Small SLR?

[ZacKrohn]

Hey everyone, I have a quick question for you all. Currently I own a Nikon F which I love dearly but its kindof a clunky camera in terms of size. I would realy like to be able to have a camrea that is small enough I can slip into my pocket, but still has the ability to set appature and shutter speed and what not...Do you have any ideas?

 

[Artemis]

Your only real choice is a Digital pocket camera with alot of megapixels, and manual settings aswell....cause I dont think youll ever find an SLR thatll fit in you pocket.

Try one of Nikons Coolpix ranges

 

[airgunr]

I'd have to agree with Artemis. I don't think you'll find a SLR that fits in a pocket.

FWIW, I own a Nikon SLR but don't own a Nikon digital. I did buy a Sony DSC V1 and it is pretty versital. Fits in a pocket and with a 1 gig stick it will store around 400+ pictures in 5meg mode. Gives you Program, Shutter priority, Apeture Priority and Manual modes with lots of other features. I would assume Nikon has something like it.

 

[danalec99]

Leica Rangefinders .

 

[Big Mike]

Older range-finders or mid level & above digitals should all have the controls you want.

Check out the Pentax *ist. It's very small for an SLR.

Or...just stick with your Nikon F and get bigger pockets

 

[Scurra]

I'd say that depends on how big your pockets are personally..... You could make a modified pocket but you could get some funny looks if you leave a telephoto attached.

 

[Jamie R]

There are plenty of film based quality pocket cameras which are small if not smaller than digital. It depends on how much you're willing to trade off quality against convenience. There are plenty of 35mm cameras:

1. Contax T2, T3 series
2. Olympus Mju series
3. Ricoh GR1/vs series
4. Rollei C35

If you want an SLR, the smallest full frame 35mm in its class has to be the Contax Aria with a pancake lens that will fit in a big outer pocket and is smaller than a Leica M6 and less than a 1/2 of its weight.

The cheaper option is to go for a vintage rangefinder with a fixed lens:

1. Leica IIIf (cheaper, right?!)
2. Minolta Hi-matic 7sii series
3. Konica S3 series
4. Canonets


Food for thought....

 

[ksmattfish]

Some of the Pentax SLRs such as the LX or ME are also very small. I have a ME Super, and it's pretty small for a 35mm SLR. There are Pentax pancake lenses also available.

For true pocketability check out the rangefinders as suggested.

The camera in my avatar is an Ansco Titan medium format folder. It has apertures ranging from f/3.5 to f/22, shutter speeds fom bulb to 1/400th, it shoots 12 6x6cm negs on a roll of 120, and it all folds up and fits in my back pocket like a wallet. Of course it's a no frills camera, so if you are used to modern bells and whistles it'll seem fairly primitive. On the other hand it takes fantastic photos, and goes for cheap ($30 to $90).

 

[danalec99]

:shock: Where can I get one?

 

[ksmattfish]

:shock: Where can I get one?

I found my first one in an antique mall. It was $15 and pretty beat up, but the pics were so good that I went looking on Ebay for a cleaner model. There is one on auction right now...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15234&item=3852299717&rd=1

Remember, these are old cameras (mid 1950s), and almost all of them could use a Clean, Lube, and Adjust.

I would recommend that you do some research on medium format folders. There are many models available, from many different brands. Some are cheap, some are pricey, some are crap, and some are gems. There are a couple of guys who regularly sell them on Ebay who rebuild them so you get a very nicely functioning camera. Certo6 is one guy.

 

[danalec99]

Thanks Matt!

 

[John Orrell]

If you want to stick with film but want the full-control of an SLR (e.g.: manual shutters speeds and aperture) but in a pocketable package, why not check out E-Bay for some classic 60s/70s rangefinders? Okay I'm an Olympus fan so I'm naturally biased, and I'd recommend most of the Olympus 35 rangefinders, but there are others worth recommending too. For example I'd loose all credibility if I failed to mention "Leica" in the same sentence as "rangefinder". The Minolta CLE was a beauty too, and could use Leica glass.

 

[tr0gd0o0r]

I'd say as long as you're not gonna be putting a long or zoom lens on your camera, many older slrs will fit into a pocket. I have a pentax KM, that fits with a 50mm.

Check out the Pentax *ist. It's very small for an SLR.

Speaking of which, I was just on their website poking around and noticed a new product, the *istDS. Its a new digital slr made to be compact. Didn't look realy hard, but seemed to be the *istD beefed up just a little bit and made smaller and lighter. Anyone heard anything about it?

 

[ZacKrohn]

hey thanks for the responce everyone. When I said pocket size I didnt necerally mean small as much as I did compact, and light weight as well. But I'm sure some of these are realy good sugestions. I'll go do some research on a range finder. Can somone tell me more exactaly what the difference between an SLR and a range finder is (besides fixed lense)? Thanks again
Zac

 

[Unimaxium]

Well, somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the main difference between an SLR and a rangefinder is in the way the photographer looks through the lens to frame the shot. In an SLR, when you look through the viewfinder, you are actually looking directly though the same lens that focuses the light onto the film. In a rangefinder, when you look through the viewfinder, you are looking though a totally different (and smaller) lens. Because of this, rangefinders can have what's called parallax error, where the framing of the subject in the viewfinder is slightly different from what hits the film, since the viewfinder and main lens are in different locations. However, rangefinders are generally cheaper and smaller than SLRs because they require less mirrors and moving parts to get the image to the viewfinder. In general, with 35mm cameras, typical consumer point-and-shoot cameras are rangefinders, while more advanced cameras tend to be SLRs.

I hope I'm not way off on this, but I'm pretty sure that's what the difference is.