Rolleiflex MiniDigi AF5.0 - miniature fun for the nostalgic

There is no need to talk about PMA 08 here, you all know about the new entry-level DSLR lineup from Canon, Nikon, Sony and Pentax. It's interesting they all offer something that the others don't have, like Live View, shake-reduction kit lens, weather-seal, etc. Personally I'm more interested in Fuji's new medium format rangefinder; it looks like a huge Kodak Retina! Anyway, this post is not about that either. There is a cool little toy camera from Komamura Corporation that is completely forgotten in English news outlet. It sounds just as interesting as the Fuji rangefinder but in an entirely opposite way.

The Rolleiflex MiniDigi AF5.0 is the follow up to a similar camera Rollei MiniDigi. The difference is that it's now 5 megapixels. The camera looks like a TLR with a LCD in place of the ground glass. Shutter is activated when the crank is turned one round. It reminds me of those Red Cross hand crank emergency radios. The autofocus lens is f2.8 that is capable of focusing as close as 10cm.

I doubt it would take much better photos than a cell phone, but it is seriously cool. The Rolleiflex MiniDigi AF5.0 will be available February 25th at 41,000 yen.

Panasonic 18x Zoom LUMIX DMC-FZ18 Camera

The race toward ever-higher megapixel may be over, but looks like the race to make the biggest zoom has just started. Sony started it all by introducing the DSC-H9 with a 15x zoom lens, when everybody was still making 12x zooms. This week, Panasonic answered: a 8.1 megapixel camera with a 18x zoom lens in the form of FZ18.
The new Leica DC Vario-Elmarit allows zoom range of 28-504mm. It allows slightly wide angle coverage as well as massive zoom in capability. If this was a 35mm camera, the lens would look like a telescope. Macro performance has been greatly improved to allow minimum shooting distance of just 1cm at the wide end and 1m at the tele end. The only worry is distortion. If distortion is kept low, this would be a tremendous camera.

The new feature common in all the new Panasonic cameras is the Intelligent Auto Mode feature. Tired of getting poor pictures out of the Auto mode? This new mode automatically detects motion, faces, shake, and even the type of scene and sets the best settings. Scene detection includes normal, portrait, scenery, macro, night scenery and night portrait. It sounds quite amazing and could be a godsend for times when you need to hand the camera over to a friend or when you're just too lazy.

I find it curious why Panasonic brought out this camera so soon. Could this mean the end of the FZ50 series? In any case, the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ18 looks to be a very good camera. It will be available in September 2007 for an MSRP of $399.95.

Canonet QL17 G-III

The Canonet QL17 G-III is one of the most popular fixed-lens compact rangefinder cameras of the 70's. It features shutter-priority and fully manual exposure modes, with shutter speeds from 1/500 to 30 seconds and bulb. The lens is a 40mm Canon lens, while not as sharp as some of the competition at the time, is perfectly usable and creates nice images.

The finish of the QL17 is top-notch with beautiful trim. It feels quite heavy in the hand for its size, giving a sense of good quality. The namesake quick load system is a joy to use; pull out film to the indicated position and close the door. No more putting film headers in slits. In the back, there are indicator windows to give assurance that film is being advanced when the level is wound. One odd thing is the shutter button. It is a little wobbly with some play...just does not give the same solid feel as the rest of the camera.

The focus ring has a finger tab. It is a necessity given how thin the focus ring is. I can imagine it being very useful when I have gloves on, but I find it awkward because I have to take my hand slightly off the lens barrel to push the tab. I also find the aperture and shutter speed rings a bit stiff. They are thin and does not provide enough traction.

The Cds meter is activated during shutter-priority mode. When the aperture ring is turned to the 'A' position, the meter needle indicates the chosen aperture as the shutter speed ring is moved. It almost feels like aperture-priority when looking through the viewfinder. If the chosen aperture is out of range, the shutter release will lock and cannot be depressed. The photographer can then switch to manual mode to override the settings. I think this works better than the sometimes hard-to-see arrows on the Yashica Electro 35 cameras.

Inside the meter window right above the lens, there is a ring with holes of various sizes that correspond to each shutter speed. Sometimes I wonder if the meter will work accurately if the hole is off center when I change the shutter speed. In the Yashica Elector 35 cameras, the holes are tied to the ASA selected which I think is a better implementation. Nonetheless, all the pictures came out great in my test roll, so I guess it works well enough :)

My biggest complain with the QL17 is the viewfinder. It's nice and bright, but it makes the rangefinder spot quite hard to see in low light. My Yashica GX has a viewfinder with a dark green cast. At first I thought it's kinda dark; now I understand it helps to create better contrast with the golden spot so it is easier to focus.

I personally feel the QL17 is a camera for the more deliberate shooters. It works great if there is time to adjust the shutter speed till the desired aperture is reached. Manual mode is also a nice thing to have for street photography.

Samples

(Canonet QL17 GIII x Fujicolor Pro 400H)

Related

• Yashica Electro 35 GX
• Replacing the light seals on old cameras

Pentax K10D Grand Prix Limited Edition Package

To celebrate the K10D's winning of the 2007 Camera Grand Prix, Pentax announced a limited edition package (5000 sets). It features a K10D with gold-colored Pentax and K10D logo, mode dial, and the line “CAMERA GRAND PRIX 2007“ below the rear LCD. It also comes with a battery grip with a brown lever, and a matching camera strap.

The K10D is certainly a great camera. Now Pentax just have to make avaliable some good cheap autofocus primes on the market. It's a strange situation to have ONLY the Limited lenses in stock and everything else sold out...