MikeEvangelist Posted December 28, 2011 Share #1  Posted December 28, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) It took me a few weeks after getting my M9 to understand why it feels so right to me; to realize why it transports me back to photography the way it's 'supposed' to be. After 40 years of shooting just about every kind & format of camera imaginable (Speed Graphics, TLRs, SLRs, sub-miniatures, and more) I had just about forgotten how it all started for me...  In 1967, a friend gave me an old camera his father had cast off. Adding a Weston Master II meter I picked up a garage sale, and a little photography 'how to' book from Radio Shack, I taught myself the difference between f's and ASAs, and was hooked for life. That camera was an Argus C3. I still have it.  Surprising how little has really changed in all that time. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/169377-my-first-rangefinder-my-new-rangefinder/?do=findComment&comment=1881655'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 28, 2011 Posted December 28, 2011 Hi MikeEvangelist, Take a look here My first rangefinder & my new rangefinder. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
TomB_tx Posted December 28, 2011 Share #2 Â Posted December 28, 2011 Very nice! I started about 10 years earlier, but the M9 was clearly a coming-home experience. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted December 28, 2011 Share #3 Â Posted December 28, 2011 My first camera in the early 70's was a Canon Canonet QL 17 GII 40mm rangefinder. I don't have it any more. Â Between then I had a Pentax Spotmatic for a few years as my first SLR, and then Nikon SLRs (all film, the last being anF3/T which I had from 1985 to 2010). Â I'm now back with rangefinders with an M9 for the past 18 months. I would not go back to an SLR. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio58 Posted December 28, 2011 Share #4 Â Posted December 28, 2011 I'm now back with rangefinders with an M9 for the past 18 months. I would not go back to an SLR. Â I have kept 1 DSLR and my Pentax ME Super. The DSLR is there for a specific purpose but other than that.... I will have the Leicas any day. Â I am most impressed that Mike still has his Argus. Looks great next to the M9, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted December 28, 2011 Share #5 Â Posted December 28, 2011 It took me a few weeks after getting my M9 to understand why it feels so right to me; to realize why it transports me back to photography the way it's 'supposed' to be. Â Other than the digital guts, the M9 barely differs from a 1954 M3. DSLRs can trace their DNA back to the late 1980s at most. I believe the feelings these different cameras evoke depends a lot on what era the photographer started out in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Holy Moly Posted December 28, 2011 Share #6  Posted December 28, 2011 What a lovely pair of light-tight boxes......  Nearly fifty years ago my first cam was a AGFA Isola I.  Thanks to ebay I got a mint copy even with the plastic 'Skai' leather....  Streetphotography: The beginning  Around 1969/70 my first, real, best and all-time favorite cam, the ex rangefinder in disguise, the NikonF became my third eye.....  My F & me | Flickr - Photo Sharing!  This cam was magic, no fear amongst soldiers/bombs in Belfast, clochards in Paris and other interesting objects.....  and, as above, ebay again helped me to get such a cam back around my neck:  Old Love | Flickr - Photo Sharing!  NPS made it like new including the Photomic - that's great! Lenses from 24 - 105mm are pulling my shoulders.......  Enjoy your team! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 28, 2011 Share #7 Â Posted December 28, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) A long, long time since I saw an Argus. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted December 28, 2011 Share #8 Â Posted December 28, 2011 Same applies. My first serious camera was an Olympus 35RC, in 1975. The rangefinder style still suits me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted December 28, 2011 Share #9  Posted December 28, 2011 I realize my first 35mm camera was also a rangefinder, and I still have it. Not as classic as the Argus, but caused quite a fad in the late 40s-early 50s. My dad was a very enthusiastic 3-D user, and got one for my sister and me when the used market was flooded by 1960 and they could be had cheaply. Taught me all the basics of shutter, lens, Sunny-16, as well as holding level, composing for 3-D with subject separation from background, etc. The separate viewfinder-rangefinder eyepieces were on the bottom of the camera, so you held it against your forehead (very steady). And talk about a long rangefinder base! Been a long time since I pulled out the TDC projector for these. I always used Kodachrome 25. Wonder how it would do with Velvia... Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/169377-my-first-rangefinder-my-new-rangefinder/?do=findComment&comment=1882538'>More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted December 29, 2011 Share #10 Â Posted December 29, 2011 Argus wasn't so popular in Italy (I'm even not sure it was regularly imported), but imho is a camera that, with its typical "brick" design, deserves a place of its own in the story of rangefinders... a story that, of course, all of us know around which camera has taken and still keep its strength... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeEvangelist Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share #11 Â Posted December 29, 2011 The separate viewfinder-rangefinder eyepieces were on the bottom of the camera, so you held it against your forehead (very steady). Â What's the brand/model of that camera? I'd love to read more about it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted December 29, 2011 Share #12 Â Posted December 29, 2011 What's the brand/model of that camera? I'd love to read more about it. It's a Stereo Realist, made by the David White company in Wisconsin. (Another optical instrument company known for its surveying equippment!) It took a pair of images from the two outer lenses, spaced about the same as the human eyes. The center lens is the viewfinder. Slides mounted the pair of images on a long mount spaced like the lenses, and were most often viewed with a hand-held viewer. Special projectors with polaraized lenses could be used if everyone wore matching polarized glasses. Each image was slightly larger than half-frame, maybe 22x24mm. Film advance had to be precise to interleave the images on a roll. Body was all die-cast. An unusual feature was the focusing. The wheel at the top right moved the film rails front to back (the pressure plate spring allowed the gate travel) instead of moving the lenses. That made the lens board simpler. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Negative Posted December 29, 2011 Share #13  Posted December 29, 2011 Ahh, yes. 1967. A great year.  I started myself with my dad's 1961-62ish Voigtländer Dynamatic II in the early 80's and here I am in (nearly) 2012 shooting several RFs. Indeed, little has changed... But why mess with perfection? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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