It hurts.. but it's worth it!

shadowfox

shadowfox

Darkroom printing lives
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So, I finally broke down and hunt for a Rollei 35.

This one came in a couple days ago Tadaaaa...!

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The Rollei, not the Mac :)

Btw, this one's aperture dial is very stiff when turned clock-wise, but easy when turned anti-clock-wise. Is this common??
 
Great camera ... you'll love it! I have three of them and they are all different ... one has a stiff shutter release, one has a stiff aperture and the other has a focus ring that jams occasionally ... they're sure quirky! I love them all though! :D
 
Be sure to pull up the little release thingie (right below the aperture dial) when changing aperture.

Richard
 
oscroft said:
Ah, a Rollei 35 and a Mac - what fine taste :)
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I only use Mac cause they gave me one at work :D
But I do recognize (and appreciate to no end) that the Apple ppl had the good sense to use UNIX underneath their OS.

Ok, back to the Rollei.

Richard: what release thingie?? oh man, I hope I haven't wreck the thing...

Keith: I got it partly because of your infectious posts on this camera :bang:

Help!
How do i load a film into this thing? I put the leader in the slot (with white triangles), then I wind the dial with the arrow sign at the bottom of the slot, and that rip my film leader!!!

What am I doing wrong? I'm following the manual (trying to at least)...
 
The chrome button that you push in a vertical sense unlatched the brake on the aperature ring.

I dont recall any difficulty, slot in the film, close the pressure plate, slide on the back, and wind on with the lever, carefully watch the rewind shaft, if it is not turning, rewind the film carefully to take up slack in the film , good luck.

Noel
 
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It is as Xmas wrote. There is a ratchet on the aperture dial so that you can set the film speed (don't forget to do that, by the way) without turning the aperture dial. I doubt that you have broken the ratchet yet.
Keith: I got it partly because of your infectious posts on this camera.
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Don't worry, shadowfox. I have owned three Rollei 35 cameras, and none of them have been what I would call quirky. Just take a deep breath and carefully read the instructions. When you load the film, make sure the film is aligned straight across the film gate before winding the leader onto the takeup spool. The spool should stop rotating before there's enough tension on the film to rip it.
 
Noel and Richard:

Thanks to you guys, I finally know how to load the darn film. Just like Noel said, didn't have to do a thing other than making sure that the leader goes into the slot. And Richard, you're right, this camera is not quirky, not to me at least, but I have pretty high pain-tolerance when it comes to manual cameras :)

One little thing that I like about the film pressure plate is the fact that it also made sure that the sprocket teeth "really" catch the film holes. Extremely useful with rolled up film leaders that just won't stay flat.

On the weird design "award", what's up with the CdS eye right where your fingers tend to be? I kept adjusting the aperture to follow the meter until my brain finally kicked in and a "wait a minute..." moment when I realize that I have my ring finger rested comfortably on top of the "eye" :bang:
 
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Sample pics!

Sample pics!

Finally, got some pictures from the Rollei!

I like this one because it's the first time I am happy with the result of my pathetic Winograd-style shooting attempt :D

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And this one is easy-peasy, but it showed the contrasty Sonnar lens:

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IMO, there are three main reasons this camera is so universally-loved by photographers.

1) Small, but also well-built
2) Zeiss lenses (even the Triotar is good!)
3) Manual & mechanical

I "only" have one Rollei 35. It is a Rollei 35 model, Singapore, with the f/3.5 Tessar. Mine is perfect, except that the aperture dial will not quite go all the way to either extreme. Rather than buy any more Rollei 35s, I'm going to pay for a proper CLA and be happy with this one.

The Sonnar lenses are said to be better, but at my level of enlargement (11x14 max) there is no difference.

Congratulations Shadowfox. May it never leave your side.
 
I'd be curious to hear your comments about the Sonnar on this camera vs. an equivalent 5 or 6 element f/2.8 Zuiko lens.
 
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On thing I read about these cameras (and I have one) is that the lens does not perform at its optimum at the widest f stops and you should use faster film to get to the mid range f stops. Whatever.
 
Steve Bellayr said:
On thing I read about these cameras (and I have one) is that the lens does not perform at its optimum at the widest f stops and you should use faster film to get to the mid range f stops. Whatever.
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That is true of Tessar type lenses. Sonnar lenses are renowned for their performance even wide open.
 
I wonder if the Sonnar on the XF is also of "Sonnar Quality". I like the results with the XF, even though it is the black sheep of the Rollei35 family.

Raid
 
Frank: No praises of the XF on that link. I like the lens anyways. The results are very smooth looking in my opinion. I wish someone had an actual test of the lens.

Raid
 
There was a more recent thread on that camera as well. I had one, which my grandpa bought in the 70s. I didn't like it either, no matter how hard I tried. I think the rangefinder was off on mine too, as the only pictures that were very sharp were at inifinity.

I read on Karen Nakamura's website that it is a re-badged Voigtlander.

raid, the Rollei 35 XF is not even similar to the Rollei 35s. It is a completely different design. All controls are conventionally placed, but there aren't many controls, really. It did feel cheap. The little knob on the end of the rewind crank didn't even rotate. It just slid in your fingers; nasty feeling, after you've gotten used to quality cameras. The last nail in the coffin (for me) was that mine was in black and it brassed without too much use. Yuck.
 
Jeremy: I hear you, but I still find the camera acceptable since it takes great looking photos for me.

Raid
 
Jeremy Z said:
I'd be curious to hear your comments about the Sonnar on this camera vs. an equivalent 5 or 6 element f/2.8 Zuiko lens.
Click to expand...

From the results so far, I can say that the Sonnar lens produces at least as much detail as the E. Zuiko on my 35 ECR. I can't easily test the bokeh or OOF because the Rollei doesn't have a rangefinder for accurate manual focusing.

I'd have to run a few more rolls on it to be more definite, next one will be color. But I'll also be comparing it against the G. Zuiko on the 35 SPn.
 
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