7 Gorgeous Rangefinder Style Cameras That Offer Great Performance

If you want a camera that has both great styling and great performance, you need to check out these Rangefinder Style cameras.

While modern cameras have come a long way in terms of their overall design, most still don’t have much by way of character. This, however, cannot be said about Rangefinder-style cameras. The classic look of Rangefinder-style cameras are hard to ignore, and you’ll find that plenty of heads will turn when you have one with you. They harken back to a time where cameras were tools made by craftsmen. They aren’t all just about looks, though: they pack a punch in terms of performance as well. After the break, we will take a quick look at seven of our favorite Rangefinder-style cameras.

If you long for a camera that can offer a classic retro look, but you don’t want to give up performance, the seven cameras we have listed below will fit the bill perfectly. There are Rangefinder-style cameras listed below that fit all different types of budgets, and there are APS-C, Full Frame, and Medium Format offerings to choose from. All of these Rangefinder-style cameras look amazing, and they will help you create images you’ll be proud of. Check out seven of our favorite Rangefinder-style cameras below.

Fujifilm X-E3

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Great battery life
• Wifi
• Very fast autofocus
• Touchscreen
• Simple interface, perhaps too simple
• Feels nice in the hands
• Same great image quality as the other cameras

Cons

• The touchscreen can be a pain to use
• Ports for video shooting are more or less useless
• It’s about time Fujifilm implements an image-stabilized sensor
• Face and eye detection tends to suffer a bit in low lighting

Buy now: $499

Olympus Pen F

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• The absolute best and in some ways almost perfect image quality from an Olympus ILC camera yet
• Handles very much like an old analog camera
• Feels amazing in the hand for street photography
• Thumb rest is absolutely fantastic
• Autofocus performance is more than satisfactory
• Not too large of a camera body.
• The knob that lets me shoot in black and white mode has me addicted to not only shooting in black and white but also being very happy with the JPEGs
• Flippin’ fantastic JPEG output
• Great EVF
• The electronic shutter is super nice
• The most beautiful digital camera made thus far
• 80MP High res mode is there but I’m honestly not sure it should be. It wasn’t really designed for that user
• We haven’t been this excited about a camera since the Olympus OMD EM5 came out

Cons

• Price point
• We really wish Olympus put weather-sealing into the camera

Buy now: $999

Fujifilm X100F

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Great image quality, though we wonder how much better it could have been made
• One of the best autofocus cameras when it comes to candid street photography
• Compact
• Nice feel that you’d expect from a camera like this
• Acros video is very welcome
• AF selection point joystick was long overdue
• So light, small and great that you’ll want to take it with you everywhere
• Much improved battery life

Cons

• At this point, it could use sensor-based image stabilization
• Could use a lens update. Sometimes we feel like the lens isn’t doing the sensor full justice. Though we only speak of this in terms of optical sharpness. Otherwise, the character it delivers is fantastic.
• No weather sealing
• Though not necessary, it would be nice to have a headphone and microphone jack for video shooting.
• Doesn’t adhere to Sunny 16 rules of metering, which is REALLY WEIRD

Buy now: $1,099

Pro Tip: These Rangefinder style cameras are gorgeous. You’re going to be spending a large chunk of change on them so we’re sure you will want to keep them that way too. If you want to make sure your investment lasts a long time, you need to be cleaning it. Cleaning your camera often will not only help it keep its great looks, but it will also help it perform at its peak too. All you need is a simple, inexpensive cleaning kit to help keep your gear in tip-top shape.

Sony a6600

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Feels better than all other APS-C Sony cameras
• It’s a mini a9
• The bigger battery is a very welcome addition. It gives lots of extra life
• Weather sealing is nice
• Image stabilization
• The combined weather sealing and bigger battery mean you can go all day on a single charge
• Lightweight and small-sized camera
• A quiet shutter in addition to the silent option
• A lot of buttons that help you get around some of the issues
• Fast-focusing even on the streets with continually changing light
• There is almost no reason to take it off of wide tracking and continuous autofocus
• Face detection for animals is very fun
• Low ISO detail retention in highlights and shadows is pretty good

Cons

• No lock on the mode dial
• Sony refuses to give us three direct control dials. Why?
• Sony refuses to put a joystick on the back
• No dual card slots
• Face detection doesn’t seem as advanced as the a7 and a9 series
• Sony still limits a photographer from having full use of the touchscreen in a way similar to Canon and Panasonic
• The screen is sort of low resolution compared to the full-frame cameras, and it really shows its age
• We’d really like a full-frame version of this camera. We’ve been wanting a rangefinder-style full-frame autofocus camera
• It needs a viewfinder that flips up
• Focus peaking on the APS C bodies used to be amazing, and now it’s crap. I used 7Artisan lenses for M mount on this camera, and it wasn’t getting anything sharply in focus despite the focus peaking saying so
• Detail loss above ISO 3200. In fact, ISO 3200 and above is just not clean
• Why no USB C charging or port? Only Mini?

Buy now: $1,198

Fujifilm X Pro 3

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Superia is beautiful (Classic neg)
• We love the lack of no major screen
• Autofocus can be fine-tuned for different situations
• Everyone loves the look of Classic neg
• You can push the shadows for forever and get details – the highlights not as much, but they’re still there
• USB C charging ensures that you can keep using the camera
• Video features deliver pretty video
• Arguably, you don’t need to edit the RAW files because the JPEGs let you do so much
• For street and documentary shooting, the hidden screen will keep you in the zone when shooting
• Face detection is fantastic when not trying to track erratic movements
• Acros and clarity enhancements are going to make you fall in love with Fujifilm all over again
• The Chrome effect for skies is very nice
• Autofocus is fantastic for events and most professional work
• Fujifilm’s collection of small primes pair wonderfully with this camera
• The best camera to embrace high ISO noise on the market
• Using the OVF will prolong battery life at the expense of slower autofocus
• The wider lenses make zone focusing easy. This is imperative for street photography
• Multiple exposure mode is a very welcome addition
• Very good battery life

Cons

• Has problems keeping subjects in focus when they’re continuously moving
• When you need the screen, it’s a bit of an annoyance
• This camera desperately needed Blackout Free EVF shooting
• Touchscreen menu navigation should be on this camera
• Autofocus needs improvements still. Face detection and tracking autofocus in street situations isn’t as fast as Sony
• When we rate images in-camera, the rating isn’t brought into Capture One Pro
• Enhancing the clarity makes the camera take extra time to render the image
• For street shooting, the wide and tracking AF area still lets you select a zone. And it shouldn’t. This can throw off shooting in real-life street situations
• Shooting from the hip? You may accidentally hit the function button and not the shutter release
• Exposure dial needs a locking mechanism
• Multiple Exposure mode saves the final images only as JPEGs
• The addition of image stabilization could have meant that this camera has a better chance of becoming the perfect camera for street photography

Buy now: $1,799.95

Fujifilm GFX 50R

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Great image quality
• Excellent high ISO output
• High speed sync with the Profoto Air system is a delight
• Autofocus that isn’t all that bad
• Weather sealing that is top notch
• Lightweight
• Not at all that large overall
• The ergonomics are very good

Cons

• This system really needs lenses faster than f2
• The autofocus could still use some revamps

Buy now: $3,999

Pro Tip: These small, stylish Rangefinder style cameras are a joy to hold, and honestly, they look so good you’re going to want to pair them with a strap that looks equally as good. We have reviewed a lot of straps over the years, so head to our review section to see reviews on the straps like the Vi Vante Tread Classic and many more.

Leica M10-D

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Quiet shutter
• A bit of an improvement in battery life
• Leica Fotos integration is very nice
• Same great image quality as the Leica M10
• Looks and feels like a film camera
• Very low profile

Cons

• Pricey
• We really, really wish this was a true mechanical shutter

Buy now: $7,995