Razor sharp lens; Long zoom range is useful; various modes lets photographer be creative with lighting.

slow telephoto aperture

I have had my Rollei Prego 145 for 2 1/2 years and have put 100+ rolls through it. It is durable and produces fantastic images. I have to use a tripod or support for available light telephoto photography because the lens is slow at 140mm.

Customer Service

Purchased at Wall Street Camera where they made sure they explained all of the features before I went out the door. Very helpful!

Similar Products Used:

None

1>exposure for "nightmode" flash photos was good

1>extremely confusing controls
2>lense too slow for unblurred telephoto shots
3>low contrast and muted colors

The promise of quality optics did not translate into quality photographs.

Similar Products Used:

None

The strongest flash i've
ever seen on a P&S.Great optics.Good lens range.Exposure compensation.Cont shooting.Multiple exposures.

Seems to set slow shutter speeds.Not great for action shots.Have to re-set exposure compensation every time you turn camera off.

Very good camera.I think Canon p&s are just as good.I bought The Rollei because I did'nt want a pop up flash that hangs up or gets caught on things and gets broken.The flash is so good, you need to compensate -1/3 at close range.

Customer Service

not needed yet.

Similar Products Used:

Canon sure shot

This is one of the very best choices for a quality picture in a point & shoot. I bought it based on the reviews that it can take a sharp and contrasty picture. It does - I was amazed at the color of the sky - the Vario Apogon must have an excellent coating since I could not use a Polarizer. I think this is perfect for scenics "on the run". Use the "red eye" control sice the flash is very strong at shrt distance. Do not expect to get sharp telephotos w/o a tripod, but the lens will grab that "it's happening now" shot that other point& shoots cannot w/o the focal length.
This is an extremely well made camera from a maker that has the reputation of some of the best cameras and lenses EVER made. Sharp under the right conditions that a point and shoot is made for. Don't compare this with a shot at 145mm with another at 90mm, there will be a difference! Compare at the same conditions, and when you need the extra long reach - its there!. Very well made case. Exudes Quality!

These lenses are slow by fact of their size and compactness. don't expect a 80-200 f/2.8 lens look!
Instruction book is ver thorough but needs some simplified steps in the front for quick understanding.

This is the camera of choice when I don't want to lug the Nikons around. It will not replace a fast zoom lens on an SLR - but if you don't have that 4 lb combination with you - slip this out of the case and get the shot! You may also note that they are now owned by Samsung, and the very same basic camera is available with the Schnieder lens ans similar features. I like the Rollei name, and think the Vario Apogon is a great lens, but the Samsung is cheaper and Schnieder glass is supposed to be some of the best in the world. I suspect the lenses are VERY similar with just name change and may a coating change on the Rollei. You will like this camera if you don't try to "push" it to get telephotos without understanding what it is made for. This is the one I can never get my daughter to return!!

Customer Service

No need.

Similar Products Used:

I have Nikon F5, F100, F70 and asst'd big fast lenses.

Excellent lens (mine is Rollei Apogon already, not Schneider), good focal extension, though i seem to use up to 90 maximum, but I am glad that it extends further when i need it but i do not expect much with the range outside 90), remote control feature, exposure compensation is just a blast! and multi-exposure is very very creative and reliable. Tons of features in a (semi) compact P&S compared to its rivals

Less sharpness for shots taken beyond 90mm but I was aware of it. A little bulky, but in exchange for the quality of shots, it becomes immaterial.Afterall, i want clear sharp pictures, and if the weight is a "price" i have to pay in exchange for "moments/memories", then so be it. Rahter tag along a compact light camera with mediocre results!!! There is no Rollei repair center in our country, so i hope this will not break down easily since once it does, i have to throw it away. This is reason why i chose Zoom 145 than the Zoom 115 because the 115 has a pop up flash similar to my Minolta explorer which borke down, and i wonder why rollei did not design its Zoom 115 to have its lens covered/shut when off position. That is pretty negligent in their designing of the 115.

I bought this Rollei PregoZoom 145 after reading the postings here, and from other sites. All hail at the excellent lens made by Rollei. With that in mind, I purchased this unit together iwth a Rollei Prego Micron (see my review there too). And intentionally using a Kodak ProImage ASA-100 film on both cameras to test its clarity, i must say i was literally floored and impressed with them. Results were comparative to my Minolta Maxxum 7. Sharp and contrasty. Now, if they can do it on an ASA-100 film, what more if i had used an ASA-200 or 400 as per rcommendation of the manula, as well as a recommendation for ALL P&S cmaeras, right?? cant wait. And i used the multiple exposure feature, and was reallllllyyy impressed with it too. Remember to underexpose the second and up shots otherwise they come out ghostly!!! Go grab one now! dont hesitate.

Customer Service

no customer service since Rollei does not have repair shop in Manila

Similar Products Used:

minolta explorer 28-70 (broke down so i was "happy" to have an alibi to buy this prego zoom 145), Nikon AFZoom 70 (80's model, few features and heavy already), Pentax 280WR (though a bit bulky and heavy at 480 grams, it is still a very good/excellent p&s that i have owned. contrasty crispy. if not for the weight, i would tag it along too)

Comfortable handling, useful features, excellent flash

Dim viewfinder, poor autofocus, slow lens, disappointing picture quality.

I purchased this camera for travel so I don't have to lug around my Nikon setup. I was looking for better photo quality than your typical point and shoot, but this camera unfortunately does not deliver.

During a recent trip I put this camera through its paces. I may have been expecting too much, but on the whole I was not impressed. The following deficiencies were major disappointments to me: 1) The viewfinder is dim and it is hard to see well through it in low light situations. 2) The AF mechanism struggled to lock on. There were many situations where I found myself turning the camera in all sorts of weird angles so that the AF mechanism could get a lock. Even then, there were several pictures where the system chose something other than my intended subject to focus on, resulting in ruined pictures. Since you can't see what is in focus in the viewfinder, you don't know there's a problem until you get the pictures back. 3) About halfway through my trip, the protective shutter over the lens jammed so it would not fully retract unless I used my finger to manually help it. Luckily I figured it out pretty quickly and only lost a few shots, but it is not a problem I'd expect from a three month old camera that is supposedly high end in its class. I sent the camera in for warranty repair three weeks ago. Last week I received a letter from the repair facility stating that they weren't repairing them at the New Jersey facility given on the warranty card any more, so they were sending the camera to San Diego for repairs. I wonder how long it will be before I see the camera again? 4) Disappointing picture quality. I travelled with my brother and he had gone to the effort to haul along his Nikon manual focus with a 35-105mm zoom on it. The Rollei propaganda states, "The lens' eleven elements correct so well for abberations that it outperforms many top-rated SLR zooms, delivering images with exceptional sharpness, contrast and color accuracy." Sorry, I don't buy it. The pictures he took of identical subjects blew away the Rollei in terms of color rendition, clarity and sharpness (we were using the same film). I didn't honestly expect the Rollei to compete with the Nikon, but I was amazed at how much difference there really was.

On the plus side, I was very impressed with the flash setup on the Rollei. The fill flash option worked very well to give nicely balanced exposures on backlit shots or pictures of people in the forest.

The bottom line is that I thought the Rollei would give me a nice quality travel camera with a wide zoom range and minimal bulk. After using the camera and seeing the results, it is far too much of a compromise for me. I will keep the Rollei for backpacking and situations where I don't want to expose my decent cameras to dirt and dust, but I will never use it for a main travel camera again. If you prefer point and shoot cameras and aren't looking for much in the way of picture quality when compared to a decent SLR, this camera offers a very good zoom range and is packed with features. Unfortunately, there are too many disadvantages as far as I'm concerned. I would not buy this camera again, and can not recommend it to others.

Customer Service

Jury is still out, but I'm not impressed so far

Similar Products Used:

None similar

Easy to handle ,great flash.

Not the razor sharp images promised.

Its OK and that is about all.I wouldn't pay a premium for this camera .

Customer Service

haven't needed it .

Similar Products Used:

several less expensive that did as well.