Any Rolleiflex TLR users here?

oftheherd said:
...This place and the people in it are pretty unique.

...we already have an area for non-RF camera shots. Use it for TLR shots. Use this thread for TLR related comments.
Click to expand...

I agree, this place is very unique, which is why I love coming here. Which area for shots are you referring to, do you mean the gallery in general? If so, I'm already guilty as I have several digital shots up there (ssshh, don't tell). As far as using a single thread for posting TLR-related discussion, that might get unwieldy in a hurry.

I don't want to dilute the main intent of this place either (where else would I feed my RF addiction in such peace and comfort?), but I think it could be valuable to have a dedicated topic for non-RF camera discussion, or possibly one under MF and one under 35mm. I see "other" listed, but I think the original intent was to catch makes of RF cameras not specifically listed otherwise, not for non-RF discussion.

Just a suggestion for making the content easily accessible for those who want to read it and easy to ignore for those who don't. Obviously, this is all up to Jorge and what he would like to do.
 
Scanning Rolleiflex Negs

Scanning Rolleiflex Negs

A few days ago I replaced my Epson 2450 flatbed w/transparency adapter scanner with a new Epson 4180 scanner. It's a reasonably-priced way to scan MF films. Aside from 35mm (which I haven't tried) it can scan 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7 and 6x9 negatives or transparencies. I'm impressed with the scans I'm getting at 4800dpi (nominally). Mind you, a 16-bit greyscale scan takes 5-10 mins per image and results in a TIFF file that's over 200MB, but I only keep these monsters on my system for a short while until I work the image in Photoshop and save it as an 8-bit jpeg.

The 2450 wasn't bad (at 2400dpi) but I was never really satisfied with the scans. I like the 4180 scans.

Here's a finished sample of a Rollei shot I took in 1970 on Tri-X film developed in UFG. You can't see its full resolution in a web-based image, but this gives you some idea how the scans look. The only adjustments to the image were some Levels work and a slight amount of USM.

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Gene, there are no reason to scan at 4800dpi, you scanner tops out at 1200-1600dpi anyway, it`s just interpolation over that....

I have the 4870, and never go over 2400dpi, as the file size just gets bigger, but not the resolution.

Here`s one at 2400dpi:

http://www.pbase.com/plexi/image/37245727

APX100 on a Rolleiflex Automat MX
 
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Thanks Amund. I really like your photo! I wondered if the Epson really delivered 4800dpi.

Gordon, I'm not sure where the 4180 is in terms of optical resolution. I have a suspicion it uses the same scanning engine as the 4870, but it's hard to know.

I'll try my next scans at 2400dpi and see if I can detect any difference. I wouldn't mind smaller files :D

Gene
 
Gordon is right that it doesn`t interpolate, I read me up on the subject a little...
But the "true" resolution of the 4870 *is* somewhere around 1770dpi, several tests has shown that.
So you really don`t gain anything by scanning at large dpis, unless you are going for a large print.

For MF and LF scans it`s very good, I`m very happy with it.
My Rolleiflex made me buy it! :)
 
My TLRs arrived yesterday. There was a major problem with the Minolta Autocord -- lens scratches. Substantially more than cleaning scratches. The good news is the seller refunded the money for the camera. That leaves me with a parts Autocord (the search for an Autocord continues), the Welta Reflecta and Meopta Flexaret III. The Reflecta is a pretty simple camera and may be just a display camera. I've run a roll through the Flexaret III and am interested to see how it does. The lens is pretty clean and the shutter seems to work OK. I need to test it. It came with a bunch of black and white filters and will be a good test bed for learning filters for black and white. I'll get some pictures up soon. They do look nice.
 
Gordon, Flexarets are able performers.
Flexaret V was my first MF camera, and the first shots I took were amazing! Heh, I even have to admit that I like the ergonomics of my Flexaret more than the Rolleiflex - a blasphemy, perhaps, but I just adore the sliding focusing lever - you can focus with either hand...

I'm sure you'll like the shots you get from it. Don't forget, those TLR shots are meant to be ENLARGED, not just scanned!

Denis
 
I've been cleaning up the Meopta Flexaret III. I was a little dissapointed when I first saw it but it's grown on me. This was my three TLR order where the Minolta Autocord was trashed and I got a refund. It included a Welta Reflekta which was thrown in with the Autocord considering the very low value of the Welta but it has such a neat name! The Flexaret is pretty nice for a camera made from 1948 to 1950, with it's Art Deco styling.

This one has the Meopta Mirar 80mm f3.5 lens which is a Cooke Triplet and not a four element Tessar design as is the later Meopta Belars. I hope it's sharp enough, although one of my reasons for a TLR is for portraits and blazing sharp may not be a plus. At least I hope it's better than the Pearl River. The glass is pretty clean and cleaning up the mirror and the ground glass really improved the focusing. I used one Of Denis's chutter testers on the Prontor shutter and it is consistently 2/3 of a stop slow which I can deal with. It came with a neat lens shade and a set of filters.

And I hate the lack of contol my digital has compared to the Mamiya. If this becomes a user it will get the portrait treatment.
 
It's uses a crank advance which apparently isn't too reliable. It seems fine -- the film advances but we will see if advances correctly. There is always the red window.

The case for this camera was made in the USA and the distance markings are in feet -- an import.

The filters were the clincher. If nothing else I will be able to see what the different filters do for black and white for a cost of $30.50. Does anyone know where I can get a 30mm push-on green filter?
 
I just checked Cupog on eBay and he has a listing for a green filter plus several other filters for the Flexaret III. They also fit on the Flexaret V. He also has a Flexaret Va listed. It has the Tessar lens. It sure is pretty! It's making me forget the Minolta.
 
Gordon, here's the Ikoflex II/III that I received just before Christmas. It's in pristine condition. This morning I got a package from Oleg with a boxed set of 7 32mm push-on filters that fit the Ikoflex perfectly. The box is marked "Hugo Arnz, Jena" but the filters themselves are not marked. There's the normal red, orange, green and yellow plus a pale blue and two that are clear.

The package also contained a beautiful Moskva-2 made in 1952.

Walker
 
I'm getting to like Flexarets. I got a roll of XP2 back and Denis is right -- pretty amazing. And this is with their lesser Mirar II triplet lens. What will the Belar tessar do? It's definitely a user. The only problem is the film advance. Part of that was my fault trying to match the film counter with the number in the red window. One more test for film advance and then if that works out it's a user. The picture was stopped down. I'm sure it won't be as sharp open. Must check that out too. I do want to add a Flexaret V to my Flexaret collection.

I do want to thank Denis for bringing these wonderful cameras to my attention!
 
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I've been wandering around in the original scan of the above picture. It was at 900 dpi on my Epson 2450. I resized to 72 dpi keeping the original pixel size and put it on a page if anyone is interested in seeing it larger. It's 987kb so be warned. I'm pretty amazed what the Flexaret III will do with a three element lens. It's on 120 xp2. Here it is.

It beats the hell out of the Pearl River.
 
Gordon, I'm glad you like it. As I said, they can be pretty good performers. Sorry about the film advance crank. Mine (mod. V) has a knob, which winds the film and cocks the shutter at the same time. I think mine was also a bit tricky at first, but after a CLA, it's now working just fine - apart from the self-timer. But, the results from those Belar lens are really nice.
I even have a 30x30 cm color print of my kids hanging on my wall - done with the Flexaret. Pretty sharp...

Denis
 
Cupog's Flexarets sold for respectable amounts this weekend. Did anyone here indulge?
 
I tried. I wanted the Flexaret Va but the prices got a little high. I did pick up the 30mm push on filter set Cupog was selling. It was incomplete but, with the incomplete set I have for my Flexaret III, I now have a pretty complete set. All ready for the Flexaret V in my future!
 
I finally won a Flexaret V a from Cupog. My TLR search is complete! Now my watch list is empty -- although FrankS is listing a Wollensak 6 1/4" f9.5 Raptar over at APUG that would be perfect for my "new" 5x7. Hopefully it will still be there when my bank account fills back up again.
 
THAT WAS ME YOU OUTBID!!!

:)

Actually, congratulations. I put in the first bid, a low one, and since I was away this afternoon, I figured, just in case nobody else was looking... I didn't expect to win it.

You guys are going to get me to buy one of these. Maybe next weekend?
 
Oops! Well, now I have two Flexarets (IIIa and Va), one of which has had a CLA (Va), a lens hood, and a complete set of black and white filters for the price of uncleaned Autocord. Maybe not the same build quality but, like the FSU rangefinders, they take nice pictures! Of course if I wasn't hanging around here I wouldn't have any on them. It's all Rob's fault for starting this thread and Denis for letting us know about these commie TLRs. Now to explore the square format with black and white.
 
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