A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder, typically a
split-image 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. Accessory
rangefinders, often fitting into the camera's accessory shoe, could be used
with cameras with rangefinder not built in.
Almost all digital cameras, and most later film cameras, measure distance
using electroacoustic or electronic means and focus automatically; however,
it is not customary to speak of this functionality as a rangefinder.
History The first rangefinders, sometimes called
"telemeters", appeared in the twentieth 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 integrated the rangefinder in the center of the
viewfinder. Rangefinder cameras were common from the
1930s to the 1970s, but the more advanced models lost ground to
single-lens reflex cameras. Rangefinder cameras have been made in
all sizes and all film formats over the years, from 35mm through medium format
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, were often fitted with
rangefinders. The best-known rangefinder cameras take
35mm film, use focal plane shutters, and have interchangeable lenses. These are
Leica screwmount cameras developed for lens manufacturer Ernst Leitz Wetzlar by
Oskar Barnack, 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 to 1962, and Leica M-series cameras.
The Nikon rangefinder cameras were "discovered" in 1950 by Life magazine
photographer David Douglas Duncan, who covered the Korean War. Canon
manufactured several models from the 1930s until the 1960s; models from 1946
onwards were more or less compatible with the Leica thread mount.
Launched in 1940, The Kodak 35 Rangefinder was the first 35 mm camera
made by the Eastman Kodak Company. Other such cameras include the Casca, Detrola
400, Ektra, Foca, Foton, Opema II, Perfex, Robot Royal, and Witness.
In the United States the dependable and cheap Argus was far and away the most
popular 35mm rangefinder, with millions sold.
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 for the amateur market were produced by several
manufacturers, mainly Japanese, including Canon, Fujica, Konica, Mamiya,
Minolta, Olympus, Petri Camera, Ricoh, and Yashica. Distributors such as
Vivitar and Revue often sold rebranded versions of these cameras. While
designed to be compact like the Leica, they were much less expensive. 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 successors.
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 TR2R4, and the Hasselblad Xpan/Xpan 2.
Zeiss had a new model called the Zeiss Ikon, also made by Cosina but now
discontinued, 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.
Medium-format rangefinder cameras continue to be produced. Recent models
include the Mamiya 6 and 7I/7II, the Bronica RF645 and the Fuji G, GF, GS, GW
and GSW series. In 1994, Contax introduced an autofocus
rangefinder camera, the Contax G. Digital rangefinder
Digital imaging technology was applied to rangefinder cameras for the first
time in 2004, with the introduction of the Epson 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
compared to more common digital SLRs, and lack several features that are
common with modern digital cameras, such as no real telephoto lenses available
beyond 135mm focal length, very limited macro ability, live preview, movie
recording, and face detection. More recently, Leica has released the
Leica M 240 digital rangefinder, which adds Live Preview, video recording and
focusing assistance, the Leica Monochrom, which is similar to the Leica
M9 but shoots solely in black and white, and the Leica M Edition 60 which is
similar to the M 240 but omits a rear display panel as an homage to film
cameras. Pros and cons
The viewfinder of any camera that does not allow viewing through the taking
lens, including rangefinder cameras, is necessarily offset from the taking lens,
so that the image shown is not exactly what will be recorded on the film; this
parallax error is negligible at large subject distances, but increases as the
distance decreases. More advanced rangefinder cameras project into the
viewfinder a brightline frame that moves as the lens is focused, correcting
parallax error down to the minimum distance at which the rangefinder
functions. The angle of view of a given lens also changes with distance, and the
brightline frames in the finders of a few cameras automatically adjust for
this as well. For extreme close-up photography, the rangefinder camera is
awkward to use, as the viewfinder no longer points at the subject.
In contrast, the viewfinder pathway of an SLR transmits an image directly
"through the lens". This eliminates parallax errors at any subject distance,
thus allowing for macro photography. It also removes the need to have separate
viewfinders for different lens focal lengths. In particular, this allows for
extreme telephoto lenses which would otherwise be very hard to focus and
compose with a rangefinder. Furthermore, the through-the-lens view allows the
viewfinder to directly display the depth of field for a given aperture, which is
not possible with a rangefinder design. To compensate for this, rangefinder
users often use zone focusing, which is especially applicable to the rapid-fire
approach to street photography. The rangefinder design is not readily
adapted for use with zoom lenses, which have a continuously variable field of
view. The only true zoom lens for rangefinder cameras is the Contax G2
Carl Zeiss 35–70mm Vario-Sonnar T* Lens with built-in zoom viewfinder. 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; the viewfinder must be designed to work
with all focal lengths of any lens used. The rangefinder may become misaligned,
leading to incorrect focusing. Rangefinder cameras have advantages over
SLRs for 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 therefore often quieter, particularly with leaf shutters, and
usually smaller and less obtrusive. These qualities make rangefinders more
attractive for theater photography, some portrait photography, candid and street
photography, and any application where an SLR is too large or obtrusive. The
absence of a mirror allows the rear element of lenses to project deep into
the camera body, making high-quality wide-angle lenses easier to design. The
Voigtländer 12mm lens is the widest-angle rectilinear lens in general
production, with a 121 degree angle of view; only recently have equivalent SLR
lenses become available, though optically inferior. The absence of a
mirror also means that rangefinder lenses have the potential to be
significantly smaller than equivalent lenses for SLRs as they need not
accommodate mirror swing. This ability to have high quality lenses and camera
bodies in a compact form made Leica cameras and other rangefinders
particularly appealing to photojournalists.
Rangefinder viewfinders usually have a field of view a little greater than the
lens in use. This allows the photographer to be able to see what is
going on outside of the frame, and therefore better anticipate action, at
the expense of a smaller image. In addition, with viewfinders with
magnifications larger than 0.8x, photographers can keep both eyes open
and effectively see a floating viewfinder frame superimposed on their
real world view. This kind of two-eyed viewing is also possible with an SLR,
using a lens focal length that results in a net viewfinder magnification close
to 1.0; use of a much different focal length would result in a viewfinder with
a different magnification than the open eye, making fusion of the images
impossible. There's also the difference of the eye level, since the eye looking
in the viewfinder actually sees the frame from slightly below the other eye.
This means that the final image perceived by the viewer will not be
totally even, rather leaning on one side. This issue can be bypassed by
shooting in vertical position, shooting style and framing allowing.
If filters that absorb much light or change the colour of the image are used,
it is difficult to compose, view, and focus on an SLR, but the image through a
rangefinder viewfinder is unaffected. On the other hand, some filters, such as
graduated filters and polarizers, are best used with SLRs as the effects they
create need to be viewed directly. References
External links Nikon Rangefinder Cameras
Voigtlander Rangefinders A brief write-up on Voigtlander Rangefinders by
Matthew Joseph. Looking Forward: rangefinder design in
the context of viewfinder design, by Rick Oleson.
"Rangefinders & Compacts". Matt's Classic Cameras.