Oly RD, Minolta 7sII, Konica S3, Yashica CC

[bensyverson]

Yeah, I've looked seriously at the Lynx. I still may pick one up, as they're dirt cheap on the 'bay.

I think when it comes down to it, I'd rather have a smaller camera than half a stop, but it's an agonizing choice. How does the 1.4 feel versus 1.7 or 1.8? Do you notice that it makes a big difference when you're shooting?

After all my fussing, I did wind up buying a Canonet QL-17 GIII just now on the 'bay for $50 shipped. I'm probably still going to get a 7sII (or similar), but I want to have something to compare it to.

Ha, yeah right. And so the GAS begins...

[agi]

Hey Ben...

Nice to see that you made it to RFF. You're gonna love this place and you think you had GAS before...oh boy you're in for a ride!

Anyway my suggestion is to find an inexpensive Canon on ebay or here on RFF. That's how I started and look where it got me...a big hole in my pocketbook. The GIII is a really well made camera but just be sure when you buy one that the shutter isn't stuck and ask a ton of questions to the seller...like how you asked me .

Or if you don't want to go that route get the 7sii that's for sale here that rover pointed out. That's about the going price for the silver body.


agi

[bensyverson]

Hey agi -- first eBay, then Flickr, now RFF. Do you have a photo.net account? LOL

I sort of impulse-bought my GIII (item 200099519888), so we'll see how it works out... I'm curious to see how good the RF is. I only have two RFs right now: a Mamiya 7 and a Olympus XA. I know the RF on the GIII is somewhere between those, but uh... that's a pretty big gray area.

And I'm not sure I could get a silver 7sII, because I would always look at it and wish it was black. And of course, it's not the camera's fault, so that wouldn't be fair.

[Jeremy Z]

You said low light. Low light = Yashica. Their electronic shutter that went down below 30s was unprecendented in those days. I too, prefer the aperture priority of this camera to the shutter priority of everything else.

With f/1.8 and ISO 400, there is little you can't do. ESPECIALLY with those low shutter speeds and good bracing habits. (which you will occasionally need, even with a camera that goes up to ISO 800)

The 1/250s top shutter speed isn't bad, unless you're shooting slides. With print film, you can overexpose a LOT (2-3 stops) and still have great printable images.

As far as build quality, Minolta just isn't in the big leagues like the other ones you mention.

In most situations, the 35mm will be much more handy than the 38-45mm of the others.

Buy a Yashica for its unique feature set. Then, buy something with full manual later to round out the collection. That is the beauty of FLRs.

The Yashica shutter is really magically good compared to the others. The others are no slouches, but Yashica just decimated everyone with their electronic shutter. I bet they tend to not get out of adjustment as easily either...

Ah, I see you got a GIII. Nice camera; I have one. (doesn't everyone?) But the low light capability pales in comparison to Yashica. Also the shutter release is a bit unrefined compared to Yashica. But it is more capable overall due to manual exposure capability.

[motrhead]

Hi guys. I'm new here, but not to these cameras. I have the 7SII and Canonets (17 and 28).
The Minolta is all metal. I don't see any plastic in the lens barrel, it's aluminum.
The Minolta is noticeably smaller.
My Minolta is sharper than my Canonet (your mileage may vary). I have been tossing my Minolta in the (messy) trunk of my car without a case for ten years now. I feel bad for all the rough treatment, and not having a case for it, but it's been tough as nails.
I tried an RC recently, and it just felt cheaper and less solid, although the pictures were pretty good.
Dean

[Terrence]

i was wondering why Yashica Electro GX wasn't mentioned at all, ain't that a better camera than the CC?

[bensyverson]

The GX looks interesting too -- though it seems to be a bit harder to find than the CC...

[dazedgonebye]

I'm loving my Hi-Matic 7sII so far.
Consider also the Vivitar 35ES and Revue 400SE.

[bensyverson]

Actually, I suppose a bit of an update is in order... 2 weeks ago I wrote:

Originally Posted by bensyverson

I'm trying to avoid getting more than one of these FLRF, because I can already see how it could get addictive.

Well, that was a big fat failure. I have five now.

I got a pretty cheap QL-17 GIII, partially so I could have the "gold standard" to compare another FLRF to.

Then I bought a black 7sII. It's far and away the prettiest camera I own. I love it.

Then I bought a beater 7sII to have on-hand for travel. I figure I'd rather lose the beater than my black tie 7sII.

Then I lost my mind and bought two Yashica CC's. I'm a huge aperture priority fan, so I wanted to see how the CC would work out. They're still in the mail...

I'll post another update once I've had a chance to tinker with the whole brood...

[zuikologist]

Ben

The Yashica is a very nice camera.

I too would also recommend the Vivitar 35ES - wonderful lens and similar to the 7Sii, except they are underrated and inexpensive.

Enjoy using them all and lets see some photos.

[bensyverson]

I'm posting some here as we speak -- in the meantime, you can check out my flickr page...

[shadowfox]

For what it's worth, I am a big fan of Olympus 35 SP.

The meter works even in manual mode. I find this to be very useful because it helps me to get to the ballpark of the correct exposure quicker. I never used the Programmed AE mode.

And a sharp, SHARP lens! sharper than a CLA'd Canonet GIII QL17 and Konica S3.

[wintoid]

Originally Posted by shadowfox

For what it's worth, I am a big fan of Olympus 35 SP.

That's how I feel too. The 35SP is an extraordinary camera. I love its metered manual exposure mode, which is very intuitive and fast once you understand it. Couple that with spot metering, and I'm in heaven. Then add a stunning lens, and a pretty good viewfinder, and I wonder why I bother with anything else. Actually, lately everything else lies languishing whilst the 35SP gets all the love.

[Kat]

I've been waiting for an Oly SP on ebay, but with my limited budget and occasional inattention of auctions, so far I haven't been able to pick one up. I do like very much its performance from what I can see from others' photos.

[Terrence]

Originally Posted by bensyverson

Then I bought a black 7sII. It's far and away the prettiest camera I own. I love it.

Then I bought a beater 7sII to have on-hand for travel. I figure I'd rather lose the beater than my black tie 7sII.

Then I lost my mind and bought two Yashica CC's. I'm a huge aperture priority fan, so I wanted to see how the CC would work out. They're still in the mail...

A BLACK 7SII? wow, u lucky bum!!! that with 2 (TWO) CCs.... oh man!!!

[Bill58]

Originally Posted by Terrence

i was wondering why Yashica Electro GX wasn't mentioned at all, ain't that a better camera than the CC?

My GX beats the pants off ALL my other compact RFs. Get one if you can find one--mine came from Japan.

[bensyverson]

There's a GX on the 'bay right now that's already above $100...

My "broken" Yashica CC arrived today. It was kind of cruddy, like it had been in a glove compartment for 30 years... There was an insert in the film reminder pouch -- it was a piece of cardboard that obviously shipped with the camera, explaining what the film reminder pouch was, in English and Japanese! There was a little bit of yarn stuck where the lens attached to the body.

I went over it and cleaned it out thoroughly. At some point, someone had left a battery in there, and it coroded a good deal of the interior... So that took some time to clean up. There was even a strange smudge inside the rangefinder, which I removed very very very carefully from a non-silvered surface with a q-tip. The seals of course needed replacing.

After I got it all cleaned up, the electrical system started working again, so I closed it up and reassembled it... and then the cap on the film advance lever snapped off its thread. I was really careful, but I think the metal was coroded from the battery leak. The threaded part of the cap was still screwed into the film advance shaft, with nothing sticking out. It looked impossible to remove, but after 10 minutes with a pin, I was able to rotate it out of the advance shaft.

So... does anyone have a spare film advance cap from an Electro they'd be willing to part with? As a stopgap, I'm going to just use a washer and screw to attach the advance lever, but obviously that's not ideal...

Overall, it looks like a great camera though. Especially now that it's sparkly clean!

[Bill58]

You might try Mark Hama in GA/ USA (http://markhama.home.comcast.net/) for the part and a CLA--he's an ace Yashica repair guy. Otherwise, you're SOL I think.

[bensyverson]

Cool, I'll see if Mark has the part.

I don't think a CLA is necessary anymore -- it's working great!

[Terrence]

Originally Posted by Bill58

My GX beats the pants off ALL my other compact RFs. Get one if you can find one--mine came from Japan.

i know, i had been wanting a GX for so looong... it's my most wanted fixed lens range finder but the price always were higher than what i am willing to pay...

gimme some time

[Bill58]

Terrence:

I got lucky and bought one off a Japanese RF enthusiast....but the source has dried up. He won't answer my emails anymore.

Bill

[NickTrop]

I have several of these cameras. I use them all. Here's how I use them:

Lynx 14e - 1.4 lens on a leaf shutter range finder. All manual. Yes its big. Lens is flare-prone. I use this camera mostly as an indoor candid camera. Its lens behaves like a good 1.4 should. It is surprisingly sharp at lower apertures, peaking probably at f4 or f5.6 but not much more gain at f8. I think of fast lenses not so much as "wow, I can shoot at f1.4" but more as "wow, look how sharp f2.8 is!"

This camera is always loaded with film. It's used as my "family and friends indoor with ambient light" shooter. It's a bit too big for outdoor walking around stuff, or I should say I prefer other cameras for "street photography". Howver, it gets a lot of use. I like this camera a lot and use it often.


Konica Auto S3. Leica anything out of your price range? This is the quintessential diminutive black metal body street shooter with a lens Moder Photography rated "the best semi-wide optic they've ever tested". The lens lives up to its billing. It's brilliant with center resolution of 60+ to 80+ across all apertures. (The XA has max resolution in the 60's, so the Konica out-performs it at 1.8). Just a fantastic street shooter but shutter priority only. The shutter is whisper quiteon this one, and has a higher top ss of 1/640.


Yashica Electro CC. Another great street shooter. Fine lens with a 35/1.8 spec (another Yashica "first and only" in this category. Notice a trend here?) and that great (imo) aperture priority/step less shutter system and that fine Eletctro metering system. Has some downsides - top ss of 1/250 and slow shutter capabilities up to a minute or more. This camera takes second place to the Konica by a hair but another great street shooter. You would be surprised how nicely you'll do with 400 speed film in darker situations - bars, restaurants, walking around at night. No worries about the battery by the way. Takes a commonly available photo cell and will meter just fine with it.

In summary, these cameras, though all fixed lens rangefinders are quite different. All are good for general photography. The Lynx 14e you have the most control over and is an "honest" camera - full manual control parallax corrected viewfinder, very fast lens (only one to hit the 1.4 spec), normal (45mm) focal length (which I like), leaf shutter syncs with flash at all speeds. Really the only downside is its size and definitely isn't the stealthy street shooter. The Auto S3 and the CC are stealthy black street shooters - both great rangefinders with terrific glass. I prefer the S3 by a hair because it accepts higher film speeds and has a faster shutter. The CC, however, is no slouch and have been amazed of the fine optics on both cameras. The CC is a little larger and has better build quality than the Auto S3.

[OlympusRF]

Its an interesting talk about the little great rangefinders with fixed lens, so I thought of putting it alive again and in top of the group:

I still didn't had the Konica S3 or the Yashica 35 GX, but the Minolta 7SII was the only of the group that I sold. In my opinion it didn't give me anything I didn't had better in the other cameras

My rangefinders:
OLYMPUS 35 RC RD & SP, Canon QL17 GIII black, Zorki 1, Zorki 4, Kiev 4, Olympus 35-S f1.9, Olympus 35-S f1.8, Olympus ACE, Olympus Auto electro-set f1.8, Olympus ACE E, Olympus Auto-eye, Voighlander vitoret DR, Olympus 35 ED, Yashica 35 CC.

The rangefinders I've sold (and that I remember):
Minolta Hi-Matic 9, Olympus 35 LC, Olympus 35-S f3.5, Petri 2.8 Color Corrected Super, Ricoh 500G, Olympus XA (didn't work), Minolta Hi-matic 7SII


My cameras collection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/olympusrf/sets/

[Trius]

I have a 35RC, 35SP (x2), XA (2), Auto Electroset, Tower 51, Minolta 7Sii and I've had Minolta 35LC, Konica C35, Minolta 7S and maybe a couple more I don't recall.

I won't be without an SP, an XA and the 7Sii. If I had a Konica S2, an Olympus 35RD or a Yashica I might reconsider selling the 7Sii, but its combination of features and small size are really nice.

[lam]

I just saved a little Konica Auto S3 from death.
Picked it up from the local thrift for a few dollars.
The viewfinder glass had popped out, flying around loosely..
Battery wire corroded, no meter..
hot shoe bent up, meter not working.

I took it apart, fixed it up and back to working condition
I LOVE the day glow orange for the S and the Arrow for the flash G.N ft.


Here it is, a camera I saved! by lamlux.net, on Flickr

A shot from the test roll; sharp!

Anyone remember these BP service signs? Kid memories. by lamlux.net, on Flickr


The local garage of Chagrin Falls. by lamlux.net, on Flickr

Next project, See if my Olympus Trip 35 actually works, and fix it!