Cheap rangefinder photography

[Ramsus]

So yesterday I bought a Soviet-made FED 3 rangefinder camera off of eBay. I don't know when it'll get here, but I can't wait.

These cameras are completely mechanical, so you never have to worry about batteries, and you can usually get one for under $60 after S&H (since the Soviets made millions of the damn things). Of course, there's no meter, but anyone with a few months of good experience with a decent camera and a basic understanding of exposure can pretty much guess that to within a few stops, and that's good enough with most color print film these days. Add a film scanner to the mix for added control, and you have a pretty good camera for exploring with. Just remember to keep enough film on hand and prefocus.

My idea is to take it all over Monterey Bay and take pictures of town and all of the historical spots here. Maybe all of the people around here too, since I figure carrying around something that old looking and small would be somewhat disarming.

[Lord J Esq]

Ah, I've read about those. Having grown up in the age of electronics, I remember how much it amazed me to conceive of a camera without electricity. Good fun, you.

I have read that mechanical cameras can be built even out of folded paper. Fancy that!

[Ramsus]

My favorite camera is my Olympus OM-2n SLR, but it's back home and all my lenses for it need repairing. Finding good lenses and accessories is getting harder and harder too. As such, I've resorted to just using a cheap Rebel K2 with a cheap (but very good, image-wise) 50mm prime lens that Canon makes. I've even taken some of my best photos with that exact setup.

The only problem is that people think "fancy" when they see any kind of modern SLR and so their attitude around such a camera is a bit different. The last thing I need is to get mugged over a $200 camera because it looked expensive to some thug, but also people become more curious when you show them something old.

Besides that, I kind of like knowing I have a camera that I can take anywhere and use as long as I have film to put in it.

[Radical_Dreamer]

Besides that, I kind of like knowing I have a camera that I can take anywhere and use as long as I have film to put in it.

There's much to be said of that. I took a Canon PowerShot A520 with me to Europe, and over a ten day trip, I exhaused four pairs of batteries. The gentleman at the camera shop in Paris was wearing a single white glove. I'm not sure if that's a French thing or a camera shop thing.

[Ramsus]

Besides that, I kind of like knowing I have a camera that I can take anywhere and use as long as I have film to put in it.

There's much to be said of that. I took a Canon PowerShot A520 with me to Europe, and over a ten day trip, I exhaused four pairs of batteries. The gentleman at the camera shop in Paris was wearing a single white glove. I'm not sure if that's a French thing or a camera shop thing.

He probably lost the other one after he took it off and slapped someone with it.

[Lord J Esq]

Khan wore a single glove. I'm just sayin'...

And RD, when are you going to let us see a little more of the pictures you took with those four pairs of batteries?

[Radical_Dreamer]

I work six days a week. I don't have much time to sort/crop them. Mind you, I took several hundred pictures. There are hundreds. Late next month, however, I'm having a housewarming/picture viewing, so crowd reaction should help me sort them down.

In the mean time, here's a video I took of the Eiffel Tower, it's lights dancing in the night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoydYlaBBw4