Rolleiflex mission

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schun19

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i have been dying to get my hands on a rolleiflex 2.8. ever since i've seen prints taken with a rolleiflex it made me go crazy. i was wondering where everyone got their camera. i have been looking and checking ebay for a 2.8 that's a reasonable price but usually they all sky rocket at the very end of the auction which kind of sucks. but where did everyone purchase their rolleiflex? and if you don't mind me asking how much you purchased it for. if there is anyone in NYC that can point me in the right direction in finding a rolleiflex in the city that would be great!
 
My Rollei is an ANCIENT 3.5 Automat version 1. Made in 1938, uncoated Tessar lens. Paid $65 for it at a photo swap meet when I was 15 yrs old....well my dad bought it for me when I was 15...lol

I love it, the uncoated lens doesn't flare too bad at all and it makes gorgeous portraits; I prefer it over my Hasselblad for some stuff.
 
As you are in New York you might want to try out;

Krimar Photo
http://www.krimarphoto.com/

Contact details are on the website, and while he is probably better known for CLA'ing Rollei cameras he also sells them.... so give him a call and check what he has in stock.

Good luck!
 
http://www.kevincameras.com/

Go to the Rollie TLR section and then the third page. Then click on the item for multiple views.

He is high, but you get pictures and details.

You can buy a non functional one and send it to Harry Fleenor at Oceanside Camera. He is the TLR repairman.
 
I have a 3.5 Tessar version and it is very sharp and contrasty. In fact at f8 it's sharper than my Blad 80mm lens. I love this camera and when I just want to go out and do some fun stuff but want good quality I use the Rollei. I've made wonderful 16 inch prints with it as well.
 
eric rose said:
I have a 3.5 Tessar version and it is very sharp and contrasty. In fact at f8 it's sharper than my Blad 80mm lens. I love this camera and when I just want to go out and do some fun stuff but want good quality I use the Rollei. I've made wonderful 16 inch prints with it as well.
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With all due respect quite frankly you'd have a hard time finding any lens made in the last 70 years or so that would be a bad performer stopped down to f/8. If f/8 was fast enough for everyone all lens would be built to that spec and would perform beautifully. It's the more open performance that people often seek (faster lens, more narrow DOF) and thus the desire for perhaps a f/2.8 lens.

Now that said you really do need to ask yourself how often you will truly be shooting wide open and is that extra weight worth it? I have a 2.8E Planar, a 2.8C Xenotar and a 3.5E3 Xenotar. I got all three of these for very, very good prices ($160 USD, $275 USD and $175 USD, respectively) by just being patient and jumping when I saw them, but all three needed either a CLA or at a minimum a focus adjustment.

The Planar is my fav' for B&W work but not in a way that can be put into words. My example is actually a unique, quirky camera (found in an alley shop in Beijing of all places), ugly and beaten as heck, with a decent scratch on the front element and seems to have little to no coating left on the lens as well. This could be the reason for it's "charm" I find in it's B&W images. That said though the shutter just jammed for the 2nd time and it's off for another fix. My 2.8C Xenotar looks as if it was kept in it's original box and rarely used it is so clean and pristine. I love the images I get from it (they may actually be a tad sharper than the Planar, but I'm not one to shoot Air Force Test Charts and get out my magnifying glass) but as mentioned I prefer the Planar for my B&W work. My 3.5E3 Xenotar is a another beater I got for a song and it needed a serious CLA and adjustments and it's bent in side to be hammered back out again. But now it is giving me simply gorgeous images.

I have found that while 2.8 vs. 3.5 will give you some narrower DOF and of course allow you to shoot in lower light levels the difference is truly minimal.

I'd say find one you like in good condition and give it a try. If you buy right you can usually sell at the price you paid should you decide to try another. Just remember that the cheaper it is the more likely it will indeed need a $175 USD (minimum) CLA to get it working correctly.
 
A worthy mission. FWIW, I have both a 2.8C and a Rolleiflex T f3.5. Both are excellent performers, especially if you get into the habit of using a lens hood.

I can't give any advice on local options, but if you're willing to try mail order then KEH is a good place to start. Collectible Cameras is also worth checking out; I haven't purchased anything from them yet but I've heard good things from other buyers.
 
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I have an 3.5E Planar, which I got from Koh`s Camera in NY (via internet) thanks to a tip here at RFF 🙂 (~ 550$). The lens is class of its own compared to the Planar CF 80mm /2.8 T* of my Hasselblad.
 
By the way, I'm amazed on these comments about how their Rolleiflex TLR lenses are blowing away their Hassy 80/2.8 Planars. I too have a Hassy 500CM and the 80/2.8 Planar and I'd say it's every bit as good as my Rolleiflex TLR lenses, and perhaps in some way better (flare). Also my two 80/2.8 Planars for my SL66 kit (one older single-coated, the other the newer HFT-coated) are about the same in quality too. Perhaps this is a hand-held leaf-shutter vs. focal-plane, mirror-slap issue making the Hassy Planars suffer?
 
rich815 said:
By the way, I'm amazed on these comments about how their Rolleiflex TLR lenses are blowing away their Hassy 80/2.8 Planars. I too have a Hassy 500CM and the 80/2.8 Planar and I'd say it's every bit as good as my Rolleiflex TLR lenses, and perhaps in some way better (flare). Also my two 80/2.8 Planars for my SL66 kit (one older single-coated, the other the newer HFT-coated) are about the same in quality too. Perhaps this is a hand-held leaf-shutter vs. focal-plane, mirror-slap issue making the Hassy Planars suffer?
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I was comparing the Tessar in my old Rollei from 1938 to the Planar in my 1968 vintage Hasselblad. I like the Tessar better for portraits not because of sharpness but because it has better Bokeh and I like the tonal rendering of the uncoated lens on the ancient Rollei.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
I was comparing the Tessar in my old Rollei from 1938 to the Planar in my 1968 vintage Hasselblad. I like the Tessar better for portraits not because of sharpness but because it has better Bokeh and I like the tonal rendering of the uncoated lens on the ancient Rollei.
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Ah! A man after my own heart!! 😀

Finally someone not classifying a lens as "outperforming" another because of sharpness! I fully agree, and thanks for your clarification. It's why I actually prefer my single-coated SL66 80 Planar to the HFT one for portraits. And my 90/4 Elmar-M to my 90/2.8 Sonnar-G for the same reason! And lastly 50/2 Summicron DR vs. my 50/1.4 Summilux (which I may just sell soon....)

But I do think these things are VERY subjective, which is why I suggest he just get one and give it a try.
 
rich815 said:
Ah! A man after my own heart!! 😀

Finally someone not classifying a lens as "outperforming" another because of sharpness! I fully agree, and thanks for your clarification. It's why I actually prefer my single-coated SL66 80 Planar to the HFT one for portraits. And my 90/4 Elmar-M to my 90/2.8 Sonnar-G for the same reason! And lastly 50/2 Summicron DR vs. my 50/1.4 Summilux (which I may just sell soon....)

But I do think these things are VERY subjective, which is why I suggest he just get one and give it a try.
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LOL! Well the Tessar isn't a slouch in sharpness anyway so I like its tonality and can use it with little sharpness compromise. I need to come into some money so I can get the old Rollei CLA'd, the shutter is a little slow.

This was my first medium format camera, got it when I was 15 and I still remember being absolutely BLOWN away by the detail and fine grain I got with it compared to 35mm. I got a modern medium format camera, a Mamiya 645 Super when i was 18 because I needed something with flash sync (the prewar Rolleis didn't have it) and wanted interchangable lenses. I couldn't afford a Rollei SLR or a Hasselblad so I got the Mamiya. I later got an ancient used Hassy but I still have my 645 and my old Rollei and I use the 645 and Hassy regularly, the Rollei less so because I am afraid of breaking it due to its advanced age. 70 yrs old!
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
LOL! Well the Tessar isn't a slouch in sharpness anyway so I like its tonality and can use it with little sharpness compromise.
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Sure enough! I have a little Rollei 35T with a Tessar that I thought was soft until I got it CLA'd and found that someone previous took it apart and put the elements back together wrongly. THEN it was TACK sharp. I also have a Rollei 35S with the Sonnar lens. To be honest, again, I think I like the Tessar better than the Sonnar! If I was shooting color slide, the Sonnar might "win", but overall I prefer the Tessar for it's more delicate handling of contrast, personally.

(by the way, before anyone thinks I'm rich as all get-out practically ALL these cameras and lenses---with only a couple exceptions---were gotten for a song----my 35T for $90 USD, the 35S for $145 USD, etc. Patience and time and being ready to jump is what does it.....)
 
I myself was on a mission a few years back to find the perfect Rollei and to have my ideal 'overhaul' camera by Harry Fleenor at Oceanside Camera (Harry likes the use of 'overhaul' vs CLA because he basically takes each camera down to parts and rebuilds it as a 'like-new' camera as far as function).

Looking at the Oceanside web site one day I saw the camera I now have. By buying it direct from Harry I had it in my hands in a couple weeks and with all the work done ( compared to the usual couple months or more turn around if you send a camera in ). Its a late model 3.5 planar 12/25 and I had a maxwell screen installed. I wasn't 'cheap', but I feel a bargain for what I got.

It hums and purrs ( or is that me when I'm using it 😛 ) , and the lens is on the Heaven side of amazing. Although I have a few Leica and lenses to use when I travel and they would seem the logical choice, I find that the single Rollei is the camera that always comes with me. It just gives me something no other camera/lens can - something different. The 6x6 color positive on the light table, or the tone and look of a B&W are the main reason, but I also just love using the camera.

So that all said, I feel almost any Rollei will be a good camera to use: tessar/planar/xenotar/xenar, 3.5/2.8, older/newer (not beat-up) ... but getting it in good working order is important. Try the Oceanside web site 'for sale' section (good cameras and -safe- buying), or plan the cost/shipping/time for an 'overhaul' into the buying price.
 
I am taking my Automat with the Tessar on my trip and I will leave behind the 2.8D Planar. The Automat is lighter, and having a less contrasty less can be good for sunny regions. I have never before favored a Tessar over a Planar,but reducing weight is a more important factor for me this time.
 
raid said:
I am taking my Automat with the Tessar on my trip and I will leave behind the 2.8D Planar. The Automat is lighter, and having a less contrasty less can be good for sunny regions. I have never before favored a Tessar over a Planar,but reducing weight is a more important factor for me this time.
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Raid,

Which Automat do you have, is it one of the old pre-war models with uncoated lenses, like mine, or a newer postwar one? I never see anyone using the real old ones like I have.
 
"tessar/planar/xenotar/xenar" Makes no difference. Start with McBrooms analysis.
The following are the only considerations:
1. Condition
2. Price: 2.8 will cost more than a 3.5
3. Meter or non-meter. Starting with the F model

Obviously, this is a camera that if it is not in full & complete working condition will be expensive to repair.

You will also need a hood.

There are a number of Rollei TLR sites that you should be reading. The main way to go about looking for a good camera is to find all the reputable dealers & periodically check their inventory. An excellent condition Rollei camera is not only desireable but highly collectible. They will often be sold quite rapidly if priced right by the seller.

Good Luck.
 
My recommendation is to buy a cheaper 3.5E or 3.5F either with a Planar or Xenotar lens. Then send it to a good repair shop for CLE, etc. That's exactly what I did. I also bought a Maxwell screen for it, which makes a huge difference for focusing. I ended up paying as much as I would have for a "great" condition on the action site, but, instead I have a perfectly working, reliable camera that has been professionally overhauled.

aparat
 
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