the unofficial Cosina-Voigtlander User Community

I believe in certain tools matching certain jobs and I think the rationale of a 35mm RF is that its smallish and paints with a certain quality. When I boil it all down for me, my RF is in my pocket, with me when I go socialising and ready -ready for candid and PJ shots, and mainly interior shots at that. <br /><br />Some jobs require a big camera set up. Sport journalism especially. Some jobs require specialist systems such as ringflash/macro capabilities. Some cams are for studio work; skin-tone-uber-alles... These tools I have but they are uncomfortable to use around city streets and in clubs; its not their job. <br /><br />I should mention that I&#039;m rather anal about theft and have spent evenings inside a venue worrying about whether my car was being broken into. This is because in 2006 my car was actually broken into 3 times (and the last occasion they also drove the vehicle down the road a ways). I was mostly lucky although on one occasion non-camera items worth $2500 were stolen. I will attempt to avoid Leica M8 and Noctilux bling for that reason, although I don&#039;t deny those pricey items would fit inside a jacket just the same as a R4 and a russian lens. <br /><br />....and sometimes you want the camera to be un-obtrusive, quick n dirty but effective.<br /><br />So where does that lead for the purposes of nailing down a &#039;rangefinder philosophy?&#039;<br /><br />It seems I got my R4A to fill a desire for johnny-on-the-spot PJ and candids. I have a 40mm Nok for lowlight interior portraits of bands (a hobby). I don&#039;t want to use flash, if its dark I&#039;ll just up the grain. I like the &#039;built-in bonus&#039; of avoiding mirrorslap and being more hand-holdable in dark pubs and clubs. I also have a Nikkor 20mm lens to use in crowds etc (scale focus) but I may yet spend up and buy a CV25 in M mount. And the rest of my pocket space is for film and filters..

Um, i rambled, but I thought some too. sorry if its longish.

Rangefinders are ideal for all kinds of things.&nbsp; I also like fixed-lens pocket-sized rangefinders for the purposes you describe.&nbsp; Cosina made a lot of them, too.&nbsp; If the lens isn&#039;t as fast as a Noctilux, you can always push Tri-X.

SLRs are a very good general tool. They&#039;re okay to good at every focal length and in most situations. They are a big knife. They&#039;ll cut through anything, although it might be messy.<br /><br />RFs are more &quot;specialist&quot;. They don&#039;t do everything as well (or at all) as SLRs, but what they do do, they do better...like wide angle, size, etc... . They are a scalpel. You can&#039;t cut everything with it, but what it can cut it cuts beautifully.&nbsp; ;D

Couldn&#039;t have said it better myself.&nbsp; Cool!

I carry my Voigtlander everywhere all day. To the bank, the post office, the supermarket and so on.<br /><br />When I have my Olympus OM with me it&#039;s not the same, especially because I tend to take a couple of lenses too and that needs a bag.<br /><br />The Voigtlander is always there, the Olympus OM only comes out for special projects.