Help picking rangefinder for travel

gregarpp said:
Contax G2 system - I had bought all the lenses.. HATED the AF system in the camera. if it was MF I would have kept and used it all
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Sorry for the NOOB question but isn't the G2 both AF and MF?
Couldn't you have used it just with MF?
 
I was actually looking at a Leica 50mm lens. As this is the lens I would use the most..
I think I will use the 75mm.. I use my 85mm/1.4 the most on my Minolta 9

I just added my 7sII to the for sale section.. I can sell these rollei 35mm SLR gear I really don't need.
I had planned on doing some lens tests..
Comparing my 85mm/1.4 and 50mm/1.4 to the Rollei Zeiss versions.....
I was never able to obtain a nice decent Rollei body
I ordered 10 rollei to canon EF adapters. So......
 
R3A Finder 1:1 life size, 40/50/75/90 framelines
R2A Finder .7 magnification, 35/50/75/90 framelines

I am not sure what all this exactly means..
How do I use a 28mm lens?
What if I want to use a 40mm on the R2A?
 
Do you wear glasses? If yes the R2A will be better for you because you can get a problem seeing the R3A 40 mm framelines. I tried both and the R2A is better for me.
Using a 28 mm you need a external Viewfinder
 
Look into a Plaubel Makina 67. You'll get the MF advantage in a very compact size.
 
Cameraquest.com lists the R3A at $539
This seems to be around the same price as the CLE..
Are there other used Leica's in this price range.
I think a Leica or CLE would hold its value a bit better...
Just wondering
 
how about the bronica or mamiya medium format rangefinders? They are "small" when compared to other MF stuff.. I'm currently, uhm.. reading about them :)
 
The R3A is a nice camera, and you do get AE and the M-mount. But if this is really only going to be a throw-in-the-bag camera and not your main body, a Bessa R might be a better choice-- if you (or the airline) loses it. I'd rather be out $250 or so than twice that.
 
gregarpp said:
The manual focus on the G2 was not very easy to use.
I like to turn a lens.
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On several RF cameras you don't turn a lens to focus, on the Makina 67 is a knob, on the certo six is a lever.
What do you have to do to focus the G2 manually?
 
fgianni said:
On several RF cameras you don't turn a lens to focus, on the Makina 67 is a knob, on the certo six is a lever.
What do you have to do to focus the G2 manually?
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There's that large wheel/knob on the front of the camera.

That's actually very easy to use.. the tricky part is the "visual feedback" you get from inside the viewfinder. Instead of overlapping two pictures, you simply get these lcd "tick marks" that you try to center. If you go too far to the right, you focus too far into the distance, and too much to the left you are focused too close. This kind of feedback is more difficult to get accustomed to than the standard rangefinder.
 
I use a CL

I use a CL

I use a Leitz-Minolta CL for travel. Drop it in my breifcase and forget about it. Some plastic film containers for rolling my own film allows me to skip having them x-rayed. It is smaller and more compact than a tradional M, which can be important to fit in a pocket. I,m visiting a buddy in Milan, as you can see I can,t figure out these Eye-talian keyboards, and I just took it to see the US-Slovakia hockey game last night. What a difference that day was to the day before when I walked around Milan with my 20D and 17-40.

If you want new and AE, the R2A is the way to go. Maybe with a collapsible 50 (watch the depth) from the FSU to keep cost and size down.
 
In your proposed set up, the choice of either a 24 or 28 makes all the difference in the world. If you prefer a 24, then no camera will let you frame without an external viewfinder. In this case you might as well get a high mag viewfinder so you can focus and see better with the 50 and 75 lenses you prefer. If, however, the external viewfinder is too much of a pain then you want a viewfinder which allows you to see the 28 framelines. The R2a or CLE are both great for this, but you sacrifice somewhat in seeing the longer telephoto framelines.
 
gregarpp said:
I am going to look into the Bessa cameras.
Is there any reason why I should get m39 or M mount?
Does it really matter?
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an M mount camera can use screw mount lenses, a screw mount camera cannot.

I have Bessa Rs which I love, however if I did it all over I would go for a BESSA R2 this is manual camera M mount. Those that have them say the build quality is better than the Rs and you do not have to worry about carring around a brick if the battery dies like the R2A or R3A.

add the 28/1.8 or 35/2.5mm LOVE this one for the contrast, 50/1.5 OR the 2.5regular and 75mm tele

if you are flush go for the 35/1.2 :eek: $819

of course costs need to be considered, and the bessa R with the 35/2.5 is $399 [less than any of the Mount Rs body only] the 75 is $295 then the question is which lens for low light, 28/1.9 35/1.7 or 50/1.5 [I did not mention the 35/1.2 & 40/1.4 because they are both M mount and the R3A is the only one with 40mm frame lines of course use the 35 or 50 and live with the difference ;)

You can also go with the russian lenses for the 50mm and longer [there seems to be issues with the wider lenses fitting the Bessas]
 
oh and the 25/4 is non coupled but has a hugh DOF that it has not been an issue for me so if you like wide wide angles....
 
fgianni said:
On several RF cameras you don't turn a lens to focus, on the Makina 67 is a knob, on the certo six is a lever.
What do you have to do to focus the G2 manually?
Click to expand...

The G Series are also a "focus by wire" system, so you don't have mechanical feedback. I'm oversimplifying a little here, but the end result was you never get
1 to 1 input/output response. God I hope that makes sense...

Fred
 
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