The Rangefinder gets its name from the coupled Rangefinder mechanism it uses to focus. A small movable mirror is coupled to the lens focusing and rotates slightly as the lens is adjusted. In the centre of the Viewfinder are two images. When the lens is focused on the subject these two images become aligned and the picture will be sharp. Rangefinders also exist in Medium format.
Hasselblad Xpan
panoramic rangefinder
Medium Format
These come in a variety of formats, like 6 X 4.5 cm, 6 X 6 cm and 6 X 7 cm.
They are popular with professional photographers. The most common type is the twin-lens reflex or TLR.
They also exist as viewfinder and rangefinder formats and as SLR.
Medium format was the default standard before 35mm and many excellent TLRs like Lubitel and manual viewfinder folder camera's like the AGFA Isolette are available cheaply on E-bay.
Yashica medium
format Twin Lens Reflex camera
