On Fri, 23 Mar 2001, John Pendley wrote:
> Hello everybody,
> I'm thinking of buying a small rangefinder, small enough to carry in my
> shirt pocket. I know this has been discussed before, but I guess I wasn't
> paying much attention ;>{. My choices seem to have narrowed to the Epic
> (fixed lens, not zoom), the XA, and the Rol*ei 35 S or SE.
XA --- The worst thing is the annoying fall-off, which seems to
vary somewhat with my current three XA's, but is least noticable
with color print, and at around f/5.6 (thank you, Gary R). Very
compact, good flash range with the A-16 unit (also great for
controlled fill-flash). Control and ease of use is the XA's forte.
Extremely short lag time.
EPIC/MJUII --- Brain dead ? No problem. As long as you can twitch
a finger enough to depress the shutter release, the Epic/MJUII
is pulling for you. Here you give up controlling DOF (as with the XA)
and knowing shutter speeds, but you get several modes (flash on,
flash off, timer, spot metering/AF, too, and night-fill mode
Incredibly tiny, possessed of that annoying multiple-burst red-eye
reducer and a flash that detects fluorescent light and fires to
help do away with those bilious greens. Did I mention the killer
lens (for a P&S) ? Weatherproofing ? Downsides, no controls over
aperture/shutter speed, no readouts for either (just say your Hail
Marys :-), low-power flash, and a LONG lag time.
Rollei --- (used one a long time ago for a few months) great lens,
old-time metal body, you can hang any flash from the thing (I believe
the flash hung BELOW the camera. Precision feel. Manual control of
exposures (if memory serves).
Downsides, slow to work, pulling out lens takes longer than
prying open clamshell design, no auto modes, ZONE focusing...with
a 40mm (I think) lens, which can be a problem in low light
wide-open shooting.
All these are great cameras. I own the first two, and love them.
I find the XA better for street shooting/quick work than the
Epic/MJU-II, but the lens on the latter is simply much better.
BTW, pre-focusing the Epic in spot mode seems to be the best
way of knowing what it has focused on. The wide sensors sometimes
lock onto things (when in normal modes) that were pretty far off
center. The little Rollei was my fathers' favorite camera, and
as such, it will always have a place in my heart.
*= Doris Fang =*
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