Rangefinder cameras on a budget
Discussion
Many moons ago (nearly 20 years) I almost purchased a Lecia Digilux 2. It was too pricey and I backed out but I alway liked the idea of a rangefinder camera with the selling point of that one being a digital analogue camera (quite the head wobble).
I understood that the Panasonic equivalant of the time was basically the same thing but with a non-Liecia lense. It was a fair bit cheaper, natch.
Fast forward to now and I'd like to dabble in the world of relaxed photography and think a rangefinder might be the ticket.
What rangefinders are recommended for a poor person and can any of them take AA bateries? I guess Panasonic might be the company to investigate or Fuji but never played with their models. Looking for that analogue feel if possible - 4 billion pixels would not be a selling point and under £400 would be ideal.
Thanks in advance.
I understood that the Panasonic equivalant of the time was basically the same thing but with a non-Liecia lense. It was a fair bit cheaper, natch.
Fast forward to now and I'd like to dabble in the world of relaxed photography and think a rangefinder might be the ticket.
What rangefinders are recommended for a poor person and can any of them take AA bateries? I guess Panasonic might be the company to investigate or Fuji but never played with their models. Looking for that analogue feel if possible - 4 billion pixels would not be a selling point and under £400 would be ideal.
Thanks in advance.
Simpo Two said:
Why the enthusiasm for AA batteries?
Not essential but I've always tried to get AA powered kit as travel a fair amount and ability to swap over from other devices or simply buy in a local shop a handy feature.Appreciate that might not be a positbility as it's not often offered on new cameras as they seem to need more juice.
There is really only one answer ... the Fujifilm X100 series.
Obviously not true optical coupled rangefinder focusing, but looks the part with classic shutter and aperture controls, plus the direct optical viewfinder lets you see non-electronically what you are taking, or if you must, you can click in an electronic viewfinder.
They are now on to the fifth generation, and they do get better with each iteration, but the latest 'V' is sold out after having achieved cut status, so pick up an older one and give it a go. No end of youtube videos singing their praises.
Obviously not true optical coupled rangefinder focusing, but looks the part with classic shutter and aperture controls, plus the direct optical viewfinder lets you see non-electronically what you are taking, or if you must, you can click in an electronic viewfinder.
They are now on to the fifth generation, and they do get better with each iteration, but the latest 'V' is sold out after having achieved cut status, so pick up an older one and give it a go. No end of youtube videos singing their praises.
HeadForTheHills said:
There is really only one answer ... the Fujifilm X100 series.
Obviously not true optical coupled rangefinder focusing, but looks the part with classic shutter and aperture controls, plus the direct optical viewfinder lets you see non-electronically what you are taking, or if you must, you can click in an electronic viewfinder.
They are now on to the fifth generation, and they do get better with each iteration, but the latest 'V' is sold out after having achieved cut status, so pick up an older one and give it a go. No end of youtube videos singing their praises.
Agree 100% I have the second version, great little machinesObviously not true optical coupled rangefinder focusing, but looks the part with classic shutter and aperture controls, plus the direct optical viewfinder lets you see non-electronically what you are taking, or if you must, you can click in an electronic viewfinder.
They are now on to the fifth generation, and they do get better with each iteration, but the latest 'V' is sold out after having achieved cut status, so pick up an older one and give it a go. No end of youtube videos singing their praises.
Even as an X100V owner, I would say that there are two option - Fuji also have the X-Pro range of rangefinder cameras, essentially the same as the X100V, but with interchangeable lenses. Except that the older versions seem to have avoided the recent price increases that are filtering down the X100 models.
And yes, the X100V is every bit as good as the hype.
And yes, the X100V is every bit as good as the hype.
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