A Foca camera of 1947 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris.

A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to judge the focusing distance and take photographs that will be in focus. Most varieties of rangefinder show two images that when coincident give the proper focus distance. Older, non-coupled rangefinder cameras may display the focusing distance and require the photographer to transfer the value to the lens focusing ring. Most recent designs are coupled rangefinders — that is, the focus is adjusted both in the rangefinder and in the lens by the same control, usually a ring on the lens. In older designs the rangefinder is separate from the viewfinder; in most newer ones it appears at the center of the viewfinder. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1780x1192, 276 KB) Work by Rama File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Rangefinder camera Foca camera Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1780x1192, 276 KB) Work by Rama File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Rangefinder camera Foca camera Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital... A Foca PF 3 (three stars) camera of 1947 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. ... Foucault pendulum at the Musée des arts et métiers The Musée des Arts et Métiers is a museum in Paris that houses the collection of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, which was founded in 1794 as a depository for the preservation of scientific... A rangefinder is an optical device that allows distance to be estimated or measured using triangulation, laser, radar, or other method. ... In photography a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. ...

History

The first rangefinders, sometimes called "telemeters", appeared in the nineteenth century; the first rangefinder camera to be marketed was the 3A Kodak Autographic Special of 1916; the rangefinder was coupled. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Not itself a rangefinder camera, the Leica I of 1925 had popularized the use of accessory rangefinders. The Leica II and Zeiss Contax I, both of 1932, were great successes as 35mm rangefinder cameras. The Contax II (1936) integrated the rangefinder in the center of the viewfinder. Leica is a camera produced by a German company of the same name. ... Carl Zeiss The Carl Zeiss AG is a German manufacturer of optical systems, industrial measurements and medical devices, located in Oberkochen with important subsidiaries in Aalen and Jena. ... Contax is a camera brand noted for its unique, and sometimes odd, technical innovation and a wide range of Carl Zeiss lenses. ...

1954-1957 Kodak Retina IIIc

Rangefinder cameras were common from the 1930s to the 1970s, but the more advanced models lost ground to single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras. Image File history File linksMetadata RetinaIIIc600. ... Image File history File linksMetadata RetinaIIIc600. ... The single-lens reflex (SLR) is a type of camera that uses a movable mirror placed between the lens and the film to project the image seen through the lens to a matte focusing screen. ...

Rangefinder cameras have been made in all sizes and all film formats over the years, from 35mm through medium format (rollfilm) and even large format press cameras. Until the mid-1950s, most were generally fitted to more expensive models of cameras. Folding bellows rollfilm cameras were often fitted with rangefinders, such as the Balda Super Baldax, the Kodak Retina II, IIa, IIc, IIIc, and IIIC cameras and the Hans Porst Hapo 66e. The Priest and Balda (1939 animated film) The Tale of the Priest and of his Workman Balda (Russian: Сказка о попе и о его работнике Балде) is a 1830 poem by Aleksandr Pushkin. ... Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) is a large multinational public company producing photographic equipment. ... Kodak Retina I (Type 148), c. ...

Leica M7 rangefinder

The best-known rangefinder cameras take 35mm film, employ focal plane shutters, and have interchangeable lenses. These are Leica screwmount (also known as M39) cameras developed for lens manufacturer Leitz Wetzlar by Oscar Barnack (which gave rise to very many imitations and derivatives), Contax cameras manufactured for Carl Zeiss Optics by camera subsidiary Zeiss-Ikon and, after Germany's defeat in World War II, produced again and then developed as the Ukrainian Kiev), Nikon S-series cameras from 1951-1962 (with design inspired by the Contax and function by the Leica), and Leica M-series cameras. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2016x1524, 280 KB) Work by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: Leica ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2016x1524, 280 KB) Work by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: Leica ... 135 Film Size, Kodak Tri-X 400 speed 135 (ISO 1007) is a film format for still photography. ... In camera design, a focal plane shutter is so-called because it is right in front of the focal (film) plane of the camera. ... Carl Zeiss Carl Zeiss (September 11, 1816 – December 3, 1888) was an optician commonly known for the company he founded, Zeiss. ... Kiev-Arsenal is a Soviet brand of camera (sometimes branded simply Kiev) manufactured by the Arsenal Factory in Kiev, Ukraine. ... Nikon Corporation ) (TYO: 7731 ), also known as Nikon or Nikon Corp. ...

Nikon SP and S3 cameras

The Nikon rangefinder cameras were "discovered" in 1950 [1] by Life Magazine Photographer Douglas Duncan, who covered the Korean War. Because the high quality of the optics of the Nikon lenses, the Nikon rangefinder cameras quickly became the American standard for photojournalists in the 1950s. Canon manufactured several models from the 1930s until the 1960s, all of these from 1946 were more or less compatible with the Leica thread mount. (From late 1951 they were completely compatible; the 7 and 7s had a bayonet mount for the 50 mm f/0.95 lens in addition to the thread mount for other lenses.) Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (500x642, 95 KB)Photo © by Jeff Dean. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (500x642, 95 KB)Photo © by Jeff Dean. ... A cover of Life Magazine from 1911 Life has been the name of two notable magazines published in the United States. ... Combatants UN combatants: Republic of Korea United States United Kingdom Canada Communist combatants: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea People’s Republic of China Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung Il Kwon Douglas MacArthur Mark W. Clark Matthew Ridgway Kim Il-sung Choi Yong-kun Peng Dehuai Strength Note: All... Sports photojournalists at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ...

Other such cameras include the Casca (Steinheil, West Germany, 1948), Detrola 400 (USA, 1940–41), Ektra (Kodak, USA, 1941–8), Foca (OPL, France, 1947–63), Foton (Bell & Howell, USA, 1948), Opema II (Meopta, Czechoslovakia, 1955–60), Perfex (USA, 1938–49), Robot Royal (Robot-Berning, West Germany, 1955–76), and Witness (Ilford, Britain, 1953). Among the longer lasting marques, all but the Leica M succumbed in the marketplace to pressure from SLRs. The most recent in the M-series is the M7, the first of the series to feature automatic exposure and an electronic shutter; and the all-mechanical MP, an updated M6 with an M3-style rewind knob. Steinheil: Fabian Steinheil (Fabian Gotthard von Steinheil) (* 1762; † 1831) Carl August von Steinheil (Karl August Steinheil) (* 1801; † 1870) Hugo Adolph Steinheil (* 1832; † 1893) Marguerite Steinheil (* 1869; † 1954) das Optikunternehmen CA Steinheil & Söhne (de) ... (die Steinheilschrift) The crater, see Steinheil (crater), named after [[]] Stein, Heil Categories: | | ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Société Optique et Précision de Levallois, S.A. (OPL) was founded in 1919, although its predecessor dated from 1911. ... Abraham Zapruders Bell & Howell Zoomatic movie camera, in the collection of the US National Archives Founded in 1907 and headquartered in Skokie, Illinois, the Bell & Howell Company merged with Böwe Systec Inc in 2003 to become Böwe Bell & Howell. ... Meopta is a Czech manufacturer of sports and military optics, cinema projectors, photo enlargers and other optical products. ... Heinz Kilfitt designed a new 35 mm film compact camera around a new 24x24 format (instead of 24x36). ... Ilford is a district in the London Borough of Redbridge in East London, England. ...

In the United States the dependable and cheap Argus (especially the ubiquitous C-3 "Brick") was far and away the most popular 35mm rangefinder, with millions sold. The Argus C3 was a low priced rangefinder camera produced from 1939 to 1966 in Michigan. ...

Interchangeable-lens rangefinder cameras with focal-plane shutters are greatly outnumbered by fixed-lens leaf-shutter rangefinder cameras. The most popular design in the '50s were folding designs like the Kodak Retina and the Zeiss Contessa.

In the 1960s many fixed-lens 35mm rangefinder cameras were offered by several manufacturers, mainly Japanese. Among them were Canon, Fujica, Konica, Mamiya, Minolta, Olympus, Ricoh, and Yashica. Other distributors such as Vivitar and Revue often sold rebranded versions of these cameras. These camera were targeted to the amateur market. While designed to be compact like the Leica, they were much less expensive, and built for amateur use. Many of them, such as the Minolta 7sII and the Vivitar 35ES, were fitted with high-speed, extremely high quality optics. Though eventually replaced in the market with newer compact autofocus cameras, many of these older rangefinders continue to operate, having outlived most of their newer (and less well-constructed) successors. Canon Inc. ... Fujifilm TYO: 4901 , NASDAQ: FUJIY is a Japanese company known for its photographic film and cameras. ... The Famous Old Konica Colourwheel Logo Konica ) was a Japanese manufacturer of (among others) film, film cameras, camera accessories, photographic and photo-processing equipment, photocopiers, fax machines and laser printers. ... Mamiya C330 twin-lens reflex camera Mamiya-OP Co. ... Minolta was a Japanese worldwide manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photo-copiers, fax machines and laser printers. ... This article refers to a Japanese camera maker. ... Ricoh Company, Ltd. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... An autofocus camera is a camera with automatic focusing. ...

Starting with a camera made by the small Japanese company Yasuhara in the 1990s, there has been something of a revival of rangefinder cameras. Aside from the Leica M series, rangefinder models from this period include the Konica Hexar RF, Cosina, who makes the Voigtländer Bessa T/R/R2/R2a/R3a, and the Hasselblad Xpan/Xpan 2. Zeiss has a new model called the Zeiss Ikon, also made by Cosina, while Nikon has also produced expensive limited editions of its S3 and SP rangefinders to satisfy the demands of collectors and aficionados. Cameras from the former Soviet Union — the Zorki and FED, based on the screwmount Leica, and the Kiev — are plentiful in the used market. Cosina Co. ... Voigtländer is an optical company founded in 1756 by Johann Friedrich Voigtländer in Vienna and thus the oldest name in cameras. ... Hasselblad 503CW with Zeiss Distagon 3,5/30 and Ixpress V96C Hasselblad is a Swedish manufacturer of high-quality still photography cameras based in Gothenburg, Sweden. ... Cosina Co. ... Zorki is a name of various rangefinder cameras that were manufactured in the Soviet Union from 1948 until 1978. ... The FED is a Soviet rangefinder camera, mass produced from 1934 until around 1984, and also the name of the factory that made it. ... Kiev-Arsenal is a Soviet brand of camera (sometimes branded simply Kiev) manufactured by the Arsenal Factory in Kiev, Ukraine. ...

Medium-format (rollfilm) rangefinder cameras continue to be produced. Recent models include the Mamiya 6 and 7, the Bronica RF645 and the Fuji G, GS and GSW series.

The Epson R-D1 with a Leica lens

Digital imaging technology came to the rangefinder in 2004 with the introduction of the Epson R-D1 digital rangefinder camera. Manufactured by Cosina, which also builds the current Voigtländer cameras, the R-D1 and its successor, the R-D1s, use Leica M-mount lenses or earlier Leica screw mount lenses with an adapter. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 2333 KB) Epson R-D1 digital camera with Leica lens. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 2333 KB) Epson R-D1 digital camera with Leica lens. ... The R-D1, announced by Epson in March 2004,[1] is the first, and as of 2006 the only, digital rangefinder camera. ... Voigtländer is an optical company founded in 1756 by Johann Friedrich Voigtländer in Vienna and thus the oldest name in cameras. ...

Pros and Cons

SLRs are usually marketed as technically more advanced than rangefinder cameras: they normally have more system options, which tends to make them more profitable. Sales appeal and profits aside, SLRs allow the image to be seen through the same lens through which it is photographed.

Since the user looks through a viewfinder some distance from the lens with a rangefinder camera, and sees an image that is slightly different from the image which will be recorded on the film, framing becomes inaccurate at close range (the parallax problem). However, more advanced rangefinder cameras project into the viewfinder a brightline frame that corrects parallax error down to the minimum distance at which the rangefinder functions (typically further than the minimum focusing distance of an SLR lens with the same focal length and film format). For close-up photography, the rangefinder camera is awkward to use, as the image recorded may be significantly different from what the viewer sees. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Zoom lenses are not available for rangefinder cameras (Except for the Contax G2 Carl Zeiss 35-70mm Vario-Sonnar T* Lens see: http://www.contaxusa.com/product.asp?itemnum=202000), though a very few lenses such as the Konica M-Hexanon Dual or Leica Tri-Elmar let the user select among two or three focal lengths.

Rangefinder cameras do have several advantages over SLRs in certain applications. Since there is no moving mirror, as used in SLRs, there is no momentary blackout of the subject being photographed, the camera is often quieter, and the camera's body is usually slimmer and less obtrusive. These qualities make rangefinders ideal for action-grabbing candid shots and street photography. The lack of a mirror also allows lenses to project deep into the camera body, and so high-quality wide-angle lenses are easier to design. (The Voigtländer 12mm lens was the widest-angle rectilinear lens in general production for a long time, but recently the Sigma 12-24mm for SLR cameras has matched its angle.) Rangefinder camera focusing is more accurate with standard and wide-angle lenses (whereas an SLR is more accurate with telephoto lenses); on the other hand, the rangefinder may get out of alignment, while focussing element mis-aligments are very uncommon with most SLR cameras. Street photography generally refers to photographs made in public places — not only streets, but parks, beaches, malls, political conventions and myriad other settings — often but not always featuring people, usually in unposed or candid situations, going about their everyday lives. ... Voigtländer is an optical company founded in 1756 by Johann Friedrich Voigtländer in Vienna and thus the oldest name in cameras. ... In photography, a rectilinear lens is a photographic lens that yields images where straight features, such as the walls of buildings, appear with straight lines, as opposed to being curved. ...

In addition, for photographers who use heavy filtration to achieve certain effects, a rangefinder camera offers the advantage of not having to focus and frame through the filters themselves - in this case, not viewing through the taking lens is a distinct advantage. On the other hand, some types of filters lend themselves more readily to SLRs, such as graduated filters and polarizers, since one must see through them to observe the variable effect they create.

External links

• Rangefinder Forum is a web community dedicated to rangefinder cameras. It is currently the largest online community dedicated to rangefinder cameras, with about 6000 users as of September 2006. There are user galleries, active forums on Leica, Canon, Nikon, Zeiss Ikon, Cosina/Voigtländer, Epson R-D1, Soviet and medium format rangefinder cameras, a news and announcements section, a classifieds section and a forum dedicated to image critique. Rangefinder Forum broke several world firsts, including the first pictures of the upcoming Leica M8 digital rangefinder.
• The Contax G Pages - User forum for the Contax G1 and G2: a user forum for the Contax G (Contax G1 and Contax G2) line of rangefinders and lenses
• KodakViewfinders and Rangefinders: on Kodak's early use of rangefinders, by Brian Wallen
• Looking Forward: rangefinder design in the context of viewfinder design, by Rick Oleson. Excellently illustrated.
• Roland rangefinder camera
• CameraQuest's Classic Camera Profiles
• Collecting and Using Classic Cameras at Photoethnography.com
• Matt's Classic Cameras - Rangefinders & Compacts
• Graflex Speed Graphic
• Kalart range finder
• Explains how rangefinder cameras work
• The Kalart Press Camera

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