Rating Reviewed by: Dennis Mecham(Unregistered User)
(Professional)
Review Date June 16, 2008
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for More than 1 year
Review 1 of 22
Price Paid:
$900.00
from Ebay
Summary: I have used a Rolleiflex 3.5 F for years. I have the model with the 6 element Zeiss Planar lens and have found it to be one of the finest cameras every made. Beautiful yet simple design allow this camera to become one with the photographer. The image quality I get from my black & white negatives rivals the quality of my 4x5 negatives when viewing 20 x 20 inch prints from about 4 feet. Also the single coated taking lens gives me a tonal quality that is unobtainable with a more modern lens. I also love the reliability that comes from the simple yet elegant design. I've never had the camera fail in years of professional work.
Strengths: Light weight, easy to hand hold at slower shutter speeds due to TLR design. Outstanding optics and mechanical reliability.
Weaknesses: The only weakness I've found is lack of Polaroid back but hasn't been a real issue for my work.
Similar Products Used: Yashica TLR
Mamiya 7
Hasselblad
Customer Service: Any and all repairs will be done by Oceanside Camera by Harry Fleenor who has installed bright screens on my cameras which I highly recommend.
Summary: I bought a first Rolleiflex T on Ebay in August 2004. The quality was just amazing, and operations, completely different from my Olympus IS200 automatic SLR.
I first had to learn how to use a hand-held lightmeter, then load a 120-film, and finally to focus properly. The first rolls I shot were rather poor, for the lightmeter was not accurate, but once it was correctly tuned, the Tessar finally showed how sharp it was. But the crank finally broke and I sold it for spare, before buying a new 1960- one in July 2005 at Jessop's Classic in London.
What to say about this camera? That it is perfect? Well, it would be a bit short.
First the lens. Zeiss lens are truly great. The '57 Tessar is one of the sharpest ever. It isn't multicoated, nor computer-calculated, and it's what makes its special rendition.
They are obviously hand-grounded. Its resolution is 66 pair of line/mm, which is very high. Even if later Planars and Xenotars offer a higher resolution (between 80 and 110 pl/mm), they are considered as softer as the Tessar.
The focusing, using a very large knob on the left side of the camera, is very smooth, and goes from 90cm (3 feet) to Infinite.
The shutter, a Synchro-Compur, offers a speed range from 1 sec. to 1/500, and a flash synchronization up to 1/500th. It's quite quiet, though not as quiet as more expensive models such as the 2.8 or 3.5F. I think I should CLA it somedays.
The film-advance, using a large crank, is very easy, once one get the move : one round forward, one round backward. Once again, it's not as smooth as on the F models, for it uses cheaper materials (aluminium instead of brass, I think.)
The hood and focusing screens are removable, in order to adapt, for instance, a poro-prism, or a new focusing screen.
The speed setting is using the EV system. It's not commanded with the wheels normaly found on the Rolleiflexes, but with a small button that is pulled to select the correct EV, indicated by a black arrow. The aperture is set with the same button, but not pulling it.
It weights around 1kg (2,2lbs) and thus permits to stand steady for exposures such as 15th or even 8th of a second.
It's very heavily built, the first I had once fell from a height of 3 feet and still was still working perfectly. It was designed to stand tropical athomspheres for 50 years, and was thus chosen by the British Royal Navy for a maritime use. (that may explain its gray leatherette.)
A device permits to get 16 frames on a 120 roll, it's a mask giving 4.5x5 pictures.
It operate a smal lever switching the view-counter to "16" and and the film advance to 4.5cm; and the Rolleikin transforms it into a 135 camera with a portrait lens.
Very few "T" could work with 220 films, they were mostly made in the late 70s.
Strengths: Great Zeiss lens and workmanship,
quiet shutter,
unusual look making people in the street come and have a chat with you ("does it shoot with colour films??"),
very strong all-metal building, flash-synch up to 1/500, dual-format possibility,
magic feeling,
its being a ROLLEIFLEX!
Weaknesses: maybe its shutter speed setting system is not very covenient, quite heavy, spares hard to find, accessories really expensive
Similar Products Used: Another Rolleiflex T, Lubitel 2
Summary: Decided I wasn't yet ready to commit to Digital so took the opportunity to give medium format a try. Wasn't sure how I would get along with the TLR style but reckoned that, if a bought a Rolleiflex, it would keep its resale value. I bought a 3.5F Planar which was well used but in fairly good shape. I'm absolutely hooked! I've now added Rolleinars, lens hood and had it CLAd [see below]
The format, and the waist level viewing, encourages greater care in composition and the 'well off the mark' selenium metering requires the use of a separate meter.
This is the camera I take with me 90% of the time.
Strengths: The results have been outstanding. The lens is incredibly sharp. I've printed to A3+ and they all look good. It is lightweight and easy to carry around. However, the leather case is well known as a 'NeverReady' case. You have to remove it to load and remove film.
Weaknesses: I've been just a little disappointed with the results using the Rolleinars. Perhaps I was expecting too much but they've not been quite as sharp as those taken without them.
Similar Products Used: None
Customer Service: Sent the camera to be CLAd to Harry Fleenor in California - a specialist Rollei repair centre. It was quite expensive but it came back like a new camera
Summary: I inherited my Rollie MX_LVS with a F 3.5 Tessor lens from my father, an advanced photographer. I've used this fine camera for over 40 years. The only service has been a little instrument oil on the film rollers bearings to stop squeal. This is a superb photographic instrument for the thinking photographer. Wall size mural prints have been produced from this camera with B&W negative materials, and auditorium size screens filled with vibrant colour transparency projections, using the Rollie projector. Photographers who evolve past the equipment collector and point and shoot stage would do well to consider a Rollieflex for thoughtful composition, fine arts photography. Action photography can be accompliced through the direct view finder.
Strengths: Decades long service, quiet, wonderfull optics. Action photo's are possible through the direct viewfinder.
Weaknesses: Not for extreme close up, individual flowers are difficult.
Summary: I learned photography in the 60's in school on a Yashica-Mat 124, fell in love with the TLR then. I bought one of the last Rolleicords made (white face)in 1975 in college, still have and use it. I have every model of 'Cord and a 'Flex T'. I had a 2.8F but prefer the Rolleicord for its simplicity, lighter weight and smaller filter size (Bay I, like Yashica). These aren't fast-action cameras anyway! In my slides and prints I see no difference whatsoever between the Xenar on Rolleicords and the Tessar or Planar lenses on the Rolleiflexes. Maybe visible on a loupe in extreme settings, but not on the outdoor photography I do. I have also owned several Yashicas and Mamiyas, but my second favorite is the Minolta Autocord with its helical focusing lever under the taking lens, along with fine Rokkor lenses. Truly, any of these TLR's will give back far more in service and quality than they will ever ask in repairs and maintenance. Buy a good one and it'll be your companion for life!
Strengths: negative size/sharpness, light weight, relative simplicity, nonautomatic controls forcing knowledge of photography, single lens forces concentration on essentials
Weaknesses: not suitable for more extreme photography, i.e. macro, tele
Similar Products Used: Yashica, Mamiya, Minolta, Meopta, Ikoflex
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