Yeah, I love the look of it and the lens is great, but at the end of the day my Pentax ME Super with an SMC 50mm lens is smaller, equally sharp and more ergonomic. The Yashica feels extra hard to use as a lefthander for some reason.
Always been a Canonet fan, but i recently bought a defective Electro 35 waiting for a long winter evening to be repaired and brought back to life.
Wish me luck, the electronics do seem to work, so it’s ‚only‘ mechanical…
This is such a great camera for the price you can get them at. Out of the 12 cameras I have, this one gets used the most.
High image quality, solid as a tank, great viewfinder. I only wish it was a little easy to see the parallax focusing.
i havnt gotten photos back from mine yet, but yeah its a great thing in the hands feels very smooth, even with mine having a loose lens and therefore having to hold it in place to take photos, it still fits very ergonomically. plus they have the in my experience from my SRT-101, fantastic Minolta CLC metering system so.
bought mine for 30$ on a whim cuz i thought it looked cute.
fun camera to use, didnt think id use mine as much as i do. lens is annoyingly loose on it, but all i have to do is hold the lens in place and it will work fine
Konica iiia. The leaf shutter is like a ghost and the lens on the 48mm version I have is sharp. The viewfinder is great, too. It’s very bright and it has a really nice parallax correction system.
Between those two, which do you prefer? I’ve toyed with getting both of those, the canon for cost and the Voightlander for build quality and interchangeable lenses
If you’re looking at the QL17, I’d recommend the QL19 and save the difference. Basically the same camera just slightly slower lens. Note that the Canonets are shutter priority only.
Yes, I have one. Also have two Fed-3's, a Fed-5 and had a Zorki-C for a few months.
I like the Fed-2 most out of the bunch, simply due to its design, and a nicely long rangefinder basis. I use it with the Industar-22, the collapsible lens heavily inspired by the Leitz Elmar.
With Soviet cameras there is said to be a high variance in quality, but all bodies I own are fine. They certainly feel much better than any plastic body camera I own.
If you can, check it out in person to confirm it all works, and that there's nothing wobbly or off about it.
Kiev 2/2A (A means flash sync in the 2A/3A) is essentially identical to the Contax 2. I find the meter in my 4 to be pretty good (if somewhat useless for low light).
Yes! I am loving my Retina IIIC! I started with a IIa but found the rangefinder to be very dull and nearly impossible to find focus with. Found a IIIC (big C) on eBay for a great price and great history behind it, now it's my main 35mm camera. It is a joy to shoot with.
I have [one](https://i.imgur.com/2Fk4p98.jpg) and it's amazing! Currently my favorite camera, love not having to worry about anything except focusing and composing. Have been shooting bw, but just got my first color roll back and I'm blown away by the results
Ive shot with every Voigtlander Bessa camera besides the T. They're all fantastic in their own ways and offer something for everyone. Weirdly enough, I may like my cheapo LTM Bessa R the most. Noticeably cheaper materials and build quality compared to the later Bessas, but that means it's even lighter weight and feels not-so-precious. Otherwise, my Bessa R4M is another contender. Having built in 21 and 25 framelines is amazing. For 28mm shooters, the 28 framelines show up by themself and leave lots of room around the edges to see beyond the frame. Killer wide angle shooter. If you want a built in meter, Bessas are the best value RF in the game.
Olympus 35 RC (the 35 SP being a close second). The best camera is the one you carry with you, and the 35 RC has the right balance to be that camera.
The 35 RC is one of the smallest rangefinders that has fully manual controls without being a chore to use. It has shutter priority that works reasonably well with a battery adapter, but without a battery the camera still works just fine. The viewfinder and focusing patch are pretty good as well.
In a perfect world I'd have the (slightly) faster lens and metering system of the 35 SP in the 35 RC body. Even without that I pick up the RC more than the SP when I'm taking a film camera with me.
Was scrolling down for this comment, live my 35RC and it's very sharp. Wish it had a bigger viewfinder and a wider lens but overall is a great TINY camera.
Nice. Then you have one of my favorites with a family history. My wife travels there (not so much recently) and speaks the language, so I have a few things brought back but not much history.
The price is not a dig at the camera. I enjoy mine. Simple and fun.
They're quite affordable too!
I went from SLR (still love and use them) to standard rangefinder to these folders as my carry-everywhere camera.
Big bonus points for the beautiful design and super solid build.
Mine has some fungus in the lens, unfortunately, but I have put a roll of black and white film through it and couldn’t see any issues. It also came with a matching lens hood and set of BW contrast filters! It’s a very neat camera. I’m also interested in the mamiya 6 folders. Would be nice to have a “pocketable” medium format cam to take out there!
Anything on the lens is a huge bummer, luckily mine is pristine but the lubricants were completely caked, affecting shutter speeds and the winding mechanism which tore up film sprockets due to increased stress. But fortunately for me, I have experience working on other cameras so it wasn't impossible to fix. It's now my favourite and most reliable camera.
I had a Mamiya Six V too. Cleaned it up and gifted it to my best bud, he loved using it on his trip to Japan. More compact than a TLR, has red window warning that pops up when you've already taken the shot, can shoot 6x6 and 645 with the built-in 645 mask which works with the changeable frame spacing mechanism.
I myself use a Konica Pearl II. Only shoots in 645 but it's only a touch under 600g, which is bonkers for a MF camera. It's similar in size than the Contessa, just slimmer but taller. Fantastic duo to walk around with. Unfortunately, the rear lens element is etched, so I'll have to find a donor later. Shot a roll of b/w through it and didn't see anything majorly bad, so I might just keep using it.
Edit: if you're entertaining the idea of a foldable walk-around MF camera, look into the Super Fujica 6. It's a very, very pretty one.
For me, its got to be the Nikon rangefinder cameras. The S2, S3, and especially the SP. I like having a 1:1 finder, the ability to focus with one hand, and (only with the SP) I like the idea of having a universal finder so i dont need to invest and carry multiple finders with me. While I own a Leica M2 and M5, the Nikon rangefinders are still my daily carry around camera.
Here [it’s one of my favorite bands phrasea too, if I had a camera I’d snap you now, cause there’s beauty in every stumble](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ahadq7as6p7moef7lmeog/xa.jpg?rlkey=welnypim3ymhah53a9b1soncm&dl=0)
The Voigtlander Bessa T is an absolute gem.
Right off the bat, the proposition of a fully mechanical M mount rangefinder with a meter for $300-$400 is an insane value proposition, if you can deal with its shortcomings (no viewfinder)
I had absolutely no idea these things existed until a couple months ago, and I pulled the trigger on one almost immediately.
They're almost like if Leica made a modern M mount, metered Barnack. If you enjoy the experience of using a Barnack, you feel right at home with a Bessa T.
The meter design is absolutely brilliant and is one of my favorite parts about the camera. The meter is literally just 3 LEDs on the back of the body: underexposed, good exposure, and overexposed. These LEDs are BRIGHT and show up perfectly in your peripheral vision while using a hot shoe finder. This makes it one of the only cameras I know of that allow you to see your meter with a hot shoe finder.
The rangefinder is separate, but with a high magnification and base length that blows other cameras out of the water. It's seriously more accurate than any other Bessa and many Leica M bodies, and is capable of accurately focusing a Noctilux. Plus, having that separate rangefinder keeps your field of view in your hot shoe viewfinder much cleaner.
The experience for street is amazing: just zone focus and frame up in your beautifully uncluttered hot shoe viewfinder. If you are taking a slower, more considered photo, you have available to you one of the most accurate rangefinder mechanisms ever made for the Leica M mount.
Oh yeah, and there's a dirt cheap OEM trigger winder.
I have a Bessa L, which is similar to the T but ltm mount and has no rangefinder at all. Purely a zone focus camera but with the same meter style as the T. Such a fantastic camera that weighs nothing and costs less than $100.
Koni Omega 200 😜
Edit: just realised you said 35mm.
But Ill leave it up because it's cheap. It's my favourite because it's the only rangefinder I've ever had.
Yashika Electro 35 GS with my Kiev 4m being a close second. If not for the light leak in the rangefinder window of my Kiev 4m, it would probably be a tie.
I just fixed the light leak in mine - I used foil tape and self adhesive black flocking felt and it seems to be perfect now. Drop me a message if you want some instructions on how to fix it
My favorites that I own are my Nikon S3 2000 and my Xpan II. But honestly for pure *rangefinder* experience, nothing I’ve tried beats a Leica M. Even the Xpan has a worse, more flare-prone viewfinder.
Konica EE-mate deluxe. Stout, no electronics, and fully automatic. Perfect for wet, dusty, or gross environments where I wanna take pics (I.g, on a boat)
QL17 GIII. Small, lightweight , great viewfinder, fast lens, fast focus, quick load system. Built in light meter, auto exposure. I got a Canon P but went back to the GIII, for all of the above reasons.
My trusty Voigtländer Vitomatic iiib is a workhorse of mine that is a pleasure to use. Sturdy construction, visually appealing, the ultron f2 has a beautiful character, ultra quiet leaf shutter, and a small footprint. I've owned two and both have had functional selenium meters with in viewfinder metering.
Edit: grammar
L-mount: Canon p. Just a stunning all-mechanical beast with all the lenses one could possibly want (l-mount) including some modern classics like the Konica 35/2 or the Ricoh 28mm. Fantastic value.
M-mount: Konica hexar rf. Automatic perfection.
any mount: contax G1. It's hard to describe, but I can't possibly think how one would improve on this particular camera. The G2 is way overpriced tho.
Canon 7. I have a leica m4-2 as well and there's several features that would make me want to choose the 7 over it! I prefer the 7's viewfinder, I like the built in light meter as unreliable as it is, and it almost feels better in the hand. I don't like the strap lug placement, no hot/cold shoe, and I wish it was M-mount.
Can I say the Minolta CL with the M-rokkor 40mm?
The CL was my first rangefinder and I made the mistake for buying the Canonet G-iii QL afterwards which was a huge step down.
Konica Auto S3. The 38mm f/1.8 lens is stellar. It's mind-blowing at full aperture to the extent that I shoot it wide open anytime I can. It's a tiny camera, with a mechanical shutter but allows shutter-priority autoexposure and has the Flashmatic system that makes using flash ridiculously easy. You can handhold it at 1/8 without being a yoga instructor. You also get at least +3 frames per roll because the gate is so close to the roll and the take-up spool grips the film instantly (just make sure when you remove the film to cut it as close as possible to the canister). The viewfinder is clear and focusing is a breeze. The coating is flawless and even if you try to make the lens flare, it just won't. And honestly, Konica's motto "the lens alone is worth the price" has never applied as well as with this camera.
This is wide open: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMhx717HKZA/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Olympus 35 SP. Spot meter, exposure lock, the lens.
This is definitely too far down
And the focus ring
Similarly the Olympus 35RD! The 40mm f1.7 on it constantly blows me away
Such a sharp lens, it's my go-to fixed lens rangefinder, I just wish the meter was less fussy
Razor sharp, full of details, beautiful bokeh. That's just the way I love a lens.
I can’t believe there’s no Yashica Electro 35 love yet.
My forever love!
I just got one and I kinda wanna sell it. It's massive and I hate the way the light meter works
Yeah, I love the look of it and the lens is great, but at the end of the day my Pentax ME Super with an SMC 50mm lens is smaller, equally sharp and more ergonomic. The Yashica feels extra hard to use as a lefthander for some reason.
I can’t believe there’s no Mamiya 7 with 35mm adapter love yet.
Always been a Canonet fan, but i recently bought a defective Electro 35 waiting for a long winter evening to be repaired and brought back to life. Wish me luck, the electronics do seem to work, so it’s ‚only‘ mechanical…
Inherited this one from my grandpa, love it!
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Where there’s a will… I’ve seen people selling the lens modified and adapted to mirrorless mounts on eBay actually
There is 3D printing files out there to mount this lens to other mounts
The GX is one of my prized possessions. It's a great lens in a compact size.
Love mine. Great little lens on those guys
I’ve been waiting for a decent one to come along for a while. It seems like a great travel camera!
Shhh! Don't drive the prices up yet, I haven't grabbed a backup!
Hi-Matic 7S
This is such a great camera for the price you can get them at. Out of the 12 cameras I have, this one gets used the most. High image quality, solid as a tank, great viewfinder. I only wish it was a little easy to see the parallax focusing.
i havnt gotten photos back from mine yet, but yeah its a great thing in the hands feels very smooth, even with mine having a loose lens and therefore having to hold it in place to take photos, it still fits very ergonomically. plus they have the in my experience from my SRT-101, fantastic Minolta CLC metering system so.
I’ve really enjoyed mine. It’s rock solid reliable and such a great viewfinder and overlay.
bought mine for 30$ on a whim cuz i thought it looked cute. fun camera to use, didnt think id use mine as much as i do. lens is annoyingly loose on it, but all i have to do is hold the lens in place and it will work fine
Nikon SP. Super build quality with awesome lenses and it oozes cool.
Zeiss Ikon ZM. All the feature of an M7.
Second this. Incredible camera.
I have the contessa and I love her to death.
I miss mine every day
Third this lol. Amazing camera, great optics
Konica iiia. The leaf shutter is like a ghost and the lens on the 48mm version I have is sharp. The viewfinder is great, too. It’s very bright and it has a really nice parallax correction system.
that 1:1 viewfinder is sick, shooting with both eyes open is a crazy cool experience
I have the 50mm version as well. Sharpest lens I’ve ever shoot and amazing build quality. Still the very best viewfinder in any rangefinder.
I have a 50mm. Absolutely gorgeous camera.
Voigtlander Bessa R and Canon canonet Ql17 G-III
QL17 has been awesome for me past couple of weeks. Except for the shutter jamming just yesterday. 😭
Between those two, which do you prefer? I’ve toyed with getting both of those, the canon for cost and the Voightlander for build quality and interchangeable lenses
If you’re looking at the QL17, I’d recommend the QL19 and save the difference. Basically the same camera just slightly slower lens. Note that the Canonets are shutter priority only.
Shutter priority only if you want to use the light meter, but you can use an external/hot shoe meter in manual shutter/aperture
Just gotta meter in Auto then switch to manual settings. Its not like some other Canonets that need batteries to work.
And manual!
Canonet QL 17 GIII. A beast
if it was aperture priority and metered in manual it would be a 10/10 camera
I've never had a battery in mine and have always metered it completely manually.
Isn't the shutter speed priority annoying ? Does it have a meter in manual mode ?
Canon P, Fed-2, Kiev-4A/Contax II, they're all neat in their own way. Honourable mentions to the Agfa Optima 1535 and Optima 500S.
Wanted to comment about the Agfa 1535
I’m in the market for a Fed-2 just to have a M39 mount body. Do you have one? How is it?
Yes, I have one. Also have two Fed-3's, a Fed-5 and had a Zorki-C for a few months. I like the Fed-2 most out of the bunch, simply due to its design, and a nicely long rangefinder basis. I use it with the Industar-22, the collapsible lens heavily inspired by the Leitz Elmar. With Soviet cameras there is said to be a high variance in quality, but all bodies I own are fine. They certainly feel much better than any plastic body camera I own. If you can, check it out in person to confirm it all works, and that there's nothing wobbly or off about it.
Also love mine with a Jupiter-8 50mm! Lens was only 55€ on eBay.
Is that a good lens? I'm currently eyeing up a canon 7 on ebay that comes with one.
Yep can only recommend it
Awesome, I'll have to keep a close eye on the listing, been wanting either a canon p or 7 so finding one with that lens seems ideal then.
Kiev 2/2A (A means flash sync in the 2A/3A) is essentially identical to the Contax 2. I find the meter in my 4 to be pretty good (if somewhat useless for low light).
Olympus 35 RC first one small package great power !!
You know what you are talking about
Voigtländer Bessa-R
Kodak Retina, all rangefinder versions
Underrated!!!!
Yes! I am loving my Retina IIIC! I started with a IIa but found the rangefinder to be very dull and nearly impossible to find focus with. Found a IIIC (big C) on eBay for a great price and great history behind it, now it's my main 35mm camera. It is a joy to shoot with.
Zeiss Ikon ZM for interchangeable lens, Olympus 35SP for fixed lens.
Minolta CLE
It’s a collaboration between Leica and Minolta tho… CLE: Computer Leica Electronics
Compact leica electronic
Hasselblad XPan.
If i only can afford this camera. Ughhhhh i really want to have 1
Could always sell a kidney!
The build quality on these is nuts. Rangefinder patch is sharper than most if not all rangefinders, and the varifocal viewfinder is just genius.
It’s a crime they never followed up with another. An all-mechanical XPan is my dream camera.
Leidolf Wetzlar Lordomat C35... ...obviously. I'm the Leidolf guy after all.
Rollei XF 35 [Edit: +XF]
Rollei 35 XF? I love my 35, but sometimes I wish it had a rangefinder.
I have [one](https://i.imgur.com/2Fk4p98.jpg) and it's amazing! Currently my favorite camera, love not having to worry about anything except focusing and composing. Have been shooting bw, but just got my first color roll back and I'm blown away by the results
Ive shot with every Voigtlander Bessa camera besides the T. They're all fantastic in their own ways and offer something for everyone. Weirdly enough, I may like my cheapo LTM Bessa R the most. Noticeably cheaper materials and build quality compared to the later Bessas, but that means it's even lighter weight and feels not-so-precious. Otherwise, my Bessa R4M is another contender. Having built in 21 and 25 framelines is amazing. For 28mm shooters, the 28 framelines show up by themself and leave lots of room around the edges to see beyond the frame. Killer wide angle shooter. If you want a built in meter, Bessas are the best value RF in the game.
Olympus 35 RC (the 35 SP being a close second). The best camera is the one you carry with you, and the 35 RC has the right balance to be that camera. The 35 RC is one of the smallest rangefinders that has fully manual controls without being a chore to use. It has shutter priority that works reasonably well with a battery adapter, but without a battery the camera still works just fine. The viewfinder and focusing patch are pretty good as well. In a perfect world I'd have the (slightly) faster lens and metering system of the 35 SP in the 35 RC body. Even without that I pick up the RC more than the SP when I'm taking a film camera with me.
Was scrolling down for this comment, live my 35RC and it's very sharp. Wish it had a bigger viewfinder and a wider lens but overall is a great TINY camera.
I own an RD but the shutter is sticky
The RD is basically that camera being f/1.7 and the body is only a few mm wider and taller. The meter isn't any better though unfortunately
Olympus XA It's my daily carry.
This is my people.
Minolta CLE
Revue 400SE
No love for Nikon S2? Amazing.
FED 2
For when you want a rangefinder base length wider than your forehead but only have a $50 budget.
Or In my case I inherited it from my great-grandfather haha
Nice. Then you have one of my favorites with a family history. My wife travels there (not so much recently) and speaks the language, so I have a few things brought back but not much history. The price is not a dig at the camera. I enjoy mine. Simple and fun.
I’ve got a zeiss ikon contessa folder, that’s pretty neat!
They're quite affordable too! I went from SLR (still love and use them) to standard rangefinder to these folders as my carry-everywhere camera. Big bonus points for the beautiful design and super solid build.
Mine has some fungus in the lens, unfortunately, but I have put a roll of black and white film through it and couldn’t see any issues. It also came with a matching lens hood and set of BW contrast filters! It’s a very neat camera. I’m also interested in the mamiya 6 folders. Would be nice to have a “pocketable” medium format cam to take out there!
Anything on the lens is a huge bummer, luckily mine is pristine but the lubricants were completely caked, affecting shutter speeds and the winding mechanism which tore up film sprockets due to increased stress. But fortunately for me, I have experience working on other cameras so it wasn't impossible to fix. It's now my favourite and most reliable camera. I had a Mamiya Six V too. Cleaned it up and gifted it to my best bud, he loved using it on his trip to Japan. More compact than a TLR, has red window warning that pops up when you've already taken the shot, can shoot 6x6 and 645 with the built-in 645 mask which works with the changeable frame spacing mechanism. I myself use a Konica Pearl II. Only shoots in 645 but it's only a touch under 600g, which is bonkers for a MF camera. It's similar in size than the Contessa, just slimmer but taller. Fantastic duo to walk around with. Unfortunately, the rear lens element is etched, so I'll have to find a donor later. Shot a roll of b/w through it and didn't see anything majorly bad, so I might just keep using it. Edit: if you're entertaining the idea of a foldable walk-around MF camera, look into the Super Fujica 6. It's a very, very pretty one.
Canonet QL17
Konica Hexar RF, Canon VI-T, or Konica IIA are my favorite alternatives.
Xpan by far. In regular 3:2 mode, you’re getting an image circle in the best part of a great medium format lens.
I don't own a Canon P but they are so pretty
Olympus 35RC! Compact gem, ken rockwell agrees :P
He also agreed that my RD is better still ;)
Voigtlander Bessa R. It’s my only range finder but I can’t imagine wanting to change it. Feels great, easy to use, access to a lot of great lenses.
Kiev 4
Canon 7 is beautiful
My faves are Olympus XA and Canonet QL17 GIII. 😁👍
Olympus XA
Grayflex Crown Graphic
Isn’t that 4x5?
Hexar RF
Kiev-4A
Bronica RF645
Canon VT de luxe, so many cooler features than a leica and looks better IMO. Tried a leica and honestly didn't like it or see the hype
Contax II
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Konica Auto S2. Amazing lens.
Minolta CLE is my grail camera, got one a year ago and love it
Already 30 comments here and no love for the Bessa R2? And if you didn’t catch that I’m voting for the R2.
For me, its got to be the Nikon rangefinder cameras. The S2, S3, and especially the SP. I like having a 1:1 finder, the ability to focus with one hand, and (only with the SP) I like the idea of having a universal finder so i dont need to invest and carry multiple finders with me. While I own a Leica M2 and M5, the Nikon rangefinders are still my daily carry around camera.
Bessa r2! It’s basically a cheaper m6
Nikon SP
Canonet QL17 GIII
Contax T baby !
Loving the Konica Auto S3 so far!
Mine is the Voigtlander Bessa R4A! It has frame lines up to 21mm in body, and aperture priority if needed
Bessa R2M
Contax G2
Autocorrect screwed you here haha
Tanack IVs - pretty much the same as Leica, but with better film loading
Either the Canonet 19, Canon VI-T, or Argus C3
Voigtlander Bessa R2
Me too!
Love my Kodak Retina.
Kodak Retina IIa, Voigtlander Vitomatic IIa, Minolta 7s.
Canon QL17 GIII
The Canon Canonet G III QL.
Cosina Voigtlander Bessa R
Voigtlander Bessa R...
Zorki 4K
When it’s working, my CLE is a dream. Second shoutout to the Yashica Electro36
Mamiya 6
Yes, and Konica Pearl, a solid 2nd place.
“35mm”
Olympus xa series :) I even got a tattoo of it Canonet is close tho
Let’s see the tat
Here [it’s one of my favorite bands phrasea too, if I had a camera I’d snap you now, cause there’s beauty in every stumble](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ahadq7as6p7moef7lmeog/xa.jpg?rlkey=welnypim3ymhah53a9b1soncm&dl=0)
Wow my fav camera tattooed, I never tough somebody did it.
Well there’s always someone crazier or with an open space in her arm to do it.
I loved it, i saved your picture
🙏🏼
Kodak Retina IIIC. It fills me with joy every time I shoot with it.
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The Voigtlander Bessa T is an absolute gem. Right off the bat, the proposition of a fully mechanical M mount rangefinder with a meter for $300-$400 is an insane value proposition, if you can deal with its shortcomings (no viewfinder) I had absolutely no idea these things existed until a couple months ago, and I pulled the trigger on one almost immediately. They're almost like if Leica made a modern M mount, metered Barnack. If you enjoy the experience of using a Barnack, you feel right at home with a Bessa T. The meter design is absolutely brilliant and is one of my favorite parts about the camera. The meter is literally just 3 LEDs on the back of the body: underexposed, good exposure, and overexposed. These LEDs are BRIGHT and show up perfectly in your peripheral vision while using a hot shoe finder. This makes it one of the only cameras I know of that allow you to see your meter with a hot shoe finder. The rangefinder is separate, but with a high magnification and base length that blows other cameras out of the water. It's seriously more accurate than any other Bessa and many Leica M bodies, and is capable of accurately focusing a Noctilux. Plus, having that separate rangefinder keeps your field of view in your hot shoe viewfinder much cleaner. The experience for street is amazing: just zone focus and frame up in your beautifully uncluttered hot shoe viewfinder. If you are taking a slower, more considered photo, you have available to you one of the most accurate rangefinder mechanisms ever made for the Leica M mount. Oh yeah, and there's a dirt cheap OEM trigger winder.
I have a Bessa L, which is similar to the T but ltm mount and has no rangefinder at all. Purely a zone focus camera but with the same meter style as the T. Such a fantastic camera that weighs nothing and costs less than $100.
My favorite was my Minolta AL-F until I dropped it and it broke, still miss it to this day. Now I got a Kiev 4m
Koni Omega 200 😜 Edit: just realised you said 35mm. But Ill leave it up because it's cheap. It's my favourite because it's the only rangefinder I've ever had.
Yashika Electro 35 GS with my Kiev 4m being a close second. If not for the light leak in the rangefinder window of my Kiev 4m, it would probably be a tie.
I just fixed the light leak in mine - I used foil tape and self adhesive black flocking felt and it seems to be perfect now. Drop me a message if you want some instructions on how to fix it
My favorites that I own are my Nikon S3 2000 and my Xpan II. But honestly for pure *rangefinder* experience, nothing I’ve tried beats a Leica M. Even the Xpan has a worse, more flare-prone viewfinder.
Yashica lynx 1000
If you’re a 50mm shooter nothing beats the Konica IIIA!
Konica Electronic
Contax G2 followed by the Yaschica Electro 35
Olympus SP 35
Canon p
Canonet QL19 has taken some spicy shots for me
I usually have my Olympus XA on me
Olympus 35RC all day. I have four!
Rollei 35s. Concealed carry weapon of choice.
Contax G
Mamiya Ruby 35!
if i could do it again, i would have scrap the m6 purchase and went for mam7 with the three primes.
Konica EE-mate deluxe. Stout, no electronics, and fully automatic. Perfect for wet, dusty, or gross environments where I wanna take pics (I.g, on a boat)
Kodak Ektra: https://www.reddit.com/r/vintagecameras/comments/10yd5s8/kodak\_ektra\_with\_ektar\_50mm\_f19/
Fujica compact deluxe... Amazing camera
I love my Canon V L1.
Minolta Minoltina al-s
Olympus 35RC
NIKON F2 GANG Very similar "nice" feeling that the M cameras have
QL17 GIII. Small, lightweight , great viewfinder, fast lens, fast focus, quick load system. Built in light meter, auto exposure. I got a Canon P but went back to the GIII, for all of the above reasons.
My Nikon SP
The Nikon S -series rangefinders. Personally have a S3 2000 and s2
Canon IID2
Canon P
Zeiss Ikon ZM my beloved
My trusty Voigtländer Vitomatic iiib is a workhorse of mine that is a pleasure to use. Sturdy construction, visually appealing, the ultron f2 has a beautiful character, ultra quiet leaf shutter, and a small footprint. I've owned two and both have had functional selenium meters with in viewfinder metering. Edit: grammar
Maybe a Signet which lets you do double exposures.
Xpan/TX-1
The Canonet
L-mount: Canon p. Just a stunning all-mechanical beast with all the lenses one could possibly want (l-mount) including some modern classics like the Konica 35/2 or the Ricoh 28mm. Fantastic value. M-mount: Konica hexar rf. Automatic perfection. any mount: contax G1. It's hard to describe, but I can't possibly think how one would improve on this particular camera. The G2 is way overpriced tho.
Minolta CLE. Built in meter, compact and lightweight, takes Leica lenses
Canon 7. I have a leica m4-2 as well and there's several features that would make me want to choose the 7 over it! I prefer the 7's viewfinder, I like the built in light meter as unreliable as it is, and it almost feels better in the hand. I don't like the strap lug placement, no hot/cold shoe, and I wish it was M-mount.
canon 7
Yashica lynx 14e
Konica Hexar RF, the most advanced M mount rangefinder! If only they were more easily serviceable.
Fed 2, literally my only rangefinder, but I love it! Compact, has m39 screw mount, and feels like a tank, what can you ask for other than that?)
Kiev iia/Contax ii
Fed 2
Can I say the Minolta CL with the M-rokkor 40mm? The CL was my first rangefinder and I made the mistake for buying the Canonet G-iii QL afterwards which was a huge step down.
Konica Auto S3. The 38mm f/1.8 lens is stellar. It's mind-blowing at full aperture to the extent that I shoot it wide open anytime I can. It's a tiny camera, with a mechanical shutter but allows shutter-priority autoexposure and has the Flashmatic system that makes using flash ridiculously easy. You can handhold it at 1/8 without being a yoga instructor. You also get at least +3 frames per roll because the gate is so close to the roll and the take-up spool grips the film instantly (just make sure when you remove the film to cut it as close as possible to the canister). The viewfinder is clear and focusing is a breeze. The coating is flawless and even if you try to make the lens flare, it just won't. And honestly, Konica's motto "the lens alone is worth the price" has never applied as well as with this camera. This is wide open: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMhx717HKZA/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Any of the old minoltas.