The missing DSLR

[amunarini]

Am I the only one who is not able to find in the market the right camera? I love the feeling and the simplicity of analog camera and I would love to be able to find the same in a digital camera.
A full frame DSLR, with a compact body, optical viewfinder, only manual control and without screen. What do you think about?
Anyone else who would love a camera like this?

 

[snowbear]

Do what a lot of us do: get one that fits your budget, is comfortable to hold and just use the features you want. If you don't like full auto or live view, then don't use them. Cameras, like cars, are manufactured for the masses.

 

[Derrel]

Am I the only one who is not able to find in the market the right camera? I love the feeling and the simplicity of analog camera and I would love to be able to find the same in a digital camera.
A full frame DSLR, with a compact body, optical viewfinder, only manual control and without screen. What do you think about?
Anyone else who would love a camera like this?

Canon 5D classic. Pretty compact body. Full-frame. Has an optical viewfinder. It is MANUAL when then mode dial is set to "M". The screen on the back is so small, and so crappy, that it's not much use compared to what is available today in the 3.0 and 3.2 inch screen models. If you truly do not want ANY screen, turn the review off, and slap a piece of gaffer's tape over the rear LCD. BOOM! No screen!

All you want, all you need, and available used for $450 to $550, body-only.

 

[Rick58]

Am I the only one who is not able to find in the market the right camera? I love the feeling and the simplicity of analog camera and I would love to be able to find the same in a digital camera.
A full frame DSLR, with a compact body, optical viewfinder, only manual control and without screen. What do you think about?
Anyone else who would love a camera like this?

I got exactly that with my Df...and...wait for it....NO VIDEO! I'm a happy camper

 

[LostLensCap]

Just about any full frame dSLR can be configured to meet your needs. A camera that was designed to only have the features you want would have way too small of a demand for them to market it.

 

[Dave442]

Depends a bit on what kind of analog camera you like. The Df comes to mind, its on my list. Sure, it has a screen, but you don't have to use it after setting up the camera the first time.
I use a D200, not full frame, but a bit more compact than most FF bodies. I use it like my old film cameras. Rarely use the rear screen, especially as that is the main battery drain.

 

[gsgary]

Am I the only one who is not able to find in the market the right camera? I love the feeling and the simplicity of analog camera and I would love to be able to find the same in a digital camera.
A full frame DSLR, with a compact body, optical viewfinder, only manual control and without screen. What do you think about?
Anyone else who would love a camera like this?

Leica make a rangefinder like that

 

[Overread]

Am I the only one who is not able to find in the market the right camera? I love the feeling and the simplicity of analog camera and I would love to be able to find the same in a digital camera.
A full frame DSLR, with a compact body, optical viewfinder, only manual control and without screen. What do you think about?
Anyone else who would love a camera like this?

Leica make a rangefinder like that

I was going to say that if any company would make a camera like that then Leica would be one of them. Partly because they can trade purely upon name and quality not just upon features. Most of the major DSLR mass producers have good names, but they also need wide markets. A camera so constrained in todays market is a luxury most big companies can't afford to put into production in a serious way.

That said, as mentioned, you can use any DSLR on the market really to get what you want. You just have to tune out the parts of if you don't want. The operation of aperture, shutter speed and ISO is still very much the same as it always was. Indeed many of the fancy features inside (like auto-lighting optimisation and other such terms) are often only relevant to JPEGs anyway so if you're already shooting in RAW you can disable those functions.


I can very much sympathise with the desire for a "simple" machine. Indeed its one reason I like my Kindle e-reader because it is simple. It does books; not really anything else. So its far less distracting to use and does simply what it needs to.

New DSLRs can be a bit tricky to get used to; though I find most people if they take it at their own pace and are conscientious in learning will pick it up pretty quickly. There's often little "complexity" (in user operation ) going on its just learning what the various things do.

 

[sashbar]

I wanted an advanced compact APS-C DSLR body. By compact I mean D3xxx or D5xxx size. Magnesium body, weather sealed, two wheels, all direct controls and 3-4 programmable Fn buttons, proper pro quality bright pentaprism finder, 7-8 fps, two SD slots etc. But all more or less advanced cameras started with D7xxx size which was way too large and heavy for my liking. Then FUJI came up with XT-1 and I never looked back.

 

[LostLensCap]

Depends a bit on what kind of analog camera you like. The Df comes to mind, its on my list. Sure, it has a screen, but you don't have to use it after setting up the camera the first time.
I use a D200, not full frame, but a bit more compact than most FF bodies. I use it like my old film cameras. Rarely use the rear screen, especially as that is the main battery drain.

Yes, the Nikon df is the closest thing to what you are looking for.

 

[sashbar]

Df is not compact by any means, it is not too heavy for a body this size, but is really as big and cumbersome to carry around as any FF DSLR. And with all that controls and dials simplicity is not really the thing you are looking for here.

 

[sashbar]

Df is not compact by any means, it is not too heavy for a body this size, but is really as big and cumbersome to carry around as any FF DSLR. And with all that controls and dials simplicity is not really the thing you are looking for here.

Only big and heavy if you consider an F2 or F3 big and heavy

You did not read my post carefully enough. I sad not too heavy for this size and as big as any DSLR. Obviously I did not mean D4 and the like, but we are not talking about these cameras here. And it is not compact by any standards.

 

[LostLensCap]

To the OP, have you looked at the Nikon df? It might be close to what you are looking for. I personally like using my Sony a6000 with my old Minolta manual focus lenses. I love the buttery feel of the focusing mechanism and the crisp click of the aperture ring. The EVF makes focusing a snap, especially for macro stuff.

 

[amunarini]

Thank you all for your answers. I well know that I can work in full manual with my dslr, actually that's what I usually do. What I don't like is the multitude of external control that I almost don't use and that force a complex design. Dslr are designed to fit to many different users, what I miss is something tailored on my taste and need.
Leica M 60 Edition is close to what I mean but it has two problems: it's a rangefinder while I do prefer slr and it costs ten times more that what I would be ready to pay for a camera like this

 

[sashbar]

Have you tried FUJI X-2 or T-100? It is mirrorless, but in terms of operation it is probably the closest to a old film camera with its on the lense aperture ring and mechanical shutter speed dial. It is truly compact and as a bonus you can use top class FUJI lenses.