old fixed lens rangefinder or slr

[jimmy_m.]

I am interested in finding an old fixed lens rangefinder or slr (pre-

1960's) with aperture and shutter control. Perhaps one with an

uncoated lens. Any recommendations?

[leslie_cheung]

why pre 60's? why uncoated? what type of photography would you like

to do with it? fixed lens rf are good for certain photos but they are

quite limited compared to a slr.

[robert_roaldi1]

In case you don't already know about it, try "www.cameraquest.com". He has much info on older 35mm cameras of all types.

[mike_elek]

Keep this in mind when shopping. Pre-World War II cameras almost always use uncoated lenses (except for some rare Zeiss lenses). Post-war cameras usually have coated lenses.

 

Konica made three fixed-lens rangefinders with manual exposure control but no light meter. The lenses were coated, however.

 

Konica I: resembles a Leica

Konica II: knob wind with a better lens

Konica III: used a two-stroke front-mounted trigger that advanced the film and cocked the shutter. This camera is heavy but really a very nice camera

 

These pop up on various online auction sites. The Konica I goes for about $100, the II for about $150 and the III for about $200.

 

I have the I and the III. Both are excellent cameras.

 

Aside from this, other possible choices include the Agfa Solinette, Kodak Retina, Voigtlander Vito B and Vito II and a fairly large number of folding and nonfolding American, German and Japanese 35mm cameras.

 

Take a look here for some examples. This is just a small fraction of what's available.

 

http://host.fptoday.com/melek/pages/cameras.html

 

My own personal favorites are the Retina and Zeiss-Ikon cameras.

[Brian]

Jimmy, I had the same idea as you recently and I bought a Minolta 'A' rangefinder (45mm f3.5 Rokkor lens). Pleasant camera to handle and seems easy to use, but I haven't got any photos to show yet so I don't know how well it performs.

[lee_brand]

Hi Jimmy - a pretty broad question? I collect old cameras - I try to stay with the cheaper "classics" when it comes to RF's - no Leicas (yet). I prefer pocket size RF's - they are good for candid "grab" shots because of their fast lenses and very subtle shutters. I have a few favourites that may not fit your age requirement exactly -

Olympus XA, Olympus Trip 35 (non RF!), Yashica Electro 35, Canonette 25, Retina 2C. They all work - well. Of these I probably used the XA the most - but it died recently and I now use a MJU-1 in its place. The Yashica is a bit big but takes great pics and has the fastest lens.

[richard_oleson]

When you get into the pre-1960s period, you run into a large supply of american-made cameras that are (reasonably) reliable and can be picked up very cheap. Argus C3's, in particular, were made both before and after WWII and are therefore available with both coated and uncoated lenses; there was also the Kodak 35 series, both with and without rangefinder. Postwar American options include Argus' C4 and C44, the Ciro 35, Bolseys, Graflex Graphic 35, the Kodak Signets.... there are a number of others, but these can generally be counted on to work (as much as anything of that age can) and can be had very cheap.

 

If you want an SLR (I assume the "fixed-lens" doesn't apply here), there were few in that era: Exakta VX or VXIIa, Praktina, Pentacon, Praktica.... the Japanese were just arriving toward the end of the 50s, so these are all German makes. A little more exotic but very fun, reliable and cheap is the Russian Zenit S (aka Zenit C), an SLR based very closely on the body of a screw mount Leica rangefinder camera.

 

rick :)=

 

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com

[charles_stobbs2]

See "Classic Camera Collector" web site

for a long list of Olympus cameras which

might fit your request. Some cameras of

this era use mercury batteries which are

no longer available and you will need to

investigate substitute batteries.

[kaiblanke]

SLRs from the 60s are quite difficult to find; there are a lot more from the 70s which fit your description. If you are looking for an all-manual camera then have a look at one of the following SLRs: Pentax Spotmatic, Contax F and D models, Nikon F, Praktika, Zenith just to name a few in no special order. There are also a lot of rangefinders: Leicas & Contaxes of course, but these have interchangeable lenses, as well as those numerous 60's and 70's rangefinders like the Minolta Hi-Matic series, the Canonets, the Olympus 35 series, the Konica 35 series etc. www.cameraquest.com as mentioned above is one of the best sites which provide you with an overview over the different models.

None of these cameras features the automatism found in the electronic wonders of today; almost all cameras before 1975 feature a manual aperture and shutter control.

Uncoated lenses are hard to find, most of these date back to the pre-WWII. Almost none of these fit your description, if you are limiting yourself to 35mm (Leica and Contaxes are there to choose from). But there is a number of roll film folders with rangefinders like the Bessa from Voigtlaender and the Nettar and Ikonta from Zeiss.

I personally like the Olympus 35 RC/RD and the Canonet 17 QL III and have used a Praktika MTL for about 12 years. I also have a little Ikonta at home which performs very well even without a coated lens.

The best thing would be when you find a store that features some of these models and lets you play around with them, since each of these has it's on quirks. Otherwise you'll do nothing wrong if you stick to Stephen Gandy's advices on Cameraquest.

[j.w.]

Jimmy;

 

I've had lots of fun with my Russian-made 'Zorki-IV', fondly nicknamed the 'dorky Zorki'. It 'sports' a non-coated, 50mm lens, and is essentially a copy of a Leica M3 rangefinder.

 

I keep it in a fanny pack, with spare roll of B/W film. I've used traditional as well as C-41 chromogenic B/W film. I've also made some moderate (5x7) enlargements from B/W, and they look good.

 

No, its not a Leica, its just 'sorta like a Leica'; sorta.