In the wake of my recent garage sale scores, I caught the vintage camera bug bad.  I soon found myself combing the internet for deals on antique cameras; but more specifically, 35mm rangefinders. 

I'm not sure what it was that sparked my curiosity for these vintage beauties. Was it the nostalgia of the 35mm camera, and it's connection to my past?  Was it the way compelling street scenes could be composed, focused, and captured in utmost unobtrusiveness?  Was it the uniquely intuitive focusing method, or even  the musty smell of their antique straps?  Was it the film approach to photography, making every frame count?  Perhaps it was the act of taking a picture that you know you can't edit.  The answer is, in short, all of the above.

This is my Yashica Electro GSN.  One of it's great strengths is that I can pretty much choose whatever aperture I want, and she'll adjust the shutter speed accordingly.  Little colored lights tell me if I need to use a tripod, or a smaller aperture setting . . . right in the viewfinder!

My Canonet QL17 III is a very well built 35mm rangefinder, that I found in VERY good condition.  I also found, in a separate auction; a mint condition, proprietary flash unit, that actually communicates with this camera.  It sets the flash output automatically according to your chosen shutter, aperture, and ASA settings.  

This is the one that started it all.  This little garage sale find is capable of producing some seriously dramatic images.  I have yet to unlock the true potential of this camera I'm sure, but the pictures from it so far are remarkable.  The focus is sharp, the black and whites have a nice contrast to them, the color photos are deeply saturated, the light meter works, and this fast little Rokkor lens is capable of a rich and creamy bokeh.

Back in the day, the Argus was one of the best selling 35mm cameras.  It was nicknamed "The Brick" for obvious reasons.  "The Brick" is much bigger than my other rangefinders, and much heavier too.  This particular model is known as the C3 . . . also called the Matchmatic.  After doing some research based on the serial number I got off the bottom, I have determined that my camera was made in the first half of 1968.  You may remember this model from the second Harry Potter movie.  It was the camera of choice by students at Hogwarts School of Magic.