John A. Lind wrote:
>At 20:44 6/1/00 , Gary Schloss wrote:
>>All three have solid metal construction, CdS meters inside the lens
>>perimeter, and each will cost a fraction of even a basic Rollei 35's.
>>No reliability problems either.
>
>Hope you didn't mean the sub-mini Rollei 35 RF's have a reliability issue
>in general.
No, not at all! I meant that the three cameras I recommended as viable
and far cheaper alternatives to the Rollei 35 are usually quite reliable.
The confusion is purely a result of my poor phrasing.
... and John L. continues:
>You did give a good list of alternatives (albeit they're larger than the
>Rollei). Also on the "forgotten" list:
>(a) Canonette GIII and/or QL-17.
This one, and the similarly capable Olympus 35RD, Minolta HiMatic 7sII,
and Petri Racer II are a bit bigger than my trio, so I excluded them.
I also skipped mention of the very excellent Konica Auto S3 with a wide
and wonderfully sharp 35mm f/1.8 Hexanon lens, because it lacks a fully
manual exposure mode.
>(b) Minox 35 sub-mini (circa 1974).
Too plasticky for my tastes, IMHO the Minox is more in the Olympus XA
category than in Rollei 35. (Again, no manual exposure mode). If this
category is in play, then the XA and XA-2/3/4 are far more versatile, and
in general less expensive. The Ricoh FF-1 is yet another Minox 35 clone
that in many ways bests the original. Another interesting and original
variation is the Chinon Bellami with a barn doors lens mechanism. Finally,
Cosina made a couple of cute Minox 35/Olympus XA clones that look quite
unique, and one even takes a winder(!).
>(c) Contax T (circa 1982).
Too expensive. I wouldn't leave one in my car, unless you own a Hummer,
and Arnold Schwartze'something is your personal chauffeur :-).
Same goes for Leica CL, Minolta CLE, Contax G-1/2, etc. All are excellent
cameras, but are too far removed from the place where this discussion had
begun: a small, inexpensive camera that one can leave in their car or on
their camel, or slip into their pocket or their favorite marsupial's pouch,
... well, you get the idea... :-) :-)
Morgan Sparks wrote:
>This thread originally drew mention of the Olympus XA, and there were
>some early autofocus knock-offs off this camera [e.g.] the rarely seen
>Canon MC and Minolta AF-C.
Both are actually quite nice, and deliver very decent picts. IMHO, had
Canon and Minolta managed to have them in stores a year earlier, these
two cameras could have given the Olympus XA-series cameras some serious
competition. As they say, timing is everything... Btw, Agfa also had
a respectable entry in this category -- the zone focus Compact Electronic
with a sharp, retractable 39/2.8 Solinar lens.
And then, there are the venerable non-metered pockettables: Kodak Retina's,
Agfa Karat's, Zeiss Ikon Contessa 35's, and Voigtlaender Vittessa's...
but that's a different thread altogether.
Cheers,
/Gary Schloss.
schloss@xxxxxxxxxxx
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|