18
votes
Accepted
What is the white square near the viewfinder of the Fujica GW690?
As you can see in the image below from the service manual, the volume behind these two features is occupied by the view finder assembly.
Image source: manualslib.com
Image source: manualslib.com
...
- 739
18
votes
Accepted
What is this medium format military rangefinder camera?
It is a 70mm Graflex KE-4 “Combat Graphic” made from 1953-1957.
Graflex KE-4 Combat Graphic
- 12.3k
15
votes
Why is the market for digital rangefinder cameras so much smaller than it was for film-based rangefinders?
It isn't that rangefinders have struggled in the era of digital. It's that rangefinders struggled to survive the era of the SLR. The SLR started putting the rangefinder to bed long before digital came ...
- 20.5k
8
votes
Accepted
Rangefinder focus shadow discrepancy
What you describe is a misaligment of the beam splitter (which, despite its name, in this case combines or overlays the image from the moving mirror or prism in the RF over the straight-through image ...
- 7,229
7
votes
Why is the market for digital rangefinder cameras so much smaller than it was for film-based rangefinders?
I don't remember seeing many popular rangefinder cameras at the dawn of the digital era. The main reason for the demise isn't digital-vs-film, but the pervasiveness of zoom lenses, for which they are ...
- 22k
6
votes
How can I use a Ricoh 35 FM film rangefinder to take photographs at night?
You are shooting with a film camera. The ISO dial only tells the camera the speed of the film you have loaded so the camera meter can set the aperture. You will need to use a fast ISO 400 film but ...
- 6,819
6
votes
Accepted
Can I use a restored 55-year-old fixed-lens film camera without working aperture blades?
Neither of your stated options is a good one.
Given the stated condition of the aperture blades, the best option would be to replace them with good ones from a (non-functioning for some other reason) ...
- 7,229
5
votes
Why is the market for digital rangefinder cameras so much smaller than it was for film-based rangefinders?
Mirrorless fills this niche in a lot of ways, and particularly as EVFs and sensors have gotten better, the downsides to that have narrowed.
The "rangefinder" in "rangefinder cameras" refers to these ...
- 144k
4
votes
How is the yellow patch focusing applied in a rangefinder mechanism, and can it be renewed?
Yes, you are correct, I found this dire warning:
"and you shouldn’t clean the colored (usually yellow) glass or the
color is likely to come off and then no more double-image in your
...
- 3,628
3
votes
Why is the market for digital rangefinder cameras so much smaller than it was for film-based rangefinders?
Rangefinder cameras are compact because they do not need extra room for a mirror. The mirrorlessness is accomplished by having one optical path for a photosensitive medium (film here) and another for ...
- 1,808
2
votes
Accepted
How would I be able to properly calibrate the Kalart Rangefinder on a Speed Graphic?
On both sides of the rails, very close to the camera are flip-over stops, one on the right, one of the left. When you open the closed camera cover, you pull the lens forward until it contacts these ...
- 39.7k
2
votes
Argus C3 rangefinder camera — no lens ok?
An Argus C3 rangefinder requires a lens to take photos. Without a lens the light striking the film would be unfocused and would be one big blur with perhaps slight variations in brightness.
There ...
- 176k
2
votes
Accepted
Why does my Zorki 4 take blurred pics on infinity focus?
You need to adjust the infinity stops on the lens so the rear element goes closer to the image plane. Adapted lenses have this problem and most adaptors with correction elements Destroy image quality.
2
votes
Were there multiple versions of the Ricoh 500G?
It's not uncommon for there to be multiple revisions of camera models (or any other type of mass produced product). If you are not mistaken about the identity of the cameras you have disassembled, the ...
- 27.1k
2
votes
What's causing the shadow running down the side of my photographs
I had a very similar thing happen 20ish years ago on my old Pentax K1000, the tensioning mechanism on the curtains was damaged and the rear curtain was traveling faster than the front curtain. Not an ...
- 3,211
2
votes
Samoca 35 II Film Loading
I've never needed to do this, but I might try using a pair of diagonal cutting pliers to cut the two nubby "spokes" out of the end of the tip of the film cannister that is at the bottom when ...
- 176k
1
vote
How can I use a Ricoh 35 FM film rangefinder to take photographs at night?
Remember that on a digital camera, you adjust the ISO setting to adjust the sensitivity of the sensor to light. (Crude explanation, but that's basically it.) On a film camera, the ISO is a fixed ...
- 12.6k
1
vote
Can I use a restored 55-year-old fixed-lens film camera without working aperture blades?
If you don't mind shooting wide open all the time, go ahead and remove them.
- 231
1
vote
Accepted
Is is possible/practical to adjust the Gost scale light meter on a Kiev 4M to work in ASA values?
Relevant information is available both at the Kiev Survival Site and in Isaak S. Maizenberg's book All You Need to Know About Design and Repair of Russian Cameras (1996). The screw you mention is used ...
- 2,758
1
vote
How to use rangefinder cameras with small viewfinders, while wearing glasses?
I use a mirrorless camera with focus peaking, not a rangefinder. However, when focus assist is enabled, I see a magnified view through the viewfinder, which is akin to your being unable to see the ...
- 27.1k
1
vote
Accepted
How date a Fuji GW690 III by the serial number?
According to Camerapedia: Fujica GW690, the GW690 III was released in February 1992. There is a photo.net post from Nov 2001 that describes a FujiFilm representative stating that the camera had been ...
- 27.1k
1
vote
Accepted
Should the aperture ring of a Canonet GIII QL17 have detent stops all the way round?
I've been able to check with another example. The aperture ring doesn't have stops all the way round.
- 997
1
vote
Why is the market for digital rangefinder cameras so much smaller than it was for film-based rangefinders?
As mattdm notes, rangefinders use a focusing mechanism based on parallax. Several opine that any popularity rangefinders might have had were for their compact size, not their focusing mechanism. (...
- 27.1k
1
vote
Are high end rangefinder lenses better than SLR lenses? Would I notice?
I do not think the Nikon Df can really be compared against Contax G2. One is a digital camera, the other a film one. Apples and oranges...
It is true that having to accommodate the moving mirror ...
- 5,988
1
vote
Are high end rangefinder lenses better than SLR lenses? Would I notice?
Your quote basically covers it... With a DLSR, you have to be able to fit the viewing mirror (that bounces the image onto the viewfinder screen) between the lens and the sensor (or film, in old film ...
- 3,033
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible