Originally posted by ChrisPlatt To be fair compactness is not just about the size of the camera body, but also the lens.
For nearly any focal length rangefinder camera lenses are far smaller than those for SLRs.
Chris
True, although recent large aperture Leica and Voigtlander lenses tend to be as big as SLR ones. I have a few of the early Voigtlanders (15mm, 21mm, 25mm and 35mm) and they are small as rangefinder lenses should be. Not speed demons though.
---------- Post added 04-04-18 at 09:51 PM ----------
Originally posted by LesDMess Nice side by side! I too was surprised when my buddy brought in his M6. However, I was stunned when he told me what he paid for it plus one lens!
The Pentax LX clearly stood the world of interchanggeable viewfinder cameras on it's head with the Pentax LX!
I'm being kind to the Nikons showing them with their clean prisms. The LX was the last clean prism but unlike the Nikons, it still has it's meter and we all know what a meter that is!
When I got my Leica M4 serviced last year I took my Voigtlander Bessa R2 with me to show it to the technician. He is a reputable Leica guy here in the UK servicing Leicas for decades.
He was very impressed with the Bessa as he has not handled one before. When I had a chat with him recently he told me someone was after a used Leica, but found them too expensive. He then recommended the lady to get a Bessa instead. Speaks for itself I think.