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I haven't shot with one, but I hear the lens renders beautifully and that the 2. Top photographers use the Rolleiflex. Including many well known Stars: Thanks for the link -- some great photos. Red Skelton owned and shot with many Rolleiflexes, too.
I had a Rolleiclear screen the first bright screen—found in most later "F" models and a meter which still works installed by the importer in About straps, I had a shoemaker rivet lengths of a plain nylon neckstrap to the pld clips that came on my worn leather strap. Those were easy to buckle to a Dompke "Gripper" strap which IMO, is far better than any leather strap.
Many people, including Harry Fleenor, prefer nylon over leather. I went with leather because I like the way it looks and feels. These are definitely great times for photography -- vintage cameras, scanners, film is still available and receiving renewed interest and we have fantastic digital cameras in so many flavors -- specialty lenses -- infrared -- good times! Yesterday I went out shooting with my Rolleiflex and brought my Sony a7 and 55mm 1. One of the most valuable accessories that I have found for the rollei is the relleimeter which is a split image rangefinder attachment.
Use it till this day for portraits and wedding photography. You can focus in almost complete darkness withit. Thanks for mentioning the Rolleimeter. It's a cool device. I own a Kalart Focuspot, which is somewhat similar and affixes to the bottom of the camera and uses two projected dots of light for focusing. When the dots overlap, the image is in focus. Good for night shooting with flashbulbs. I haven't had the pleasure of shooting with a Rolleimeter -- I might have to get one. Have you ever thought of doing a review of these cameras. My junior high school photography teacher was a Minolta Autocord fan.
I still remember him suggesting I try to get one. I'd be curious to see the IQ. About 25 years ago I was the staff photographer for a Southern university. I found a twin lens Mamiya with a Porro sp? At the time most 35mm cameras had a max th strobe sync. I started using it outside for sports posed photos as I could sync at high shutter speeds with tri x and metz strobes. I really came to love that camera and for special uses was unbeatable.
He was photographer on the ship and now works in the movie industry doing stills. Thank you for the repair tips. I just have a nearly complete 2. Actually, far from complete The mutar and penta on a sturdy tripod made nice posed portraits at eye level, but I prefer the plain setup for children shooting closer didn't make the nose too big ; after so many years, it was like aiming a shotgun, you just kinda knew where you were Carry 2 around your neck with different film and twice as long before reloading.
You could do , but don't remember that working very well, and worse if you didn't set it right. One thing that should be mentioned is most Rolleiflex TLR cameras have automatic parallax correction built in.
The Rolleinars are also optically corrected for parallax. I still own and use my 3. Good points on parallax. A few years ago Jeff Hirsch of Fotocare told me that leaving the flash synch set to Bulb can shorten shutter life -- it has to do with the delay mechanism that accommodates the bulb's peak intensity..
I still correspond with Ken, Louis and Jeff, and they're all treasure troves of great information. Louis told me that Richard Avedon had a standard order request for nice used 2. Everybody knows Ken Hansen Photographic. My bad; I was writing my comment around 2 in the morning. The Rollei T will have either a Schneider Xenar 75mm f3.
Both the Xenar and Zeiss optics are a 4-element design offering excellent images especially when stopped down a couple of stops. Be aware though; mint Rollei T's can be almost as much as a "F" or "E" model in fair to good condition. Great article, look forward to the follow ups. As a user for many years I was surprised to learn a bit more from this regarding the viewfinder, well done. Have you ever used the Mutars? Yes, I've owned a 1. Admittedly, I'm drawn to some of this gear for the way it looks and feels -- I like gear and frequently suffer from GAS -- gear acquisition syndrome.
If you buy a Mutar, try to find one with a nice leather case and clip-on hood.
I don't know if a Mutar would perform better on a 3. My guess is that it would if you were shooting wide open. However, I've read that the Mutars were optimized for the 3. You can use the same Mutar on either camera if you find a second bayonet 2 or 3 adapter kit. As photographers, we always want our gear to have the best performance specs. But with Rolleiflexes and film photography, I think we're drawn to the imperfections, too.
Therefore, I wouldn't be concerned about Mutar differences between the two cameras. I'd be intererested to hear what others have to say on this. The reason I sold mine was that it was extra weight in my camera bag, made the camera feel front-heavy, required buying and carrying a 72mm I think yellow filter my filter of choice , and I figured that if Avedon used Rolleinars I could, too.
Some people go with a Tele Rolleiflex -- or with a Rolleiwide. As Rolleiwides can cost 2x the price of a 2. Although the sweet spot for Rolleiflex shooting for me is with the 75mm or 80mm lens.
Falling in love with Rolleiflex - Kindle edition by Takako Takahashi. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like. fall in love Rolleiflex (Japanese Edition) - Kindle edition by Takako Takahashi. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets.
You can see my own Rolleiwide at the top of this article. It belonged to a retired Time-Life photographer. I like cameras with history. When out shooting I often say to myself, "I bet Uncle Wally would like this shot. On a recent trip to LA it allowed me to shoot wide landscape shots as well squares on the same Tri-X size film.
Thank you Dan for the thorough discussion on the Mutars. Also, thanks for the tip on the Fuji GWiii.
I appreciated your reminiscing about cameras with a history. Excellent article, I'm looking forward to the next two installments. The Rollei is on my bucket list to acquire. Clem -- I hope you find a great Rollei. The nice thing about buying certain vintage cameras, such as Rolleiflexes is that they seem to hold their value quite well. In my case, I've been able to buy various models, shoot with them for a year or more and then sell some of them for what I paid or slightly more. This dynamic has provided me with the opportunity to shoot with the cameras I craved in my youth and early career.
Hey Clem, not to tempt you, but there's a nice Rolleiflex 2. Skip to main content. When buying a Rolleiflex TLR: And exercising the shutter from time to time between rolls, while a good practice, is only a temporary fix for a camera in need of a CLA. Viewfinder Choices The Rolleiflex 2. Magnifiers with diopter correction for photographers who wear glasses.
Many chimney finders have adjustable eyepieces for easier focusing, as well. Brighter focusing screens, which generally cost more than two hundred dollars, are easily scratched, and should be handled only by the edges. Focusing screens are available with or without grid lines, with a horizontal or diagonal split-image center rangefinder, or plain.
The grid is, of course, helpful for keeping horizontal lines level. Using a Smartphone Exposure App If you buy a Rolleiflex with a non-functioning exposure meter, the options are to use your knowledge to set exposures manually, work with a small digital camera set on manual to take readings—or even better—simply install a light meter App on your smart phone. Leather strap options include: Adjustable or non-adjustable straps.
The benefit of a non-adjustable strap is that there is no excess material. However, the downside will be that it will most likely only fit the intended wearer. By including the buckle hardware, straps with the same adjustability as the original can be ordered. Originally Posted by jimrohrer. Originally Posted by dreamsandart. I can't tell you how many people I meet because of the Rollei its a people magnet, those that know photography and those that don't.
Ok, I grew up on the other end on my father's Rolleicord. Later in my own photographic life I got my own Rollei, and another, and another… not all at the same time, but 'evolving' to my perfect Rolleiflex… which is the one I have now. A later version Rolleiflex 3. These are all VERY well made cameras, beautiful to look at, hold, handling, and superb optical quality in any form. Not that much slower than the 2. But why NOT two Rolleis? Still if it was one only I've made my choice. Hicks, I haven't noticed any superior rendering using the 3. Its "Foton" will take five mm. Find More Posts by furcafe.
The Rollei has been my travel camera for some time. One lens - one camera, it's handling is special and the images are also. Its the most fun, and I can't tell you how many people I meet because of the Rollei its a people magnet, those that know photography and those that don't. Forgot about the focal length difference. It's there, too, but also subtle in my experience at least. Originally Posted by Vics.
Looking at pictures, I like the slightly longer focal length a lot. The extra speed wouldn't mean much to me. All times are GMT The time now is All content on this site is Copyright Protected and owned by its respective owner. You may link to content on this site but you may not reproduce any of it in whole or part without written consent from its owner. Page 1 of 2. Visit Brian Legge's homepage! Near Bordeaux France Age: Find More Posts by S. Two very different, and very nice shots.
Find More Posts by thegman. Find More Posts by Dan Daniel. Find More Posts by f16sunshine. Find More Posts by Bingley. One of the best Camera's made, enjoy.
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Find More Posts by leicapixie. Chriscrawfordphoto Real Men Shoot Film. Chriscrawfordphoto is offline Join Date: Fort Wayne, Indiana Age: I suggest that you do some research on the different lenses, decide what lens you would prefer and buy the best condition camera that you can find within your budget. As a guide, the highest spec Rolleiflex that I would expect you to find for that kind of money would be a nice condition 3.
If you are after a Tessar lensed Rollei, then you should be able to buy a really nice example of any variant for less than that figure. Research the market, there are some bargains to be had! Although a decent camera, I would advise against a Rolleiflex T, solely because prices for these have risen a lot in recent years and I am not entirely sure why.
In terms if features it is more akin to a Rolleicord, but with the cachet of having a Rolleiflex badge and a lever wind. The Tessar lens was recomputed for this model, but the only difference I've ever noticed is that it suffers more from separation of the elements. All three I've owned have had varying degrees of separation and I understand that this is a common fault with T's. A decade ago, when the T sold for only a little more than a late Rolleicord, it was a good buy. I fail to see the attraction now that they sell for more than a slightly earlier Rolleiflex Automat MX EVS, which is a much better engineered camera.
Black Jack Shellac 5 years ago. I have two Rolleiflex 3. The Rollei is so much nicer to work with. Agree on the Rolleinar. I've only had my 3.