 each for the lenses.

 

No one mentioned the Kodak Retina IIIS. You will need to look on a camera forum, or a seller that has tested the camera

and offers a return- The Retina IIIS is much more reliable than the Retina SLRs. Figure ~$100 for the body and under $100

for each of the lenses. German quality. The Schneider 35/2.8 Curtagon is great and 28/4 Curtagon is good. The finder has

parallax corrected framelines for the 35mm lens, just use the entire finder for the 28mm lens. It also has framelines for the

50, 85, and 135 lenses. I've had a pair of these for almost 20 years.

 

http://retinarescue.com/retina3stype027.html

[carbon_dragon]

<p>The Canon 7 has the meter built in and a built in viewfinder that changes view for a variety of lenses. But if you want to put anything additional on the camera you need the really rare accessory that screws onto the camera to give it an accessory shoe which is a disadvantage. </p>

<p>The Retinas ARE good cameras with good lenses, but they're complicated and I don't think their internal mechanics have worn quite as well over the decades. I've had a few of them and they often need a service to work well. On the other hand some can fold which is nice.</p>

[Brian1664876441]

The Cocking Rack is the weak spot of the Retina series cameras- the IIIS fares better than most as it is a Rangefinder,

the cocking rack does not have to swing the mirror up. It is Rigid- the folding mechanism of the older Retinas can put more

strain on the cocking mechanism.