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I use a Leitz/Minolta CL in my mini, take-it-everywhere system. It's tiny, even with two lenses, flash, meter, etc. and offers no compromise in image quality over my best SLRs.
I would have suggested it to Robert but I don't know if it would suit his needs.
The 40mm Summicron/Rokkor C lens is pretty slow at f/2.
I really love it though.
-Neal
If the new Voigtlander would come out with a variation of the classic fixed lens compact rangefinder with a *leaf* shutter I'd grab it in a split second. I bet there'd be plenty other folks tossing elbows alongside me trying to grab one. I really believe there's a market for a reissued Bessa folder.
For me a camera like that must, above all, be discrete. Leicas ain't quiet enough for my tastes. For example, I do some theatre photography. A Canonet GIII QL17 is hardly any louder than clicking a ballpoint pen. Any camera with a focal plane shutter, even a Leica, is going to be significantly louder. I recently wanted to be convinced to get a Leica for this type of photography but just wasn't persuaded.
For now I'm sticking with the Canonet and a battered Olympus XA3 loaded with either Tri-X or Delta 3200 (both do well in Diafine). Metering? I let the XA3 worry about that. With the Canonet I just guesstimate based on what the meter says at the camera's maximum setting of 800, if I bother using the meter at all.
BTW, any SLR with a *cloth* focal plane shutter and mirror lockup, like the OM-1, can be reasonably quiet. Use an ultrawide angle lens, rely on fast film and DOF, lock up the mirror and simply point the camera. The mirror lockup cuts the overall shutter noise in half. And a cloth focal plane shutter is already quieter than metal. I'm even considering adding a Voigtlander accessory finder to my OM-1 just to assist in framing while using the camera this way.
If Robert is shooting in bars and is concerned about shutter noise, we must not go to the same bars. :)
Although it doesn't fit a single condition that Robert mentioned in his original post, IMHO the ultimate camera for bar crawling is the Lomo LCA. It not only captures the image but the images also generally accurately reflect the condition that you were in when you made them. (Although you may not wish to be reminded of that)
-Neal
Robert wanted something not too automated, but the ideal camera for inconspicuous bar shooting might be the discontinued Yashica T4/T5 with its right-angle finder and sharp 35mm Tessar.