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10 years of JCH: 10 Favorite Rangefinders
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Jan 27, 2024
Seeing as it is 10 years of JCH I thought I would share my ten favorite rangefinder cameras. And do some kwick maffs, innit. Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/japancamerahunter Contents of this video: 00:00 - Intro 01:01 - Merch 01:21 - Points System 02:49 - Leica MP6 05:29 - Leica M3 07:59 - Zeiss Ikon 10:12 - Mamiya 7 12:18 - Makina 67 14:08 - Nikon SP 16:21 - Canonet QL17 18:22 - Fuji GF670 20:40 - Fuji GSW690 22:51 - Yasuhara T891 25:23 - Final Rankings
View Video Transcript
0:00
10 years of JCH. Now for something a little bit different. I have been running JCH now
0:11
for 10 years and during that time I've seen a lot of really interesting cameras, lenses
0:16
and photography related things. And I think I have learnt a lot but also I've gained a
0:22
lot of knowledge and I have an understanding of cameras, mirror lenses and so on. So I
0:27
thought it would be really interesting to put together some top 10 lists and the first
0:32
one I want to do is my top 10 favourite rangefinder cameras. Now before all of you lot jump in
0:38
the comments saying, oh you missed so and so camera, you don't know what you're talking about. Please remember this is a list of my favourite rangefinder cameras, not the best
0:47
rangefinder cameras. Though I'm sure some of you will jump into the comments anyway
0:51
so enjoy yourselves. I have selected 10 cameras and I'm going to rank them based on 7 criteria
1:00
There's a lot to get through so we better get started. Before we begin I thought I'd
1:06
point out our merch if you haven't got some already. Come and grab some, support the channel
1:12
and help us keep on making great videos. Ok, cheers, bye. So I have come up with a series of 7 metrics that we can rank these cameras for a total
1:28
of 50 points. The first series of metrics are going to be 10 points and they are as
1:34
follows. Usability. How is the camera? Is it easy to use? Is it ergonomic? Is it friendly
1:42
to use? Are you enjoying yourself while you are using it? The next one will be build quality
1:48
What is the craftsmanship like? Is the camera durable? Is it well made? Is it tough or is
1:52
it weak? We don't know. And the last one will be range. What accessories does it come with
1:59
Can you get lots of lenses for it? Can you get flashes? What can you use with this camera
2:05
The next series of metrics are for 5 points and at the top we have price. Is the camera
2:11
expensive? Is it good value for money? And is it a good investment? The next we have
2:18
is serviceability. Can this camera still be repaired and will it be repairable in
2:23
the future? How long is it going to last? Next we have styling. How does it look? Is
2:29
it easy on the eye? Fit and finish? And then we have status. Does it give you street cred
2:36
Are you going to get props for this camera if that sort of thing is important to you
2:42
So all of these will bring us to a total of 50 points. There's a lot to get through
2:48
We really had better get cracking. Unfortunately we don't have all of the cameras on this list
2:53
but we do have some of them so we are going to show you the ones that we have got and
2:58
we better get started with the first one which is the Leica MP or more specifically this
3:04
one. My Leica MP6. It's on the list because this is my grail camera and it's my list
3:12
It has everything I want. It's perfect and I've got one so it makes it onto the list
3:17
Now let's get started on the grading. Usability. It's a Leica isn't it? It's pretty easy to
3:24
use. Only thing, maybe it's missing some key functions that others would need on cameras
3:31
but it's a bit fiddly to load. It's not the quickest so I give it 8 out of 10. Next up
3:37
we have build quality. It's a Leica MP. I mean come on, it's beautiful. It's fit and
3:43
finish is fantastic so yeah I'm going to go 10 points on that one. Third we have the range
3:52
Well it's a Leica. There's just an endless, endless, endless amount of accessories and
3:58
bits and things that you can go and put on it but not absolutely everything and some
4:04
of them are expensive so 8 stars for that one. Now next up we have price. Little explanation
4:13
about price. Price is based on the value so if it's 5 stars it's affordable, it's easy
4:22
to access and the lower the stars obviously more expensive. This is very expensive. Not
4:29
necessarily easy to access but at the same time it's an investment. It's going to make
4:35
money so I've given this one 3 points. Next up we have serviceability. For now the Leica
4:43
MP is serviceable. You can get them repaired and for the foreseeable future it's good money
4:49
to do so so yes this is serviceable. Absolutely sure. 5 points. Next we have styling. Look
4:56
at it. It's gorgeous. It's absolutely gorgeous but it is to me anyway so I've given it 5
5:03
points. And last we have status. Well yeah it's a Leica MP. I mean we're sort of strumming
5:11
on a theme here but yeah it does apparently give you status so yeah 5 points. Right we
5:19
better total this up haven't we? And the total we have got for this one is 43 stars. 43
5:29
Next up we have the Leica M3. The boss. The granddaddy. The one that started it all. The
5:36
Leica M3 I mean it is what it is. It sort of changed photography so we better grade
5:42
it haven't we? Now 1. Usability. Usability. This is a very easy camera to use. Finder
5:51
is absolutely brilliant. I mean it's a Leica. You're not going to go wrong with this but
5:56
it has its limitation that it's set for 50mm so you can't use everything on it unless you
6:02
start fiddle faddling around. So for that I've given this one 6 points. Ok. Number 2
6:09
Build quality. Everything was based on the build quality of this. It's absolutely astounding
6:16
It's beautiful and for a 60 year old camera it still looks fantastic. So yeah build quality
6:21
on these is very good. And I have given for this one build quality 10 points. Ok. Now
6:28
range. Leica ecosystem is massive. You could put all sorts of things on this if you knew
6:34
where to look for the names and numbers for them but you couldn't put everything on it
6:39
and that limited that somewhat so range I've given it 8 points. Ok. Now price. These are
6:48
going up. They're getting more expensive. Everybody wants one but that doesn't necessarily
6:53
mean that it's a bad thing. It's still available. You can store it. They're still relatively
6:57
affordable and they are going to go up in value. Price I've given this one 3 points
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Now serviceability. Amazingly for a camera of this age it's still really easy to get
7:10
a service and you can have just about any issue on this camera repaired even now. Ok
7:16
And there's lots of people that are doing it. So serviceability yeah absolutely 5 points
7:23
Styling. Leica M3 it changed how people perceived cameras. It's absolutely gorgeous. The lines
7:31
everything about it. It's iconic. Ok. So yeah of course 5 points. And status. Yeah man having
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an M3 as a status symbol for sure 100% no doubt about it. Absolutely 5 points. So let's
7:47
have a look what we got for the total on this one. 41 points. Not bad. Up next the Zeiss
8:01
Icon ZM. Now we don't have one of these so I'm just going to talk to you about it. Pretender
8:07
to the throne. Fantastic finder. Very well designed camera. Extremely capable. Not that
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pretty. Doesn't sound very nice. Feels quite light. A little bit cheap but it's still a
8:19
really really seriously capable camera. So better get ranking on this one. Number 1
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Usability. Usability it is very functionally usable. It is really easy to use. It has lots
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of cool things on it so I've given that one 8 points. Number 2. Build quality. Build quality
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isn't so great on it. They are a bit fragile. They're a bit like a high strung horse sometimes
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So build quality I'm going to say 8 points on that one. It's good but it could be better
8:58
Range. Now the Zeiss Icon ZM it can use all of the M mount lenses which is very cool
9:06
But it doesn't have that much of a range in its own ecosystem. For that I've given it
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6 points. The price. Price is a bit of a pain on this one because they have effectively
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almost tripled in price in the last couple of years and it used to be a very affordable
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rangefinder camera. It's less so now so I've given that one 3 points. And on to the serviceability
9:33
For now you can have this camera repaired. That's fine. It is still serviceable. But
9:40
we don't know how long that will continue to be for. But at the moment I've given it
9:46
5 stars. Styling. Styling it looks alright. It has its fans that's for sure but it is
9:54
very practical. So I've given it 4 points. And the last one. Status. It's not that much
10:02
of a status symbol. 3 points. Ok. We better top that one up and we come up with 37 points
10:11
Well done. The Mamiya 7. The medium format monster. And we do have one of these. Absolutely
10:18
fantastic camera. Rangefinder. Beautifully designed. Does feel a bit cheap and limited
10:25
in what lenses you can use with the camera. But the lenses that you can use. Absolutely
10:31
fantastic. Let's grade it. Ok. Usability. So this camera is very easy to use. It's very
10:39
straightforward. It's very simple. It does exactly what you need it to do. And it has
10:43
got some pretty good functions on it too. Usability. I've given this one 8 points. Build
10:49
quality wise. It's plastic. It feels well made but it also feels a little bit fragile
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So you are concerned the finder can easily get knocked out. So I've given that one 8
11:05
points. Range. Ok. Well the Mamiya range is not that big for this camera unfortunately
11:12
You don't have that many choices so I've given it 6 points. Price. Price on this has gone
11:19
absolutely bonkers in the last couple of years. And they used to be quite an affordable camera
11:24
Less so now. I've given this one 2 points for the price. Now on to serviceability. Yes
11:32
you can have these cameras repaired. Still there are places that are servicing them
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So though some of the more difficult technical problems they can't be serviced. It's not
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perfect. So I've given it 4 points. On to the styling. It's certainly got a look. It's
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quite unique. And it has it's fans. I like it. I think it's very utilitarian. I've given
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it 4 points. And last one. Status. Amongst photographers, those in the know, if they
12:04
see you carrying one of these they think, yeah that's pretty rad. So yeah, 4 points
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Let's total this one up. And we have 36 points. A solid effort
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Up next some say the ultimate range finder. The Machina 6-7. Is it though? It's a very
12:27
interesting camera. The lens on it is outstanding. But functionally it is a difficult camera
12:34
to use. And it is definitely not intuitive. So let's get grading
12:41
Now first one. Usability. As I said it's not an easy camera to use. This one is actually
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a bit of a mess to use. So 3 points. Build quality. Difficult one. Build quality on this
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It is beautifully made. But it has some really fragile points in the camera. So it is easy
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to break. Build quality. I've given this one 7 points. Range. There is no range. None
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at all. You can basically get like a hood and stuff for it. That's about it. So yeah
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range. 1 point. Price. Expensive. But does hold it's value. Not such a bad thing. I've
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given this one 2 points. Next up serviceability. Yes they can be serviced. But it is extremely
13:31
expensive to have it done. So serviceability. Yeah it's going to get 3 for this one. And
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then we have the styling. Oh yeah. Okay it's going to win on this. The styling is fantastic
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It looks absolutely incredible. It looks everything you want this sort of camera to look like
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So 5 points. Last one. Status. Those in the know know that this is what they think the
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boss. So this one again 5 points. Let's top this one up. And we have 26 points. Not what
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I was expecting. Next up we have the famous or infamous Nikon SP. Now again I don't actually
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have one of these at the moment. So we're just going to talk about it instead. Nikon
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SP is the camera that sort of defined the range finders for Nikon. And it came with
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this fantastic range of cameras, lenses, parts, everything you could possibly need. It was
14:30
its whole ecosystem and it was great. Okay let's get grading. So first up Nikon SP we
14:36
have the usability. It is a very capable range finder. It is not as easy to use as the Leicas
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which is perhaps where some of its failings were. It was a bit quirky. But again it was
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an easy camera to use and it had lots of features on it. So usability I'm going to
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go with 6 points. Okay next build quality. It was made beautifully. It feels fantastic
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It's so smooth. It feels solid in your hands. The finder is beautiful. Build quality yeah
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absolutely 10 stars on this one. Next up we have range. The Nikon S line had lots of lenses
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lots of accessories, flashes, extras, all the things you could possibly need. Nikon
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very capable company. So range is going to get 9 points. Next up price. Prices have gone
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up for these. Again though good investment. You could definitely sell it for what you
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paid for it. So I'm going to give it 3 points. Next serviceability. These are still serviceable
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cameras. They are and you can have them done. So 4 points. Styling. Styling it looks fantastic
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It really does look the part. It's got that sort of 60's functional cool styling about
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it. So I'm going to give it 4 points. Status. It's very cool. Perhaps not quite as cool
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as a Leica. Still very cool. 4 points. And the total we have there is 40 points. A really
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really good effort from the Nikon. Up next we have the Canonet QL17. This little beauty
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The ultimate budget range finder perhaps. Canonet or Canon made absolutely tons of these
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things. It was the people's range finder. There was a whole series of cameras like this
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on the market at the time. Good value for money. Great little camera. Good to get started
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with. So let's get started on grading. Usability. Usability this camera is easy to use and it
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does most of the stuff for you. But at the end of the day you still have to know a little
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bit about photography to use one. So ultimately I gave this one 6 points. Build quality. They
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were well made for what they were but they are a budget camera and they do break and
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it might not be worth repairing them. So build quality I've given it 4 points. Range. Well
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there isn't really much of a range on this camera. You could get a few accessories but
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that's about it. Range unfortunately 3 points. Price. They have become more expensive but
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they are still good value for money. You can find them cheap. Price I'll give them 5 points
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And then on to serviceability. You can have these cameras serviced and it can be cheap
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but if there's lots of problems it can be expensive. It might be worth just chucking
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it away and finding another one. So serviceability 4 points. And then on to styling. Styling
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looks pretty cool. Iconic I guess but nothing special. I've given it 3 points. And last
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one. Status. I guess for some this perhaps some hipster in the middle of Brooklyn this
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is a status symbol. It does have a certain cachet cool about it. So yeah I've given this
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one 3 points. Total that up and this little bad boy got 28 points. So that's it for the
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camera. Well done. Okay next up we have the Fuji GF670. Perhaps the ultimate rangefinder
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medium format camera. Fuji would certainly like to think so. Very capable camera. 6x6
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and 6x7. Beautiful rangefinder on it. Does have some faults. The door is quite fragile
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Easy to break. It doesn't feel that well made but the lens is amazing on it. Very capable
18:47
camera. So let's see. Let's get grading. First up usability. Usability this camera is easy
18:54
to use for photographers. It wouldn't be a first time beginner's camera. So it doesn't
19:01
score perfectly on that front. So usability I'm going to say 7 points. Next up build quality
19:07
Fuji make their cameras very well. It is a well made camera but it is a fragile camera
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and it does have weak points. So it is pretty easy to break. Especially if you don't handle
19:18
it well. So build quality I'm going to say 6 points. Range. The camera doesn't have a
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range. You can buy a leather case and a hood for it. So that's your range. There isn't
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one. 1 point. Price. Expensive. It is an expensive camera but at the end of the day the price
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is going up. So buy one, use it for a year and probably sell it for what you paid for
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it. Not such a bad thing. Price wise I'm going to go 2 points on this one though. And ok
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next we have serviceability. You can have this camera serviced and Fuji will fix almost
19:58
any problem on it but you have to send it to Japan. It's a pain. So it's not that serviceable
20:05
So serviceability I'm going to give it 3 points. Next up styling. Pretty bland. Doesn't look
20:12
that special. It's very good at what it does but it's not going to set the world on fire
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So 2 points. And the last one. Status. Amongst photographers for sure. People who like medium
20:27
format will be... well that's pretty cool. I'm going to say 4 points. Ok and we come
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to a lovely total of 25 points. Well done Fuji. Up next we have the Fuji GSW690. One
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two or three. Don't actually have one at the moment so let's just talk about it. A big
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bold camera for big bold people. Very good at what it does. Very sharp lens. Very nice
20:55
Quite big. Unwieldy. Not as easy to use. So got some caveats but let's get into it
21:02
Let's see what the points do. Number 1. Usability. As I said it is very good at what it does
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but it's not the easiest camera to use. You do need to have a bit of camera knowledge
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to use it. So usability wise I'm going to say 6 stars for this one. Build quality. Early
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ones were made of metal. Later ones made out of plastic. Didn't feel as solid. Weren't
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brilliantly made. Parts of it could break quite easily. So build quality I'm going to
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say 6 stars. You do need to look after them. Range. There isn't really much of a range
21:35
with this camera. It comes with a hot shoe cover and it has a remote release and that's
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about it. So range wise, yeah 2 points. That's all that's going to get. Let's see. Price
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They've held their price as well. They are getting more expensive but they are still
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within reach of most people. So I'm going to say 3 points for the price. Next up we
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have serviceability. They can be serviced and a decent engineer can keep one of these
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going for a long old time but you do have to look after them. Serviceability I'm going
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to say 4 points for this one. Solid. Styling. It is what it is. A massive camera. You can't
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hide it really. You can't make it look smelt and cool. So I'm going to say 3 points for
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that one. Status. It is a status symbol among some photographers but you know it's just
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a very big camera so it doesn't have that much of a street cred thing. So I'm going
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to say 3 points for that one. Now let's tot it up and see what we got. Yes the GSW690
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got 27 points. A solid effort from a solid camera. And for the final camera we have the
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Yasuhara T891. The Japanese quirky weird little rangefinder which was actually made in part
23:00
by Cosina. So it's kind of got the insides of a Zeiss Icon or a Voigtlander camera but
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it's got this cool outside design. It's got L-mount lenses. Interesting little camera
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Let's find out where it scores. First one. Usability. It is easy to use. It's a rangefinder
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It's very straight forward. It has very similar functions to the Zeiss. It doesn't have all
23:26
the functions that I'd want but it is a very basic camera. So I'm going to say usability
23:31
6 points for this one. Build quality. Interestingly they were only made in very very small numbers
23:38
so the build quality was a bit iffy. The kinks couldn't be ironed out because they didn't
23:43
have the time so earlier ones had issues with fogging. You have to be careful and light
23:49
leaks as well. You have to be careful on them. I'm going to say build quality on this one
23:55
is again a 6 stars. It's not perfect. Range. Now range wise it had the L-mount lenses which
24:03
is brilliant. So there's a huge ecosystem of lenses but it didn't have much else. So
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I'm going to say a 3 for the range. Price wise. Held their prices very well. Relatively
24:17
expensive but they have gone up but you can still get them for reasonable prices so I'm
24:21
going to say a 4 for the price. It's a good value camera. Serviceability. Quite little
24:29
actually serviceability on this one. I believe you can still have them serviced by Cosina
24:38
So serviceability I'm going to say 4 stars for that one because I think you can still
24:44
have them done. Styling. It looks very cool in its own quirky weird little way. It looks
24:52
almost military-esque in its top plate. So yeah I kind of like it. I think it's a 5 point
25:01
And the serviceability. Sorry the last one. Status. Status on this one. It does have status
25:07
appeal. It is pretty cool but most people don't know what it is. They would pass it
25:12
by so I'm going to give it 3 points. Let's top that up and see where we get. And that
25:17
one the Yasahara makes 31 points. Well done. Ok so let's see where they've come. Let's
25:25
tabulate everything and see what the rankings are. Just one thing. Points. Stars. Kind of
25:31
interchangeable. Slipped up a bit there but you know they're right next to each other
25:35
in the dictionary. It doesn't really matter. Check it out. Look it up. Ok so we're going
25:39
to go backwards. 10th place we've got. Let's count them up and in 10th place with 25 points
25:47
is the Fuji GF670. Interesting. I thought it would score higher but it seems. There
25:54
it is. 10th place. Now in 9th place. Another camera that I thought would score higher
26:01
The Machina 67. The ultimate rangefinder. In 9th place with 26 points. Now in 8th place
26:09
Now in 8th place. Look. Let's have a look what we've got. Another showing from Fuji
26:15
The GSW690. I thought Fuji would score higher up the rankings but there you go. The numbers
26:22
don't lie. 7th place. Solid effort from the Canon. Canon QL17. 7th place with 28 points
26:30
And in 6th place. What have we got? 6th place is the Yasuhara. A surprise entry there. Yasuhara
26:41
T891 is in 6th place with 31 points. Now half way there. 5th place. What do you think it's
26:50
going to be? It is going to be the Mamiya 7. The medium format monster. Got 36 points
26:58
Getting up. Getting up. Now we're into 4th place. 4th place. Everything is still to fight
27:02
for. 4th place we have the Zeiss Icon. The pretender to the throne with 37 points. It
27:09
scored very highly but not quite highly enough. 3rd place. Now who's it going to be? It is
27:17
the Nikon SP. Nikon SP comes in with 40 points. Very solid effort there from Nikon. 2nd place
27:25
2nd place. There can be only one. 2nd place is the Leica M3 with 41 points. And of course
27:36
number 1, 1st place is the Leica MP. The MP6 with 44 points. Absolute stormer there. Just
27:45
came into the start in this absolutely unbiased criteria here. So I hope you enjoyed our little
27:53
video. I hope you had fun and if you're still watching, thanks, please like, subscribe and
27:58
support us and come back for more. See ya
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