I've gone full frame mirrorless, and I'm not looking back. With a ;)

[mrjr]

(I know, I know. Having a bit too much fun with that troll-ish thread title. Anyway..)

I'm really digging fixed lens rangefinders these days (and, digging shooting film), and I thought I'd share a couple photos of recent acquisitions.

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Check out how tiny that Olympus XA is! That's actually my main motivation for posting: I was thoroughly surprised at how tiny it is when I received it. I fully expected it to be 25-30% larger in every dimension. It's actually about the same size as my wife's EPL-3, and that's before mounting a lens! Nuts.

The Konica Hexar is also pretty compact, and is a superlative performer. Notably, the AF is really impressive; a little slow compared to the modern m43 lenses, but sure-footed in every situation, including downright darkness.

All of these setups sport 35mm or equivalent lenses, and that's no accident; I'm really enamored with that focal length right now. (There's actually also a Minolta XG-M and Rokkor-X 35mm f2.8 sitting over here, too.)

Anyone else shooting fixed-lens rangefinders these days? (Oh, and if you are, what lab do you use for push-processing color negative film?)

Shooting film is definitely stealing my attention and time away from shooting my m43 gear. I know it's just a phase, though.
Oh, and I have no intention of ditching my m4/3 gear for full frame digital—no way. Not hating or flaming, just saying.

 

[OzRay]

When I sold my M mount lenses yesterday, the dealer tested out the 40mm f2 on this model of camera and I have to say what a nice feeling camera it was:

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[mrjr]

Ah, the CLE. Post not photos of such expensive, wonderful cameras. I'm too poor! I can only afford the fixed lens rangefinders. (But those should keep me occupied and happy for a while).

 

[phigmov]

Nice one. The Haxar AF is a sweet camera. I've got a few Oly zone-focus viewfinder cameras (Trip & original Pens) and rangefinder (35SP) - great fun. Enjoy shooting with them

 

[mrjr]

Funny anecdote from 5 minutes ago: Was looking all over the house for the XA...







Was in my pocket. :happy-084:

 

[zap]

why not try another focal length? then you're ready to shoot when you needed to and didn't have the time to move closer (or farther)...

 

[Pecos]

I had an XA - took many backpacking shots with it, and they enlarged well.
I wish "they" would make an m43 with a fixed lens into a package that small. Granted, maybe the XA lens isn't great, and I think it was f/2.8, but wow, what a camera.

 

[Replytoken]

I had a Hexar and a Stylus when I shot film, and I loved them both. The Hexar was an amazing camera, and It was my AF counterpart to my Leica M4-2. I only traded it in recently, and was considering keeping it, but I am probably not going back to film so I let it go.

--Ken

 

[Ranger Rick]

Still have my Hexar, and, IIRC, it uses IR to focus, so it can truly focus in the dark. Of course, what then gets recorded on film......


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[mrjr]

I had an XA - took many backpacking shots with it, and they enlarged well.
I wish "they" would make an m43 with a fixed lens into a package that small. Granted, maybe the XA lens isn't great, and I think it was f/2.8, but wow, what a camera.

Yes. That would be very tempting indeed. The X100s is close, and the GR1 and Coolpix A are arguably there (although at 28mm instead of 35mm equivalent). But I'm with you: lets get a Pen with a built-in fixed 17mm f1.8 in a smaller package, and I'm in.

why not try another focal length? then you're ready to shoot when you needed to and didn't have the time to move closer (or farther)...

There's always room for different focal lengths, but I've had enough experience with different primes lenses to know what I like. For fixed lens rangefinders, you'll mostly have choices from 28mm to 45mm (and most of them are 40-45mm). I like 28mm and 35mm, but not as big a fan of lengths between 35mm and 50mm. That leaves precious few cameras to choose from. The next couple I'd like to try are the Yashica Electro CC and Konica Auto S3.

Still have my Hexar, and, IIRC, it uses IR to focus, so it can truly focus in the dark. Of course, what then gets recorded on film......

Exactly. On both points. I'm truly falling in love with it. Unfortunately, I had to send mine back to KEH for replacement because of undisclosed filter ring damage. (KEH staff was very helpful, though. Top notch!) But in another week or two, I should have another Hexar in my possession.

People talk about how bad the user interface and menus and manual are, kinda like they do about Olympus. It's not perfect, sure, but it's nothing like bad, either. (Edited: to be clear, the manual is bad. Quite bad.)

 

[phigmov]

Have you enabled the quiet shutter ?

 

[mrjr]

Have you enabled the quiet shutter ?

I've read about it, but no, I haven't. Frankly, I don't see much point, haha. It's crazy quiet as is. The whirring sound of the lens focus motor is a slightly irritating pitch, though, I'll admit. I wouldn't mind taming that, but I also wouldn't want to wait longer for it to focus. I'll have look up the steps to enable it so I can try it out and see what I think. Can't hurt anything to try it.

 

[phigmov]

Yeah, I think it has more novelty value than anything else - still its nice to see manufacturers drop in little easter-eggs like that.