1958 Olympus 35S II
But for this camera, I became a collector. If this had been the 35S I bought in 2008, I might never have bought another rangefinder. It just arrived in the mail--the fourth 35S I've bought.
But, the Oly 35S I bought back in 2008, as a handier alternative to my EOS 1-v (Canon EOS 1-v, the Ford Crown Victoria of cameras), had petrified helicoid grease. It would not do.
Well, then I was off and running, looking for the perfect small rangefinder. Oly 35 RC; Konica C35, Oly 35 SP; Konica Auto S (never found one of those that wasn't ruined by ever ready case dandruff), Yashica Lynx 14 (small?)--then I discovered Yuri Boguslavsky and it was a Zorki 5, then a 4, then a NKVD, then a FED 2, and a Zorki 6, and finally a Leica IIIf. Then is was a Billy Record 6x9, and a Mamiya 6, and a Super Ikonta 532A, and then an entire system: The Mamiya 645 PRO with all the cool lenses.
Eventually, I had to admit I was just buying cameras out of curiosity--trying one out, then buying another. I even started buying cameras I never intended to use.
This 35S, though appears to be the perfect user. I have not tried it out yet, but it is everything I love about 1950's rangefinders. It has every bit as solid feel as a Leica--beefier, actually--it feels like it was machined out of a solid billet of 6961 T-1. And it has the short-throw focusing-lever I like, as well as a big bright parallax-corrected viewfinder, with a bright clear rangefinder patch. And no distracting electronics to tempt me.
Yes, if I had gotten this 35S in the first place, I never would have ended up with all these old cameras--oh who am I kidding?
1958 Olympus 35S II
But for this camera, I became a collector. If this had been the 35S I bought in 2008, I might never have bought another rangefinder. It just arrived in the mail--the fourth 35S I've bought.
But, the Oly 35S I bought back in 2008, as a handier alternative to my EOS 1-v (Canon EOS 1-v, the Ford Crown Victoria of cameras), had petrified helicoid grease. It would not do.
Well, then I was off and running, looking for the perfect small rangefinder. Oly 35 RC; Konica C35, Oly 35 SP; Konica Auto S (never found one of those that wasn't ruined by ever ready case dandruff), Yashica Lynx 14 (small?)--then I discovered Yuri Boguslavsky and it was a Zorki 5, then a 4, then a NKVD, then a FED 2, and a Zorki 6, and finally a Leica IIIf. Then is was a Billy Record 6x9, and a Mamiya 6, and a Super Ikonta 532A, and then an entire system: The Mamiya 645 PRO with all the cool lenses.
Eventually, I had to admit I was just buying cameras out of curiosity--trying one out, then buying another. I even started buying cameras I never intended to use.
This 35S, though appears to be the perfect user. I have not tried it out yet, but it is everything I love about 1950's rangefinders. It has every bit as solid feel as a Leica--beefier, actually--it feels like it was machined out of a solid billet of 6961 T-1. And it has the short-throw focusing-lever I like, as well as a big bright parallax-corrected viewfinder, with a bright clear rangefinder patch. And no distracting electronics to tempt me.
Yes, if I had gotten this 35S in the first place, I never would have ended up with all these old cameras--oh who am I kidding?