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> Recommendations for a compact 35mm |
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#1
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Recommendations for a compact 35mm
Can anybody recommend a reasonably priced compact film camera that is pocketable? With or without a need for interchangeable lenses and smaller than, say, a OM1, Leica M6 etc.
I 'think' I would like a second film camera for when I need a higher ASA film or when experimenting with a different film type. I say this as I have enormous difficulty bringing myself to rewind anything but 36 exposures so to change a film halfway through its life fills me with dread ! (and I am too mean to buy 24 exposure film). However, if I can get my head around this condition, it may be cheaper (and less burdensome) than buying a second camera. Also would an alternative be to increase the ASA half way through and stand develop ? I mainly use HP5, but have just been lured by Bruce Robbins' recent article on Adox CMS 20 and while shopping bought some Cinestill aswell ... I do enjoy his blog. David |
#2
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The Olympus Mu (spelling?) lines, and the Yashica T4 are well regarded. Or for a bit more money a Ricoh GR1 has a very good lens and is a tiny camera.
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#3
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David, if you don't mind an older camera what about a folder? the Voigtlander vito range comes to mind, good reliable cameras, and truly small and pocketable, or the Zeiss Ikon contina or contessa, again very dinky and truly good cameras, I was using a contessa folder today, another camera that springs to mind would be a rollei 35, the smallest 35mm camera ever when it was made, Go for the original 35 with the tessar lens, the one made in Germany, they were better made than the later signgapore made versions.
Richard
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jerseyinblackandwhite.blogspot.com |
#4
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I use the Olympus mju (bloody silly name) for a pocket camera. It is waterproof and has a sliding lens cover so is ideal for the purpose. It's a perfectly serviceable and very cheap camera.
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#5
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I have a muj II. It fits into my hand easily and I have smallish hands. In a big hand the camera would virtually be invisible. It has a very good fixed and wide-angle lens, is AF with the ability to use the focus point on a subject that is on the side of the frame and then centre that subject while still maintaining the subjects focus.It has built-in flash as well
In other words a very sophisticated system that you normally only find on much bigger SLRs The drawbacks are that it is fully automatic. It decides the shutter speed and aperture and it reads the film's DX code and this can only be over-ridden with DX coding slips that you stick on top of the film's code. You then cannot easily change the code as it suits you. Neither can you screw in or other wise securely attach filters for B&W I think it was really a camera designed for people who simply wanted a point and shoot where the camera made all the decisions and used colour film. A great beach camera as it has a cover for the lens and is shower-proof. If you are a people/street/ garden-fete photographer and can get as close as you need to the action then it is a good, easily-carried-in-a-pocket camera that requires almost no thought so at the 3:00pm wedding you are still taking good photos at the reception at midnight . Mike |
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What camera do you use at the moment? If it's an SLR, you could get a second body. Many, like the OM-1, are quite small without a lens fitted. I use Nikon cameras, and the F75 is my holiday camera. It weighs very little, but has that DX problem that Mike mentions. I have tried to find a good compact myself, but the issues that always crop up are lack of manual control over aperture, shutter and film speed, and no provision for filters/lens hoods.
Alex |
#7
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Olympus 35RC
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regards, Tony |
#8
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One other option is to buy two bulk loaders with two different films and load as little as 12 shots or less on the cassettes. The chances are that you will use one cassette before there is a need due to light conditions to change over.
Two decent bulk loaders will not be that expensive and the savings on most B&W films compared to the manufacturers 24/36 frame cassettes will pay for the loaders over a few years. Bear in mind that if you are looking to use D3200 this is not available in bulk unfortunately. Another option is to try TMax 400. My experience with this is that changing its speed to 800 results in very little if any loss of shadow detail and the development time in a Kodak developer such as Xtol remains the same as that for 400. It might even be possible to use all 3 speeds(400,800 and 1600) all on the same roll with a compromise dev time that slightly overcooks the 400 shots. Then again there are developers which cater for different speed films in the same tank and one development time. I believe that Prescysol EF from Peter Hogan is one such developer but I have never used it so don't know how well it copes with an EI of 1600. I think that Barry Thornton's Two Bath Developer might also have the capacity to cope with a range of speeds but David Allen on FADU is the expert here. Maybe David and any Prescysol users here will chime in on this So lots of options really Mike |
#9
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Contax G1/G2. Tip top lens quality. Might not meet your "reasonably priced" criteria though.
Contax T series compacts. Rollei 35 Voigtlander Bessa R2 / Rollei 35 RF There's loads of good quality small 35mm cameras. Depends how small and light you really want. I used to own a Canon Snappy. The image quality was excellent. It was a true point and shoot. |
#10
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I really lusted after an olive R2 when Frances Schultz reviewed it in B&W.
May be a good time to re-ignite that lust. |
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