[Denver]

read all the posts. The glaring omission of the Olympus XA is so sad. It's a great little camera, slides into the pocket easily, takes great pics. Has a nice rangefinder. I have one and it has been a solid reliable camera. Highly recommend it as a camera to carry.

Herb Green

[Astro-Baby]

I have a Zorki 4 thats fully refurbed and optically it takes good pictures but its quite painful to use. Slow and clunky.

I think if I wanted a true RF for easy carry I would go with either a Minolta HiMatic or perhaps an Olympus Trip. I have read some Trips suffer lens hazing fairly often so you may want to approach with caution.

[stevebrot]

read all the posts. The glaring omission of the Olympus XA is so sad. It's a great little camera, slides into the pocket easily, takes great pics. Has a nice rangefinder. I have one and it has been a solid reliable camera. Highly recommend it as a camera to carry.

Herb Green

I have an XA and truly love the camera, but finding one in decent condition has become difficult in recent years, so I tend to not recommend. There is also the matter that seal replacement is a pain, even with a Jon Goodman kit. Still though, if one is found in good condition at a reasonable price, it is a must-buy. I have done some good work with mine...



Amazing lens...


Steve

[stevebrot]

I have a Zorki 4 thats fully refurbed and optically it takes good pictures but its quite painful to use. Slow and clunky.

That is why I prefer my FED-2 over my Zorki 4K. The Zorki has a better finder and slow speeds, but changing shutter speeds is painful. The FED is smaller has a longer rangefinder base (more accurate focus) and less picky shutter speed selection and is simply less of a handful.


Steve

[AgentL]

The 500G is bigger than a Rollei 35, about the same size as a Konica C35. But it's considerably smaller than any of the Leica thread mount cameras I've seen, think of these as the midway step. The earlier fixed lens rangefinders tend to be a little bigger, and the later ones smaller. For example, earlier Minoltas are larger than later ones, as best I can tell. The midway size like the 500G is a great compromise: it allows you to stow it most places easily, while still being less fiddly than a tiny model like a Rollei 35 or a Minox 35.

[Benz3ne]

More kindling to the fire...

Oh you tease!

[Benz3ne]

I've had a few film rangefinders in my life. My absolute favourite is my '51 Leica llf....screwmount, not bayonet mount. Screwmount is cheaper. Lens, a Leitz Elmar collapsible 50, F 3.5, Yep no meter, but using a hand held meter gets to be a fun thing.

Robust, not particularly fashionable and this makes it cheaper than a Leica bayonet mount as it is merely a screwmount, and the pix it takes are excellent...even 70 years after it was made.

That sounds like a great combination. From what I've seen Leica obviously command a premium but I'll keep an eye out!

read all the posts. The glaring omission of the Olympus XA is so sad. It's a great little camera, slides into the pocket easily, takes great pics. Has a nice rangefinder. I have one and it has been a solid reliable camera. Highly recommend it as a camera to carry.

Herb Green

Thanks Herb - I'll be frank, I'd not considered the plastic, compact-style rangefinders but more the 'old-school' chunky boxes with a lens stuck on the front... I'll investigate!

I have a Zorki 4 thats fully refurbed and optically it takes good pictures but its quite painful to use. Slow and clunky.

I think if I wanted a true RF for easy carry I would go with either a Minolta HiMatic or perhaps an Olympus Trip. I have read some Trips suffer lens hazing fairly often so you may want to approach with caution.

Ah this is very useful to know. I'll probably cross the Zorki's off the list then! I'll keep an eye for Olympus Trips and Minolta Hi Matics, too. The Trips especially have been fetching a premium of late.

The 500G is bigger than a Rollei 35, about the same size as a Konica C35. But it's considerably smaller than any of the Leica thread mount cameras I've seen, think of these as the midway step. The earlier fixed lens rangefinders tend to be a little bigger, and the later ones smaller. For example, earlier Minoltas are larger than later ones, as best I can tell. The midway size like the 500G is a great compromise: it allows you to stow it most places easily, while still being less fiddly than a tiny model like a Rollei 35 or a Minox 35.

Excellent info. Yeah, the 500G does seem to be a good middle-of-the-road type of camera. Sensible size, sensible weight, very sensible price currently. Any particular issues I should be mindful of before looking to buy?


Thanks again all, incredible knowledge amongst you lot!

[StiffLegged]

I have a Zorki 4 thats fully refurbed and optically it takes good pictures but its quite painful to use. Slow and clunky.

That’s exactly how I remember them, and why they weren’t kept.

[Angelic Layer]

I just encountered a Seagull/Phenix 205 today, I believe it is mostly manual.
Plenty can be found in low cost and good condition since it was manufactured to more recent years.
Lens is just a step below those 70-80's top Japanese rangefinders and very usable.

[stevebrot]

Excellent info. Yeah, the 500G does seem to be a good middle-of-the-road type of camera. Sensible size, sensible weight, very sensible price currently. Any particular issues I should be mindful of before looking to buy?

My memory is that there is an issue with rotting light seals that are not easily dealt with using the usual materials. The feature set is good, the compact size is a plus, and optical performance is great. I have a mental note to buy if I see one in reasonable condition for sale.


Steve

[AgentL]

The light seals can be a problem, but they are actually easy to fix. Rather than having thin strips sunk into grooves, the light sealing foam surrounds the whole back, including (oddly enough) around the viewfinder. The viewfinder/rangefinder may also be dirty or dim. Mine was overhauled by another photographer who replaced the foam. It's quite satisfactory now.

[Benz3ne]

Great information above as always, folks.
Right, so I've been looking around at this/that/other, and in the meantime have sent off my MX's (x2) for a full service each. Unless I find something particularly inexpensive, that works straight out the box, I'll probably put this little endeavour on hold.
Loving the look of the FED-2 though, great looking little camera s hopefully one will crop up inexpensively before too long. There aren't that many good examples under the £50 mark these days, by the look of it.

[Benz3ne]

Great information above as always, folks.
Right, so I've been looking around at this/that/other, and in the meantime have sent off my MX's (x2) for a full service each. Unless I find something particularly inexpensive, that works straight out the box, I'll probably put this little endeavour on hold.
Loving the look of the FED-2 though, great looking little camera s hopefully one will crop up inexpensively before too long. There aren't that many good examples under the £50 mark these days, by the look of it.

Gah - I have only today stumbled across an eBay UK seller with a swathe of FED-2's and FED-3's (as well as a FED-4 or two, some FED-5's, Zorki x's, Zenit SLR, a few lenses).
They're apparently serviced, all come with lenses, typically Industar 61's and more often than not cases too, all for around the price I stipulated above for the poorer examples, sans lenses...
The game is back on.
Question I'm asking myself now is FED-2 or FED-3?

[stevebrot]

Question I'm asking myself now is FED-2 or FED-3?

The FED-3 gives up the long rangefinder base. I vote for FED-2 (type-D short deck with vulcanite* cover).

Soviet and Russian Cameras - Fed-2

Added:

Another option might be a Zorki 6. It has lever wind, long rangefinder base, and hinged back along with the simpler shutter from the FED-2.

http://www.sovietcams.com/index.php?1810920220


Steve

* The fabric-style body cover looks cheap and offers inferior grip compared to the excellent Soviet version of Leica-style vulcanite.

[Angelic Layer]

Gah - I have only today stumbled across an eBay UK seller with a swathe of FED-2's and FED-3's (as well as a FED-4 or two, some FED-5's, Zorki x's, Zenit SLR, a few lenses).
They're apparently serviced, all come with lenses, typically Industar 61's and more often than not cases too, all for around the price I stipulated above for the poorer examples, sans lenses...
The game is back on.
Question I'm asking myself now is FED-2 or FED-3?

I would also look at included lens, I prefer Jupiter which is a Sonnar design to Industar, though the Industar is more compact.
I personally prefer Zorki 4K with lever advanced, not much personal experience with Zorki 6 but this is what I read.:

Zorki 4k - no strap lugs, wide range of speeds, lever wind, easy to load.
Zorki 6 - strap lugs, no slow speeds, lever wind, not quite so easy to load (take-up spool design inferior).

Fed is more compact but generally came with Industar, a Tessar type design instead of Jupiter.
You might also want to look at Kiev 4AM if you are willing to spend a but more as some of these came with the even superior Helios lens, but make sure it is working of course, the shutter ribbon is their weak point, most consider the Kiev to be a finer camera than either Zorki or Fed.