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Rangefinder camera 1 Rangefinder camera 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 measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus. Most varieties of rangefinder show two images of the same subject, one of which moves when a calibrated wheel is turned; when the two images coincide and fuse into one, the distance can be read off the wheel. Older, non-coupled rangefinder cameras display the focusing distance and require the photographer to transfer the value to the lens focus ring; cameras without built-in rangefinders could have an external rangefinder fitted into the accessory shoe. Earlier cameras of this type had separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows; later the rangefinder was incorporated into the viewfinder. More modern designs have rangefinders coupled to the focusing mechanism, so that the lens is focused correctly when the rangefinder images fuse; compare with the focusing screen in non-autofocus SLRs. Almost all digital cameras, and most later film cameras, measure distance using electroacoustic or electronic means and focus automatically (autofocus); however, it is not customary to speak of this functionality as a rangefinder. 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. 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, while on the Leica Standard, also introduced in 1932, the rangefinder was omitted. The Contax II (1936) integrated the rangefinder in the center of the viewfinder. 195760 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. Rangefinder cameras have been made in all sizes and all film formats over the years, from 35mm through medium format (rollfilm) to large-format press cameras. Until the mid-1950s most were generally fitted to more expensive models of cameras. Folding bellows rollfilm cameras, such as the Balda Super Baldax or Mess Baldix, the Kodak Retina II, IIa, IIc, IIIc, and IIIC cameras and the Hans Porst Hapo 66e (a cheaper version of the Balda Mess Baldix), were often fitted with rangefinders.

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Page 1: Rangefinder Camera

Rangefinder camera 1

Rangefinder camera

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

A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: arange-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer tomeasure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharpfocus. Most varieties of rangefinder show two images of the samesubject, one of which moves when a calibrated wheel is turned; whenthe two images coincide and fuse into one, the distance can be read offthe wheel. Older, non-coupled rangefinder cameras display thefocusing distance and require the photographer to transfer the value tothe lens focus ring; cameras without built-in rangefinders could havean external rangefinder fitted into the accessory shoe. Earlier camerasof this type had separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows; later therangefinder was incorporated into the viewfinder. More modern designs have rangefinders coupled to the focusingmechanism, so that the lens is focused correctly when the rangefinder images fuse; compare with the focusing screenin non-autofocus SLRs.

Almost all digital cameras, and most later film cameras, measure distance using electroacoustic or electronic meansand focus automatically (autofocus); however, it is not customary to speak of this functionality as a rangefinder.

HistoryThe first rangefinders, sometimes called "telemeters", appeared in the nineteenth century; the first rangefindercamera to be marketed was the 3A Kodak Autographic Special of 1916; the rangefinder was coupled.Not itself a rangefinder camera, the Leica I of 1925 had popularized the use of accessory rangefinders. The Leica IIand Zeiss Contax I, both of 1932, were great successes as 35mm rangefinder cameras, while on the Leica Standard,also introduced in 1932, the rangefinder was omitted. The Contax II (1936) integrated the rangefinder in the centerof the viewfinder.

1957–60 Kodak Retina IIIC

Rangefinder cameras were common from the 1930s to the 1970s, butthe more advanced models lost ground to single-lens reflex (SLR)cameras.

Rangefinder cameras have been made in all sizes and all film formatsover the years, from 35mm through medium format (rollfilm) tolarge-format press cameras. Until the mid-1950s most were generallyfitted to more expensive models of cameras. Folding bellows rollfilmcameras, such as the Balda Super Baldax or Mess Baldix, the KodakRetina II, IIa, IIc, IIIc, and IIIC cameras and the Hans Porst Hapo 66e(a cheaper version of the Balda Mess Baldix), were often fitted withrangefinders.

Page 2: Rangefinder Camera

Rangefinder camera 2

Leica M7 rangefinder

The best-known rangefinder cameras take 35mm film, use focal planeshutters, and have interchangeable lenses. These are Leica screwmount(also known as M39) cameras developed for lens manufacturer ErnstLeitz Wetzlar by Oskar Barnack (which gave rise to very manyimitations and derivatives), Contax cameras manufactured for CarlZeiss Optics by camera subsidiary Zeiss-Ikon and, after Germany'sdefeat in World War II, produced again and then developed as theUkrainian Kiev), Nikon S-series cameras from 1951–62 (with designinspired by the Contax and function by the Leica), and Leica M-seriescameras.

Contax II

Nikon SP and S3 cameras

The Nikon rangefinder cameras were "discovered" in 1950 by Lifemagazine photographer David Douglas Duncan, who covered theKorean War.[1] Canon manufactured several models from the 1930suntil the 1960s; models from 1946 onwards were more or lesscompatible with the Leica thread mount. (From late 1951 they werecompletely compatible; the 7 and 7s had a bayonet mount for the50 mm f/0.95 lens in addition to the thread mount for other lenses.)

Launched in 1940, The Kodak 35 Rangefinder was the first 35 mmcamera made by the Eastman Kodak Company. Other such camerasinclude 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 Msuccumbed in the marketplace to pressure from SLRs. The most recentin the M-series are the M7, the first of the series to feature automaticexposure and an electronic shutter; and the all-mechanical MP, anupdated M6 with an M3-style rewind knob; and the new M8, Leica'sfirst digital rangefinder.

In the United States the dependable and cheap Argus (especially theubiquitous C-3 "Brick") was far and away the most popular 35mmrangefinder, with millions sold.

Interchangeable-lens rangefinder cameras with focal-plane shutters aregreatly 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 for the amateur market were produced by severalmanufacturers, mainly Japanese, including Canon, Fujica, Konica, Mamiya, Minolta, Olympus, Ricoh, and Yashica.Distributors such as Vivitar and Revue often sold rebranded versions of these cameras. While designed to becompact like the Leica, they were much less expensive. Many of them, such as the Minolta 7sII and the Vivitar35ES, were fitted with high-speed, extremely high quality optics. Though eventually replaced in the market withnewer compact autofocus cameras, many of these older rangefinders continue to operate, having outlived most oftheir newer (and less well-constructed) successors.

Page 3: Rangefinder Camera

Rangefinder camera 3

Starting with a camera made by the small Japanese company Yasuhara in the 1990s, there has been something of arevival of rangefinder cameras. Aside from the Leica M series, rangefinder models from this period include theKonica Hexar RF, Cosina, who makes the Voigtländer Bessa T/R/R2/R3/R4 (the last three are made in both manualor aperture automatic version, which use respectly the "m" or "a" sign in model), 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 limitededitions of its S3 and SP rangefinders to satisfy the demands of collectors and aficionados. Cameras from the formerSoviet Union — the Zorki and FED, based on the screwmount Leica, and the Kiev — are plentiful in the usedmarket.Medium-format (rollfilm) rangefinder cameras continue to be produced. Recent models include the Mamiya 6 and7I/7II, the Bronica RF645 and the Fuji G, GS and GSW series.In 1994, Contax introduced an autofocus rangefinder camera, the Contax G.

Digital rangefinderDigital imaging technology was applied to rangefinder cameras for the first time in 2004, with the introduction of theEpson R-D1, the first ever digital rangefinder camera. The RD-1 was a collaboration between Epson and Cosina.The R-D1 and later R-D1s use Leica M-mount lenses, or earlier Leica screw mount lenses with an adapter.Leica released its first digital rangefinder camera, the Leica M8, in 2006. The M8 and R-D1 are expensive comparedto more common digital SLRs, and lack several features that are common with modern digital cameras, such as noreal telephoto lenses available beyond 135mm focal length, very limited macro ability, live preview, movierecording, and face detection.

The Epson R-D1 with a Leica lens The Leica M8 The Leica M9

Pros and cons

Example of the unfocused and focused image in rangefinder window

The viewfinder of a rangefinder camera isnecessarily offset from the taking lens, sothat the image shown is not exactly whatwill be recorded on the film; this parallaxerror is negligible at large subject distances,but increases as the distance decreases.More advanced rangefinder cameras projectinto the viewfinder a brightline frame thatmoves as the lens is focused, correctingparallax error down to the minimum distance at which the rangefinder functions. The angle of view of a given lensalso changes with distance, and the brightline frames in the finders of a few cameras automatically adjust for this aswell. For extreme close-up photography, the rangefinder camera is awkward to use, as the viewfinder no longerpoints at the subject.

Page 4: Rangefinder Camera

Rangefinder camera 4

In contrast, the viewfinder pathway of an SLR transmits an image directly "through the lens". This eliminatesparallax errors at any subject distance, thus allowing for macro photography. It also removes the need to haveseparate viewfinders for different lens focal lengths. In particular, this allows for extreme telephoto lenses whichwould otherwise be very hard to focus and compose with a rangefinder. Furthermore, the through-the-lens viewallows the viewfinder to directly display the depth of field for a given aperture, which is not possible with arangefinder design. To compensate for this, rangefinder users often use zone focusing, which is especially applicableto the rapid-fire approach to street photography.The rangefinder design does not lend itself to zoom lenses, which have a constantly-variable field of view. The onlytrue zoom lens for rangefinder cameras is the Contax G2 Carl Zeiss 35–70mm Vario-Sonnar T* Lens with built-inzoom viewfinder.[2] Very few lenses, such as the Konica M-Hexanon Dual or Leica Tri-Elmar, let the user selectamong two or three focal lengths; the viewfinder must be designed to work with all focal lengths of any lens used.On a technical level, the rangefinder may become misaligned, leading to incorrect focusing, a problem absent fromSLRs.Nonetheless rangefinder cameras have advantages over SLRs for certain applications. Since there is no movingmirror, as used in SLRs, there is no momentary blackout of the subject being photographed. The camera is thereforeoften quieter, particularly with leaf shutters, and usually smaller and less obtrusive. These qualities makerangefinders more attractive for theater photography, some portrait photography, action-grabbing candid shots andstreet photography, and any demanding application where portability matters. The lack of a mirror allows the rearelement of lenses to project deep into the camera body, making high-quality wide-angle lenses easier to design. TheVoigtländer 12mm lens was the widest-angle rectilinear lens in general production for a long time, with a 121 degreeangle of view; only recently have comparable SLR lenses entered the market.Rangefinder viewfinders also usually have a greater field of view than the lens in use. This allows the photographerto be able to see what is going on outside of the frame, and therefore better anticipate action. In addition, withviewfinders with magnifications larger than 0.8x (e.g. some Leica cameras, the Epson RD-1/s, Canon 7, Nikon S,and in particular the Voigtländer Bessa R3A and R3M with their 1:1 magnification), photographers can keep botheyes open and effectively see a floating viewfinder frame superimposed on their real world view. This kind oftwo-eyed viewing is also possible with an SLR, using a lens focal length that results in a net viewfindermagnification close to 1.0 (usually a focal length slightly longer than a normal lens); use of a much different focallength would result in a viewfinder with a different magnification than the open eye, making fusion of the imagesimpossible.If filters that absorb much light or change the colour of the image are used, it is difficult to compose, view, and focuson an SLR, but the image through a rangefinder viewfinder is unaffected. On the other hand some filters, such asgraduated filters and polarizers, are best used with SLRs as the effects they create need to be viewed directly.

References[1] Levett, Gray (2005). "The History Of Nikon Part IV" (http:/ / www. nikonownermagazine. com/ findout/ magazine/ issue_015/ history. html).

Nikon Owner Magazine. .[2] "MTF" (http:/ / www. contaxusa. com/ docs/ mtf/ 635190_mtf. pdf) (PDF). Contax USA. .

External links• Nikon Rangefinder Cameras (http:/ / imaging. nikon. com/ history/ chronicle/ history_e/ index. htm)• Voigtlander Rangefinders (http:/ / www. fototheque. com/ voigtlander/ ) A brief write-up on Voigtlander

Rangefinders by Matthew Joseph.• Looking Forward (http:/ / rick_oleson. tripod. com/ looking_forward. htm): rangefinder design in the context of

viewfinder design, by Rick Oleson. Excellently illustrated.

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• "Rangefinders & Compacts" (http:/ / mattdentonphoto. com/ cameras/ rangefinders. html). Matt's ClassicCameras.

• Explains how rangefinder cameras work (http:/ / photozone. de/ slr-vs-rangefinder)

Page 6: Rangefinder Camera

Article Sources and Contributors 6

Article Sources and ContributorsRangefinder camera  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=507841712  Contributors: Ahmed Elnagar, Ajuk, Alansohn, Allanc, Amlz, Ashley Pomeroy, Atorero, AxelBoldt, Bafflegab1978, Blackmelas, Boing! said Zebedee, Bonzolive, Bultro, Camerafiend, Clerambj, Colonies Chris, Danorton, Dcolucci13, Denoir, Devisualize, Dicklyon, Digon3, Diser55, Dng88, Ed Avis,Egil, Ericd, FMMMC, Fastfashn, Fotodudenz, Franklinjefferson, GavinTing, Guyjr, Henry Merrivale, Hoary, Hooperbloob, Htes.nehoc, Imroy, J04n, Jacopo188, Jan von Erpecom, Jeff dean,Jfredrickson, Johnteslade, Justinc, Kallemax, Khaosaming, Koyaanis Qatsi, LX, Lackingleft, Leandrod, LilHelpa, Long4leica, Maebmij, MaikSchreiber, Manishearth, ManoloKosh, Marc Lacoste,Martarius, Matusz, Mcelleih, Mfunnell, Michael Hardy, Mindspillage, Misiu mp, Motorrad-67, MurderWatcher1, Mxn, Nasukaren, Nbarth, Oicumayberight, Oriccozo, Phyllis1753, PigFlu Oink,Pol098, Rama, RedWolf, Rogerd, SchuminWeb, Seano1, Shirik, Shotgunlee, Srleffler, Startsfood, Stybn, Theo, Thesleepless, TutterMouse, UnSane, Wangi, Wispanow, Woohookitty, Wudai e,Ypetrachenko, Zepheus, 106 anonymous edits

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