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Old 5th November 2009, 06:58 PM
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Default Small Carry Around Camera - Which One?

I have been having some discussion with Bobrob (formerly geetoo) about carrying a small camera more to get the odd shot.

He is using an Olympus XA and has produced some fine negatives during his daily dog walks of which I have a sample to make some prints.

I have been researching the net and the auction site with a view to buying something light and portable. My options have been Minox ML, Olympus XA or XA3 and the Rollei B35.

I have discounted the Minox as a friend had one and the shutter kept packing up. This has also been confirmed as a weak point by others.

The XA series are small and pocketable but seem fairly expensive on the auction site considering their age.

The B35 is a simplified version of the original 35 but I am not sure about the Triotar lens.

Today I found locally a Rollei 35S, in excellent condition complete with a Rollei flash, case and box. Allegedly the f2.8 Sonnar lens is the best of those fitted to this series of cameras. It is priced at £120 but they are open to offers so I think I can get it for about £100 which seems to be cheap compared to the auction site and dealers adverts. The only down side I can think of is that it uses the PX625 battery.

Have people had experience of any of these cameras and if so what would you recommend? Are the modern replacement batteries a real problem for the meter? This will also apply to my OM's when I need to replace their batteries.

Thanks for any information

Bill
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Old 5th November 2009, 07:56 PM
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I'm using XA (2.8/35mm) with great satisfaction! Some may have dim viewfinders, but mine is fine and rangefinder works in every light.

But they are getting old, so I wouldn't buy them without inspection.

Miha

p.s. what about Olymps Trip?
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Old 5th November 2009, 08:08 PM
Dave miller Dave miller is offline
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Ffords have a couple of unused Olympus Mju1 Limited Edition cameras at £79 each.
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Old 5th November 2009, 08:10 PM
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I have tried the Konica C35 with impressive results - for the money. Coupled rangefinder and a good lens that accepts filters. Designed for the PX625 battery but works fine with 1.5v modern equivalent. The various clones including the Chinon 35EE are worth looking at and when I last looked could be picked up cheaply on eBay.

Hope this helps.

Robert
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Old 5th November 2009, 08:26 PM
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I'll second the Konica C35 which has a super lens, sharp and contrasty if you like that kind of thing. Must be going for a song these days?
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Old 5th November 2009, 08:33 PM
Peter S Peter S is offline
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Bill
I have been using a Wein Cell MRB 625 1.35 volt battery in the meter of my Yashica Mat 124G for some time now,they last a lot longer than the one year that the makers claim,for me that is.
They are a direct replacement for the band PX625,and can be bought from the Small Battery Co. in London for £5.50 each.
The website is worth a look,they list a lot of replacement batteries for old cameras, meters etc.
Peter
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Old 5th November 2009, 08:37 PM
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My regular 'carry around' camera is a Ricoh GR1s. There still farely pricey, but you can pick them up for around £150 if you're lucky - I was very lucky and got mine at a local camera club 'junk sale' for £25! I don't think anyone else knew what it was as it wasn't d******! ( there was also a Nikon Fm2 and a couple of Nikon lenses for £20 but I wasn't quick enough!)

Rob
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Old 5th November 2009, 08:57 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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I recently got an old voightlander vito 11 which I use as a carry around camera, no batterys,great lens,color skoper,folds small enough to fit into my pocket, and great results,Richard
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Old 5th November 2009, 09:14 PM
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I bought an XA on eBay recently for this very purpose. They seem to go for about $100 in good condition, but I have been very happy with the camera. Nice and small.
Ian
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Old 5th November 2009, 11:08 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave View Post
Ffords have a couple of unused Olympus Mju1 Limited Edition cameras at £79 each.
The Mju1 is excellent - I have one but it is fully automatic. You have no real control over anything including setting ISO and for B&W the main drawback is that it cannot take filters. The lens is superb however, it is fairly weatherproof and will fit into a normal size pocket without leaving a big bulge.

However with a slightly bigger pocket an Agfa Isolette folder will give you total control and still act as a point and shoot with 400 film and an aperture of f11 to give a handhold able exposure in most daylight conditions at U.K latitudes and produce a 6x6 neg into the bargain.

Mike
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