Rangefinder Advice please.

JDholic

JDholic

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Jonny
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I've been considering buying another rangefinder for a few weeks. I have a small budget, probably a maximum of 60-70.

I already have the Zorki 4, but would like something a bit more
"modern" with either an aperture or shutter priority.

After doing a lot of reading, mainly internet blogs, the front runner seems to be a Canonet QL17 III. I know where I can source one locally for very little. My question really is, is this the best that can be had for the money? Or, am I missing out on another gem that really must be had instead?
 
I'm a big fan of the Yashica Electro, it's a bit chunkier than the Canonet but it's a really nice to use and comes with a very nice 45mm Yashinon 1.7 lens.
 
If everything works, it's a lovely little camera. Main problem seems to be sticking shutters, everything else is simple to fix, but to clear a stuck shutter, you pretty much have to tear the camera to little bits.
 
If size is an issue, I will go for Olympus rc in that budget.

Other options in that budget are

Retina IIc , a folding gem ( also IIIc , a slightly heavier but comes with a light meter. III C is the best of the lot, but costs much more)

Viogtlander VF 101

Voigtlander Vito series

Rollei 35 , a Scale finder , but beautiful lens

XA, one of the best compact ever

Konica or Minolta 35 RF
 
The Yashica Electro would be my choice..its a lovely camera with a fantastic lens
 
colpepper said:
I had an XA and it vignetted at the corners of the image. It was returned to Olympus who said it was 'functioning normally'. From what I can gather they all did it.
Click to expand...

Interesting.
On the other hand, there are many who swear by its usability and lens quality, and believe it to be the best of the RF compacts ( check Stephen Ghandy's site for his review). Certainly, its one of the very few RF cameras in that small size, and possibly the only one with clam shell design.
 
Thanks guys. :D

So far the list to look out for is a Canonet QL17, Olympus RC, Yashica Electro 35 GSN (think thats the one to go for) and a Konica S3.

Now it's just a case of finding either an ebay listing or a local one for sale.
 
colpepper said:
I had an XA and it vignetted at the corners of the image. It was returned to Olympus who said it was 'functioning normally'. From what I can gather they all did it.
Click to expand...

Yep I got the XA, XA2 and XA4. all of them do it. they are great if you want that look!
 
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