What is the fastest lens on a fixed lens RF?

[Magpie]

Hi,

Have been thinking about getting another camera, what I don't have is a 35mm fixed lens RF. I want to be able to load with reasonably fast film and carry it in the bottom of my briefcase, bag or whatever and know that it will be able to capture most scenes - even at night.

It has to be reasonably priced so that if the worst was to happen (lost, stolen or broken etc) I could shrug, pour another glass of red and look around for another one.

This set me to thinking, is there one camera, readily available, that has a faster lens than the Canonet GIII 17? My budget would be $100 tops.

What do you suggest

Regards

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Brendan,

Yashica Lynx 14, as far as I recall -- f/1.4 as the name suggests, from memory 47mm or 45mm. I got rid of mine years ago because the RF was so dim it was hard to focus in any light, but this was almost certainly a result of th camera's age and condition, not an inherent fault.

Edit: for cheapness, reliability and excellent quality, though a slower lens, I'd heartily recommend a Konica. There are quite a few: mine has an f/1.9 lens, mechanical shutter, selenium (battery-independent) meter that still works. It's also a LOT smaller than a Lynx 14.

Cheers,

Roger

[JonR]

Yashica Electro 35 CC is a very nice camera with 1,8 fixed lens. Very compact, good optical quality and often with clear rangefinders even today. Another plus is that the battery required is still available and not one of the older mercury batteries.

Price level maybe between 50 and 100 USD for a good one !?

/Jon

[Kim Coxon]

I just sold a Konica 1.6 to another member here for $40. that had the 1.6 lens as the name suggests. There would be little difference between the 1.6/1.7/1.8 lenses and the Lynx is only 1/2 stop faster. I would go for the one you like the handling off. The GIII's and Oly are smaller. The meter on the Konica still works in manual mode and many like the shutter on the Yashicas.

Kim

Kim

[mike goldberg]

Seems to me another factor would be the quality of a given fast, fixed lens, wide open. I find the QL-17 to be excellent.

[dmr]

Mamiya made, for a while, a f1.5 version of the Super Deluxe rangefinder.

Mine is the 1.7 model and I love it. I really don't imagine that much of an advantage with a fraction of a stop extra.

[titrisol]

The Lynx 14 had a 1.4
Among others the Petri 7s had a 1.8

[Magpie]

Thanks for all the suggestions, we have a Camera Market here in Sydney this coming Sunday so I will see what is available.

Hopefully something good will be there - sometimes the market days have nothing but junk and other times great bargains can be had - if you get there early enough!

Wish me luck

[shadowfox]

I thnk there are at least four cameras that has better lens than the Canonet GIII.

Olympus 35 SP and 35 RD, Yashica Electro 35, and Minolta Hi-matic 7sII.

All has max aperture of 1.7

[niimo]

I own a Yashica Lynx-14 here is a set of shots taken with it http://www.flickr.com/photos/niimo/s...7600595281533/

The Lynx is the camera on the top left:



Larger version for detail:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2262/...80225b71_b.jpg

As you can see, it is not small, nor very portable. It is slightly bulkier and significantly heavier than the GSN. MUCH more so than the Canonet.
I recently shot a roll with a canonet and was thrilled with how it handled. I would take a canonet in a blink over the lynx-14. The Canonet going to 800 ISO, I would just use faster film in there, I think the Lynx only goes to 400 if I recall correctly.

I vaguely recall another F/1.4 filxed lens camera, I'll look into it.

[ltketch]

I like my Minolta 7Sii, 40/1.7! Auto and manual modes though no meter in manual!

[jan normandale]

For the money and consistent results the Yashica GSN is a consideration. The other cameras are less readily available and prices reflect that. I've several of the cameras listed here and in the "value equation" the GSN wins.. not by much but I'd say it does.

The other cameras all take excellent shots don't doubt it. Just check the galleries for images by all the others.. ie, KM 7sii, Canonet GIII 17, Lynx 14. Each has qualities that makes people love them or dismiss them but they all give good images.

[NickTrop]

I LOVE my Lynx 14.

The question was, "What's the fastest fixed lens rangefinder?" There is only one answer - and it ain't any of the other cameras mentioned. The answer is the Lynx 14. Period.

An f1.4 lens is a special thing. 1.7 is fast but mundane, commonplace. As -always- you don't get a 1.4 because of its low-light capabilities are that much better than a 1.7/1.8 lens at wide-open apertures. You get it because f1.4s behave differently, have different optical designs, and generally preform better at f4 and sharpen up better at f2 than the others. This is true of the 7 element/5 group F1.4 lens on the Lynx.

It's also a 100% manual camera - not aperture priority, not shutter priority, all manual. Its leaf shutter syncs flash at all speeds. It tops any 1.4 on an SLR because you can hand-hold it at slower shutter speeds because its a leaf shutter camera. No mirror slap. So you can disregard the SLR "slowest shutter speed = 1/focal length" rule.

All manual, very good 1.4 lens, parrallex corrected view finder. NO compromises. And - because of this, its THE BEST low-light shooter among the fixed lens rangefinders. It is, however, a big and heavy camera with a large 45mm front element. Don't like bigger cameras? Then this one ain't for you.

If you get one send it off to a good repair person and have it serviced. Mine works as new, the rangefinder is fine - not Leica class but certainly functional and as good as any of the others in this category, "when serviced and cleaned". You'd have to pry if from my cold dead hands. To the person who said these cameras were "cheap" a while ago, I posted a thread about what these cameras would cost today using old ads for the prices, and an inflation calculater. The Lynx would cost $700 in todays dollarettes. Up to you if you consider a $700 a "cheap" camera. I don't. It was also Yashica's "flagship" in its day, costing more than the GSN and also more than their "Pro" medium format TLR cameras.

[dmr]

Originally Posted by jlw

Just as a side note to this discussion, I seem to recall that the well-known pictures of President Reagan immediately after Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme's assasination attempt on him were shot with a Canon QL17.

Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought it was Ford that "Squeaky" tried to get.

[ully]

Originally Posted by dmr

Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought it was Ford that "Squeaky" tried to get.

It was Ford.