Rangefinder cameras are at the forefront of the compact camera trend. This is why

Among the list of best-selling cameras, two clear trends emerge: the growth of the compact camera and the return of retro cameras. But there’s one type of camera that combines the two biggest trends in camera tech right now: The rangefinder camera.

Rangefinder cameras are the precursor to SLRs. First popularized in the 1920s and 1930s, the rangefinder camera design quickly caught on for its compact design and quick focusing.

A true historic rangefinder camera works by lining up two images in the viewfinder; when the images overlap correctly, the photograph is in focus.

But in the era of autofocus and digital sensors, the term rangefinder is often used more loosely to describe a camera with a viewfinder that is situated off to one corner, rather than the viewfinder bump in the middle. Many digital “rangefinder cameras” aren’t technically rangefinders in the historic sense of the word, but rather have a viewfinder placement similar to classic rangefinders.

That side-placed viewfinder is key to why the rangefinder camera is resurging among the most popular digital camera designs. Cameras with a rangefinder-style viewfinder are often smaller than cameras with a center-placed viewfinder.

But retro cameras are trending at the same time that compact cameras are making a comeback – and rangefinder cameras are perfectly poised at the intersection of those two trends. Rangefinder cameras became popular even before film SLRs, which means retro is certainly a correct description. And the rangefinder design first became popular in part because it was so compact.

Cameras like the Fujifilm X100VI mix both the retro camera trend and the compact camera trend by adopting a rangefinder-inspired design. While many digital cameras with a rangefinder design don’t use the true “rangefinder” method of focusing, the X100VI has an electronic rangefinder mode that is closer than many digital rangefinder-lookalikes. The Fujifilm X-Pro3 has a similar hybrid viewfinder.

While most digital rangefinder-inspired cameras don’t have a manual focus mode like true historic rangefinders, there are some exceptions. Cameras like the Leica M-11 P are true rangefinders, despite housing a digital sensor, because the viewfinder still uses the classic split-image focusing.

Other rangefinder-inspired cameras don’t focus like the classic cameras, but take the inspiration as a way to shrink down the size. Compare cameras like the Fujifilm X-E5 to the X-T5, or the Sony A7C II to the A7 IV, and the rangefinder-inspired designs create a smaller camera body than those with the more common center-located viewfinders.

Popular fixed-lens compact cameras like the Leica D-Lux 8, Fujifilm X Half, and the Sony RX1R III are able to cram into a small body without removing the viewfinder entirely by placing a small electronic viewfinder off to one side, much like the viewfinder placement of true rangefinders.

Rangefinder cameras sit at the intersection of the trend towards retro tech and the growth of smaller, compact cameras. Photographers looking for both something compact and something with a bit of retro flair are likely to land on a rangefinder – or at least a digital camera with a rangefinder-style viewfinder.

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Browse the best rangefinder cameras. Or, take a look at the best retro cameras or the best compact cameras.