7 Analog Rangefinder Cameras That Are Affordable In 2022 | Olympus XA | Leica M 4-P | 35mm Film

[@weisserth]

I own a few of these cameras. Here are some thoughts to consider: Olympus XA: get it while it's this cheap. Only get the original XA. This camera is a no-brainer still at this price point. Aperture priority, hard to adjust/compensate exposure manually (unless you mess with the ISO setting of the meter). Minolta Hi-Matic 7s II: I got the black version of this camera. It's great. It's a shutter priority camera, you set the shutter speed, the camera chooses the aperture. You can use it fully manually and mechanically, it does not need a battery to fire the shutter then when setting the shutter speed and aperture manually. It has a hot shoe and thanks to the leaf shutter in the lens, flash syncs at all shutter speeds (up to 1/500s). If you plan to use flash on the street, this may be your best choice. The shutter is relatively silent, the film advance is somewhat loud though. Great camera. Konica Hexar AF: I got the black version. It's an amazing camera. The auto-focus is fast and reliable, I think it works better than the auto-focus on my Contax G2. The auto-focus is infrared based. It's important to understand that because there are some limitations with that. The IR auto-focus beam will not pass through many transparent surfaces like glass. You cannot reliably focus on something behind a window, as the window will reflect the IR beam, rather than allow it to pass through to what you're focusing on. You can set the focus distance with the menu buttons manually and use zone focusing by aperture, but you need to know DoF/hyperfocal distance, the camera has no zone focus scale. The other limitation of the camera is the fastest shutter speed: 1/250s. 1/250s is barely fast enough to freeze action, many street scenes will not render sharp photographs without motion blur. The slow fastest shutter speed also limits the camera to slower ISO films, especially if you plan to take advantage of the sharp f2 aperture the lens provides. The lens has a filter thread, so you can use an ND filter and metering is through the lens. The camera lends itself perfectly for capturing slow, quiet scenes candidly. Annie Leibovitz used a Hexar AF. If it's good enough for her, it's good enough for you.

[@seb_steimel]

Thank you so much for this roundup! That’s a brilliant collection of cameras you have :) always wondered how the hexars af performs so well - especially when I compare it with some newer digital cameras with much slower working af.

[@weisserth]

@@seb_steimel with a line of sight to your subject you can auto focus fast and reliable in pitch black darkness.

[@pggrootde6726]

As to what is affordable…. I had a different vision of affordable when I started your video. I thought all examples would be below 1000 euros or something like that. Would include the Contax T….. Anyway, I enjoyed your video. Thanks! 😊

[@seb_steimel]

Thank you 😃 the Contax T is a great tipp. Thanks for this one! This list is definitely not complete. I added the over 1000 euros cameras just for showing that there are still pretty modern rangefinders that are priced below a M6 or M7.

[@keysersmoze]

I learned to take photos with my Dad's Petri Rangefinder. Early 1960s? All manual, I learned to use an external light meter and tend to the settings, but easy and accurate to focus.

[@seb_steimel]

I just read about the Petri - thanks! The camera looks amazing!

[@user-wr9rv7ze8l]

One more good option for a 1000€ camera is Nikon SP. Amazing viewfinder, actually there are two of them for different focal lengths, and can be operated with one hand

[@oversharingturtle4462]

I’m not gonna lie yashica rangefinders really go unnoticed

[@seb_steimel]

You’re absolutely right! I just don’t have any experience with yashicas yet (except for the great yashica mat 124) but I will look into them.

[@mynewcolour]

Konica C35 and IIIA are two fixed-lens sleepers at the cheaper end.

[@seb_steimel]

thanks a lot! will look into these ones :)

[@walcottrulez]

he left out the leica/minolta CL

[@roberthallam6741]

Did he understand "affordable"?

[@chadroberts44]

Ok you talked me into subscribing. I hope you consider subscribing to mine as well, although it is quite different. I only have one rangefinder camera, the Texas Leica. GSW 690. Original model version 1 with the 65 mm lens. It shoots very wide and is a very pleasant camera although quite large. I have a number of 35 mm SLR's and one camera like your Rolleiflex only its a Yashica Yashicaflex new B with an 80mm lens. Thanks for the good info. I have liked all of your videos.

[@seb_steimel]

Thank you so much!! I would love to own a Texas Leica one day because i think it’s the perfect concept - but right now they are quite expensive in Germany. I subscribed to your channel too!

[@georgekrasheninnikov6791]

Why "analog"? " Film cameras".

[@kerry5586]

Sorry but the music makes this video impossible to listen to, and it isn't needed: your voice is enough.