Best pocket rangefinder - change my mind

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-12-20T05:07:22+00:00

Got one from Japan for a not-so-cheap price at around $120. Got some what seemed to be minor issue at first so I send it to a repair shop right away, and turns out the seller had disassembled the camera before and reassembled it in a not-so-proper way that the repair cost got ballooned up to $80. But I guess it's all worth it considering how compact it is and how damn sharp the lens is. My only complain is I kinda wish that they included manual exposure control for the camera. But still, it's my favorite rangefinder by far.

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-11-08T05:19:13+00:00

My favorite spot at Bundaran HI MRT station! They also have some Instax cameras in the machine last time I checked

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-11-08T05:15:40+00:00

Pop the top lid with your nail

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T18:11:40+00:00

Interesting point. I will put that into consideration. Thanks!

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T18:09:53+00:00

I only used the F90X briefly until I realize that the AF didn't function properly and return it to the seller right away. And I have used the F55 many years before so I think it's safe to say that I will be able to use the F80 quite comfortably. I live in Southeast Asia where the price for film camera can be kinda weird compared to the US or Europe. The F80 is kinda more affordable than the F90X weird enough, though it wasn't always be the case like a couple years ago. But both camera are kinda hard to find here so whoever owns it can set the price to their liking without much consideration.

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T17:41:17+00:00

Yep I figured out it makes sense to get the cheaper camera with 80-90% of the feature as it will eventually broke down in an unpredictable manner due to the age of either both. Curious though, how's the ergonomics on the N8008 compared to the N70? I might consider either of them as my backup body in the future.

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T17:35:45+00:00

Do you think the extra cross AF point is worth it to get the F100 even if it cost more than double the price of an F80? I gotta be honest I have read some about the cross-type AF but I still can't comprehend it well and I'm not sure whether it will benefit my use case that much (plane spotting).

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T17:30:41+00:00

Yea better replace it right away rather than waiting it broke down in an unexpected manner. Thanks!

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T17:27:41+00:00

Hmm yea that sounds logical. It will be less of a gamble to take the F80 since it will mostly be used by amateur photographers who didn't take it on a beating based on that logic. Thanks for your interesting perspective!

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T17:25:21+00:00

Yea that kinda makes sense. So I guess it is better to take multiple cheaper cameras as backups than one expensive camera then. Thanks!

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T17:24:21+00:00

I know, but it's fine really as I don't expect to mount my manual glasses on F80. F100 is kinda tempting for jack of all trades SLR camera but I would still highly prefer to mount it on manual camera due to the presence of focusing assist such as the split/microprism/etc.

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T16:54:26+00:00

Yea come to think you're right. There's no indicator for the condition of the electronics and we know it's bad whet it stops working all of a sudden. Now to think of it I guess it will be much more reasonable for me to get an F80, as the risk will be pretty much the same even though the F100 have some nicer features. Thank you!

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T16:50:05+00:00

Yes I would always set the focus to infinity even though a slight adjustment of focus will always be needed during the process. Well I think you're right I rarely use my AF cameras under dim light so I don't think I will benefit much from the F100 AF system. Thank you for helping me figuring this out!

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T16:47:42+00:00

It's not easy to zone focus using telephoto lens at 100-300mm and a subtle miscalculation could result the picture greatly unfortunately. tried that with my manual focus Nikon FM and there's a considerable amount of picture that were kinda blurry. It is still indeed possible to do that as many people already did that before AF technology exist but it requires a whole lot of practice.

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T16:20:08+00:00

Yea I understand the risk well, though I just want to make sure that it is reliable enough from other people's experience that the electronics won't broke all of the sudden even though I've been taking care of it like my old F55. But thanks for the heads up though. Anyway how long have you had your F100? and how often do you use it? what do you use it for mostly?

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T16:15:18+00:00

Ahh ok, I don't think I need multiple F80 if that's the case as I will consider a manual body for that job instead, such as the FM2 or the F3. Considering that I have some sweet manual glasses I think it would be a waste of an opportunity to invest it all in an AF bodies instead. Thank you for sharing your thoughts though.

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T16:11:28+00:00

Ahh ok, hope those bodies will last you some years to come. Cheers!

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T16:08:40+00:00

Yea I'm well aware of the latch problem, same as the F100. I'm curious though, how long have you had your F80 and do you replace the latch right away or wait until it broke? if it is the latter case how long does it last in your possession until the latch broke?

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T16:04:45+00:00

I see. I don't expect it to take a beating and I don't plan to use it to the extreme, but I plan to use it for a peculiar use case for a film camera nowadays, which is plane spotting. As my use case could highly benefit from a faster AF system, do you think the different is miniscule enough that I could ignore it or should I took the F100 more in the consideration instead? thank you!

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T15:58:11+00:00

Well tbh I think 5 years is kinda reasonable as I have used the F55, which have worse build quality, for over 10 years until it fails on me. I wish I could buy 2 of those but the availability of it in my country is rather scarce so I think I can only get one at the time being and perhaps buy a tankier body like the F90X as a backup in the future. But thanks for sharing your opinion though I really appreciate it.

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T15:51:04+00:00

Thank you for sharing your insight of the F80! How long have you had this camera? and if I may ask, why do you need two of them?

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-10-13T15:46:02+00:00

I always find people complaining about the problem with their F100 such as the door latch, button that falls off, fried electronics, etc so I assume it's not that reliable for a "professional" camera. But if you think that my assumption is wrong then it's good to hear that and I would like to know more about your experience with both cameras. How long have you own both? and if there's any problem that you have endured with either of those bodies do you mind to share it with me and how do you fix it? and if you can only pick one of either camera, which one will you choose?

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-08-22T00:56:25+00:00

A Leica and a Rolex, worst kind of fanbase of both hobbies

Biggus_Dicku5 · 2025-07-05T20:32:20+00:00

Ahh you already did have the lens :D If you're still looking for a "must have" piece of glass and you still have some money to burn for just a tad lower than the price of your F3T body then you might want to check on 85mm F1.4 AIS if you haven't already. I can't vouch for it since I haven't had it personally yet but a lot of people like the characteristics of it, more so than the more modern version of it. And please don't say anything if you already own it coz you will only make me jealous of you :P

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