Early Rollei 35 Made in Germany

[outfitter]

I'm a little jealous myself. I'm not short of a Rollei TLR or three but wouldn't mind a 35 too. The German made ones seem the logical choice, but budget says no at present. I think that ding in the corner could be removed, or at least, substantially improved, with the cover removed and some suitable templates, and patience.
Cheers,
Brett

At one time or another I've own almost every model and version and did not find the German made ones any better or worse than the Singapore made ones - not so with some of the complicated electronic full size Rollei 35mm but there the fault was probably more with the electronics than the assembly.

BTW the last one i own is a Rollei 35S that I bought with a stuck shutter for $75 - a simple push on the shutter linkage fixed the problem and its has work without a hitch for some 10 years. I knew it was a good one because it had the obligatory ding.

 

[Bingley]

That explains it^^^^^! The meter on mine no longer works because the camera is missing the obligatory ding!😉😀

 

[lxmike]

I'm a little jealous myself. I'm not short of a Rollei TLR or three but wouldn't mind a 35 too. The German made ones seem the logical choice, but budget says no at present. I think that ding in the corner could be removed, or at least, substantially improved, with the cover removed and some suitable templates, and patience.
Cheers,
Brett

on arrival I will pack this rollei off to newton and Ellis for a full CLA and see if they can do anything with the ding

 

[lxmike]

At one time or another I've own almost every model and version and did not find the German made ones any better or worse than the Singapore made ones - not so with some of the complicated electronic full size Rollei 35mm but there the fault was probably more with the electronics than the assembly.

BTW the last one i own is a Rollei 35S that I bought with a stuck shutter for $75 - a simple push on the shutter linkage fixed the problem and its has work without a hitch for some 10 years. I knew it was a good one because it had the obligatory ding.

we should do a Rollei poll i.e. how many have had a ding or two or not

 

[lxmike]

That explains it^^^^^! The meter on mine no longer works because the camera is missing the obligatory ding!😉😀

I can send you a toffee hammer if you want to put a ding in yours😀

 

[Chrisrw]

Rollei 35, Made in Germany was the first film camera I ever bought just about 2 years ago. Probably the last one I would ever sell if I had to 🙂

 

[bitfeng]

The German made Rollei 35 does have a much better viewfinder though - higher magnification ratio and brighter. Other than that there is hardly any difference.

At one time or another I've own almost every model and version and did not find the German made ones any better or worse than the Singapore made ones - not so with some of the complicated electronic full size Rollei 35mm but there the fault was probably more with the electronics than the assembly.

BTW the last one i own is a Rollei 35S that I bought with a stuck shutter for $75 - a simple push on the shutter linkage fixed the problem and its has work without a hitch for some 10 years. I knew it was a good one because it had the obligatory ding.

 

[lxmike]

The German made Rollei 35 does have a much better viewfinder though - higher magnification ratio and brighter. Other than that there is hardly any difference.

Funny you should mention viewfinders, my Rollei 35T has a slight 'rose' tint to it that I have never seen in another Rollei before, the viewfinder seems to have a slightly warmer view as you look through it, has anyone else experienced this

 

[lxmike]

Rollei 35, Made in Germany was the first film camera I ever bought just about 2 years ago. Probably the last one I would ever sell if I had to 🙂

i agree there is something about rollei 35 that makes you want to keep them

 

[D.O'K.]

Indeed. It's one of the very few cameras (from quite a large selection) that I'd be really sorry to lose.

And mine has three dings!
(Does that make it more desirable/valuable/collectable...?)

Regards,
D.

 

[lxmike]

Indeed. It's one of the very few cameras (from quite a large selection) that I'd be really sorry to lose.

And mine has three dings!
(Does that make it more desirable/valuable/collectable...?)

Regards,
D.

it certainly makes it rounder on the corners🙂

 

[Highway 61]

I've been using one of the earlier German-made cameras for a while. The lens is single coated, I believe. While it helps tame some high-contrast scenes, you also have to be careful of the light source.

I have found that on early German made Rollei 35 cameras, the metal rail around which the lens slides to collapse and uncollapse, located at the bottom of the lens chamber, isn't matte enough, and can shine easily towards the film emulsion when the shutter opens, hence flare on the pictures due to bright light sources (which generally are within the upper part of the subject : sky, lamps, large windows...).

Matte black painting this flat rail (which the lens doesn't touch when you collapse and uncollapse it, this is just a guide, so adding a thin layer of flat black matte paint on it won't interfere with anything) will grantly help reducing flare on the pictures.

So, IMO this flare isn't directly due to the lens coatings. 😉

 

[lxmike]

I have found that on early German made Rollei 35 cameras, the metal rail around which the lens slides to collapse and uncollapse, located at the bottom of the lens chamber, isn't matte enough, and can shine easily towards the film emulsion when the shutter opens, hence flare on the pictures due to bright light sources (which generally are within the upper part of the subject : sky, lamps, large windows...).

Matte black painting this flat rail (which the lens doesn't touch when you collapse and uncollapse it, this is just a guide, so adding a thin layer of flat black matte paint on it won't interfere with anything) will grantly help reducing flare on the pictures.

So, IMO this flare isn't directly due to the lens coatings. 😉

I might give that a try

 

[Highway 61]

I might give that a try

Remove the camera back, set the shutter on B, open the aperture and aim the camera at a bright light source. If I am right, you will figure out quite quickly what kind of "flare" you get, and why.

Example with my own 1966 Rollei 35 Germany :

(Güell Park, Barcelona, on Fomapan 100)

Funny you should mention viewfinders, my Rollei 35T has a slight 'rose' tint to it that I have never seen in another Rollei before, the viewfinder seems to have a slightly warmer view as you look through it, has anyone else experienced this

Typical of the late production Singapore cameras, and a good sign, those slightly pinky finders generally suffer less from composing frames etching than their predecessors, and have better contrast.

 

[lxmike]

Remove the camera back, set the shutter on B, open the aperture and aim the camera at a bright light source. If I am right, you will figure out quite quickly what kind of "flare" you get, and why.

Example with my own 1966 Rollei 35 Germany :

(Güell Park, Barcelona, on Fomapan 100)



Typical of the late production Singapore cameras, and a good sign, those slightly pinky finders generally suffer less from composing frames etching than their predecessors, and have better contrast.

yes pinky is a good way to describe it, at first I thought it was my eyes

 

[jonmanjiro]

as do all of the original German samples. The lock design changed only when production was moved to the Orient.

The most complete source of info on the net on the serial numbers of the early Rollei 35's made in Germany is the chart below compiled by this Japanese guy living in Berlin.

According to his chart, the lock tab design changed from the paddle shape to the fan shape around serial number 31114xx, but the Rollei 35 continued to be made in Germany up to around 32338xx. So there's about 110,000 with the paddle shaped lock tab and about the same number again with the fan shaped lock tab.

He's also confirmed made in Singapore samples with serial numbers as early as 32280xx so there is a bit of a crossover at the end of German production/start of Singapore production.

The columns from left to right are:

- initial German production (engraved "Compur - Gossen - Zeiss" on the back, metal base rewind crank, paddle shaped lock tab)
- extremely early German production (metal base rewind crank, paddle shaped lock tab)
- early German production (plastic base rewind crank, paddle shaped lock tab)
- German production (plastic base rewind crank, fan shaped lock tab)
- Singapore production

 

[lxmike]

Jon thats a very handy table thanks for sharing it

 

[easyrider]

I have one too!

I have one too!

I still have one that I bought in Munich in 1969. It also has a dent and it's black. Developed a slight light leak but I still use it occasionally. It only leaks in very strong sun.
Here is a shot from the RFF meet in Toronto in 2009. I used the Rollei.

BTW: There is an issue with the battery for the meter. I just stopped using the meter but here is a discussion about it:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37527

Have gone almost totally digital now and use a Canon s90. Am I going to be excommunicated?

 

[jonmanjiro]

I still have one that I bought in Munich in 1969.

Nice! If you don't mind me asking, what's its serial number? I'd like one from 1969 (the year I was born) and it would be handy to know what serial number range to look for 🙂

 

[easyrider]

Nice! If you don't mind me asking, what's its serial number? I'd like one from 1969 (the year I was born) and it would be handy to know what serial number range to look for 🙂

The number is 3085664-- 3.5 Tessar. The 2.8 did not come till later. For a long time it was the only camera I used although I had others. I had pix from it published in TIME magazine (where I worked).

I just dug it out of the wooden trunk where I keep my film cameras and it really feels great! Brings back memories.