Get out the tar & feathers . . .

[nsurit]

I got my Nicca 3S and close focusing f2 50mm Nikkor back from Mark Hama a few weeks ago and am working on my second roll of HP 5. Mark's CLA is superb and the craftmanship on the camera is great . . . an extremely well made machine!

My question is how long does it generally take for the love affair to begin? For one who is use to focusing with a SLR, the rangefinder seems a little more difficult to use and I find myself using the depth of field scale, shooting at f16 and not messing with focusing for many situations.

My 35mm SLR cameras are Olympus OM single digit series. They are somewhat larger than the Nicca, however not much, if any, heavier. So, it is back to my original question about how long it takes for the love affair to begin? What has those who use rangefinder 35mm cameras select them rather than SLRs?

Please don't get the tar too hot. Bill Barber

[Nicholas Lindan]

Use whatever feels best for you. I normally use SLRs for 35mm, but sometimes an RF camera just feels right.

[frank]

Everyone has different tastes. RF may not be yours. No problem.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I found I really started enjoying rangefinder shooting when I had a feel for the aperture range that I liked and didn't have to look too much at the DOF scale. Usually that means about one or two stops from wide open with whatever lens I have, and the fastest shutter speed I can use. Closer to wide open, I think, you get more of a sense of what a rangefinder lens can do--really sharp subject, soft background. Try sticking around f:8 for a while.

[michael9793]

I love my Leica M6 it is light and very quite. But then I love my Pentax 67II. It is a very large SLR, and very very loud. plus LF and ULF cameras, but that has nothing to do with this. You have to get a feel but not all range finder camera are easy to use or can become something you can fall in love with. I also have a Nikon S2 and that is much harder for me to use than the Leica.

[Polybun]

You know I've been rethinking sports photography lately. I can see why SLR is a desirable trait with sports photography, but focal plane shutters, yuk! So over the summer I used a rangefinder with a leaf shutter, it made a big difference. Mostly because on the bright sunny days i could use fill flash.

The most intresting part of this, the responce from the bmx racers. They asked "why didn't you bring your good camera?" That was until i had prints in my hand two weeks later

[Claire Senft]

I believe for starters that 140ºF for the tar is appropriate. The feathers are used at ambient temperature...I recommend goose feathers... are you down with that?

[Mark Fisher]

You are not alone......

I started using 70's rangefinders and a FED2 (50mm lens only). Based on those, I thought that I'd love a leica. I didn't. I just didn't like the less-than-full viewfinder view with anything other than the widest lens. I still love my old, cheap rangefinders and I have one of my OM's being CLAed now. I'd also love one of the new (or old) Fujis....but I don't really want an interchangable lens rangefinder.

[nsouto]

To me the biggest attraction of the rangefinder is the ability to easily hand-hold at much lower shutter speeds than with a slr.

There is also the "can see through the shot, no black-out" argument, but that is a bit moot in my opinion.

I've also had better image quality wide open from my r/f lenses than anything I have for slrs, but I know others don't accept that argument for various reasons.

As for the feathers: hey, pillow-fight!

[Chaplain Jeff]

I think the post about "love it or hate it" definately applies. I shot for 20+ years before buying my first RF, a Minolta 7sII. I loved the small, compact almost invisible camera compared to the Nikon F4e and Minolta XK Motor I was shooting with at the time.

I waited two years before buying my first Leica. Hemmed and hawed - really afraid I was making a mistake, and an expensive one at that.

It was no mistake, however. When the M3 and Summicron DR 50mm, f/2 arrived from a friend, I loaded it with Velvia and went for a stroll down Route 66. These days I don't leave the house without a RF and almost never use my SLRs. It is indeed a style thing - my preferred style of shooting works better with the RF. If you walk into a room carrying an SLR w/ motor drive and a big hunk of big-aperature lens on it (like the Noct), it doesn't matter if you're shooting flash or not, you're not going to get the same relaxed shots you'll get with a small unobtrusive RF. Even a smaller SLR, like the FM doesn't shoot like an RF - perhaps its the way a RF doesn't cover your whole face while you're shooting... dunno, but it's different.

Gentlemen, since he's at least tried RF before rejecting it, what say we set the tar at only mildly scalding?