Voigtländer Rangefinder Film Cameras

Measuring Distances with Rangefinder Film Cameras

While most digital SLRs, and some late-model 35mm film cameras, can measure distances electronically and focus automatically, they differ from rangefinder cameras that focus using a dual-image range-finding device. They were one of the most widely used cameras of the 1950s, with cameras by companies such as Voigtlander still available as secondhand models today. They have some distinct advantages over their digital and 35mm counterparts, as well as unique operating techniques that make them an interesting addition for photographers wanting a new challenge.

What Is a Rangefinder Camera?

As the name suggests, a rangefinder camera contains a mechanism that allows you to measure the distance you are from your subject and capture images that are sharply in focus.

• Most cameras with a rangefinder display two images of the same subject, with one of the images moving when you turn a calibrated wheel. When the two images fuse into a single image, you can read the distance from the subject off the wheel.
• Early cameras often had separate windows for the rangefinder and viewfinder, although they were later incorporated into a single window.
• Some modern designs feature rangefinders coupled to the focusing mechanism to ensure the lens focuses correctly when the two images fuse.

How Does a Rangefinder Camera Work?

Rather than looking through the viewfinder and the lens, with an RF, you focus and compose the image through a window on the top right of the camera, similar to a disposable camera. The mechanism triangulates as you turn the ring, bringing the two images together when perfectly focused, unlike a 35mm.

• Some feature a rectangular window above the lens that collects light to make the frame lines brighter, which is usually an indication of a good camera.
• While some rangefinders are compatible with a vast range of interchangeable lenses, others feature fixed lenses.

What Are the Advantages of a Rangefinder Camera?

Without the extra weight of prisms, flipping screens, and flipping reflex mirrors, RF bodies and lenses tend to be smaller and lighter than digital SLR and 35mm cameras.

• Because there is no flipping mirror, there is much less vibration that can potentially add to the blurring of images.
• The rear elements can come very close to the image plane, which is particularly useful in wide-angle lenses to create sharper images with less distortion.
• Unlike 35mm single-lens reflex cameras that momentarily black out at the instant you capture the image, rangefinder viewfinders never black out, so you can see your subject's expression right as the camera records it.

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