Film Small film camera?

There have been quite a few good suggestions already but I wanted to put in a word for my most recent camera, a Konica Big Mini. They can occasionally be found for next to nothing at second hand stores (I found mine yesterday at Goodwill). The lens is a bit slower at 3.5 but it is plenty sharp and the whole package is very pocket-able.
 
I have a Stylus Epic and a Minox 35. Both are very slightly smaller than the GRD 3. And not much lighter too.
I am not sure what if any film camera would be much smaller...
 
Oly XA would be a nice choice (it is a great cam and I have one of my own but let's be clear that the lens is not razor sharp by any means). So I'd urge you to also consider (now these are sharp):
- Ricoh GR1 series
- Fuji Klasse S (that 38mm lens is truly superb and as a current model so no service and parts issues)
- Konica Hexar AF (35mm f2. Would be perfect albeit it a little larger....it is the film version of the Fuji X100). I will have one of my own soon. I MUST!!

Otherwise anything from Steve Gandy's (CameraQuest) Compacts Guide....There's some beauties on there. Just got the Konica Auto S3 myself. It's 38mm f1.8 - 6‐Element, 4‐Group lens was tested by Modern Photography and at ALL apertures demonstrated center values between 64 to 82 lines per mm resolution. This is Leica‐class performance, and so was written up as “one of the best semi‐wide angle optics of its speed we have ever tested".

Oh she is a beauty to behold - in her stealthy black - but I will know more about her capabilities once the seals arrive from Jon Goodman in the US. :yahoo:

Best of luck mate....there's a few out there though.

Both my XAs (original rangefinder versions) had very sharp lenses. A different experience to yours.

Gordon
 
I've got a black Ricoh GR1s which I bought new in 1999. I've still got the box, receipt and instruction booklet (though sadly can't find the lens hood). According to my photo scans, I only ever put 10 rolls of film through it. It looks pretty mint to me. Anybody interested in it? I live in Surrey, UK and am open to offers.
 
I've got a black Ricoh GR1s which I bought new in 1999. I've still got the box, receipt and instruction booklet (though sadly can't find the lens hood). According to my photo scans, I only ever put 10 rolls of film through it. It looks pretty mint to me. Anybody interested in it? I live in Surrey, UK and am open to offers.

List it with a few pictures in the Buy/sell list. I'm sure someone will snap it up quick.
 
Both my XAs (original rangefinder versions) had very sharp lenses. A different experience to yours.

Gordon

Gordon mine are all orginal XAs (not much into zone focusing personally), and yes they are sharp. But then compared to it's younger sister - the Oly mju:ii (Stylus Epic) - it's a little flabby on the edges. More the case again when rallied against the Fuji Klasse S and Canonet QL17L. Again no complaints about its performance per se - and she's a beauty in hand - but side-by-side with other cameras of renown, you can see where some savings needed to be made to achieve the size back then.
Caveat emptor: Your mileage may vary
 
I've got a black Ricoh GR1s which I bought new in 1999. I've still got the box, receipt and instruction booklet (though sadly can't find the lens hood). According to my photo scans, I only ever put 10 rolls of film through it. It looks pretty mint to me. Anybody interested in it? I live in Surrey, UK and am open to offers.

oooh now that could be exquisitely tempting ... depending on price of course!
 
Although not a camera I would seriously recommend, I was thinking about how a Minolta 24 Rapid would check almost all boxes.

It's a beautifully made camera just slightly taller but otherwise about the size of an Olympus E-P1 with a pancake lens. Fully manual or programmed auto exposure, rangefinder focusing, and a fixed 32mm 2.8 Rokkor lens.

What keeps me from recommending it is that it takes Rapid cartridges which have not been available for over 20 years now. However, it's easy enough to reload old Rapid cartridges with 35mm film. The only issue, then, is the auto ISO indexing. Unless your old Rapid cartridge matches the ISO of the film you are reloading it with, it's better to use an external meter or ye olde sunny 16 rule.

Nevertheless, a gem of a camera.

5672004997_66814d6e19.jpg

1966 Minolta 24 Rapid by ramirezaponte, on Flickr

Cheers,

Antonio
 
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