Let's hear about your favorite TLR

[Vince Lupo]

No Question.....

I bought the camera a few years back, and of course the shutter wasn't working. So I sent it to the best of the best, Frank Marshman/Camera Wiz, and he completely disassembled it, replaced the shutter straps with plastic ones (so they will never break!), and it's probably one of the few around that actually works, and works well.

I added the other lenses as I could afford them -- the 85mm and 135mm lenses came from the LeicaShop in Vienna, and the unheard-of 28mm lens came from Frank -- it was actually sitting in his drawer!

All in all, very happy with this kit.

 

[hefty]

No Question.....


I bought the camera a few years back, and of course the shutter wasn't working. So I sent it to the best of the best, Frank Marshman/Camera Wiz, and he completely disassembled it, replaced the shutter straps with plastic ones (so they will never break!), and it's probably one of the few around that actually works, and works well.

I added the other lenses as I could afford them -- the 85mm and 135mm lenses came from the LeicaShop in Vienna, and the unheard-of 28mm lens came from Frank -- it was actually sitting in his drawer!

All in all, very happy with this kit.

I bet you're happy! That is absolutely beautiful. 🙂

 

[shadowfox]

hefty and Vince, cool additions to this thread.
Thank you both.

 

[Stevefu]

I have three. Rolleiflex 3.5F Planar, Yashicamat 124G & MPP Microflex with Taylor Taylor Hobson lens. The Rollei is by far the easiest to use & the best engineered but for image quality there is not much to choose.
I am fond of the MPP as I think that British cameras are under rated & some had good l;enses ie TTH & Ross Xpress. I use an Ensign Selfix 12-20 with the Ross & get good results.

 

[mrisney]

I had a Mamiya C330 with a couple of lenses. Got great results, but it was just too big and heavy to take hiking. I sold it bought an RF645 (which I found to be a delicate piece of junk compared to the C330). Sold that and now have and love a Mamiya 6.

Similar story, I did like my C220, which I thought would be slightly smaller than the C330, but it was still too bulky. The Mamiya 6 is perfect, it's an amazing camera. Here is a picture that I took of my Mamiya 6 with my C220 that I regretfully sold. I just picked up a 2.8F, because I enjoyed using a TLR so much that have been looking for one for a while.

 

[hefty]

I have three. Rolleiflex 3.5F Planar, Yashicamat 124G & MPP Microflex with Taylor Taylor Hobson lens. The Rollei is by far the easiest to use & the best engineered but for image quality there is not much to choose.
I am fond of the MPP as I think that British cameras are under rated & some had good l;enses ie TTH & Ross Xpress. I use an Ensign Selfix 12-20 with the Ross & get good results.

Nice to have another Microflex around here - for a camera of which only a single batch was ever made there certainly seem to be a fair few survivors half a century later. I saw one for sale at Photographica a couple of weeks ago and I see there's one being auctioned on eBay UK at the moment too. If you get the chance try and find the book The MPP Story and the Products by Basil Skinner - it has some great Microflex stories (including some decidedly odd tea room rituals) and some scary photos of workers drop testing the film backs by throwing them into the air to land on the concrete workshop floor. These cameras were certainly built tough.

 

[andreaffm]

I was around twenty and on vacation in Cornwall with my then boyfriend, when our car got stolen out of a public parking lot (and everything that was in it for a three week holiday). We hat nothing to do, except sit around in Essex, shop for fresh underwear and regularly call the Police for updates. Okay, I said out of despair, let's go to that used camera shop and have a look at these TLRs they have. And this was when I bought my Mamiya C3, a huge and heavy brick but at least an affordable one. A good decision, because when we eventually got our car back (some youths borrowed it for a joyride and left it in a parking lot somewhere), my Nikon F301 obviously had found a new home. Bye, dear Nikon, first camera I owned.

The Mamiya was heavy. (But I actually kept it until today, quite in contrast to the boyfriend.) I was too heavy, and I used it not very frequently. But I loved the idea of the TLRs, so last summer I bought a lighter one, a little Flexaret VI from cupog on ebay. What can I say, I like it very much, I built in a brighter focusing screen and now it is perfectly usable. There is just one tiny thing: I use it without the case, and i sometimes accidently press the opening button for the back lid which is obviously the worst thing that can happen. :bang: I have to find a solution for that one.

Here's what I do with the Flexa: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreaffm/collections/72157626269639053/

 

[Ezzie]

Hi Andrea. I too like my Flexaret Va a lot. Its a very well thought out little camera, and with good optics. With regards to the button. You can tension the spring mechanism so that it doesn't pop out. Just screw it in til it stops. To open again, screw outwards a few turns and then press the button, or scew outwards until it opens by itself.

Good luck

 

[Brian Legge]

I've only used two - a Rolleicord and Autocord. I love the images from each but the Autocord ergonomics work better for me. I ended up with two, one with a lens that could use some cleaning one and one which needed the lever replaced. I'll probably sell the first to get the second a full CLA.

That said, the dirty, less than ideal Rolleicord holds its own. My wife adopted it and has been taking some great photos with the camera. Every time I see it I end up second guessing myself about using the Autocord instead. 🙂

 

[dap]

I have and use a Ricohmatic 225. Of all the TLRs I have shot with it is by far the most user friendly as far as controls are concerned. The Ricoh twin focus levers are a brilliant design. They are a bit hard to find, but not that expensive when you do find one (cheaper than the Minolta Autocords)

 

[Brian Legge]

I've yet to see a 225 for sale though I'd love to try one some time.

My current favorite is an Autocord. I prefer the focus and shutter ergonomics to the Rolleicord IV I've used. And I trust the film advance more than that in the Yaahica line as I've worked on the yashica line.

 

[pakeha]

My favourite has got to be the only one i use, Minolta autocord , though i have a Flexaret 5 that i must try out some time.
regards
CW

GP3 scanned print

 

[the_jim]

Rolleiflex T. It's weird, relatively inexpensive and not particularly brickish. Ross Yerkes serviced it. I went to his house and that was an experience unto itself. Really, he does great work...his very apparent politics, though...

I bought the camera from the daughter of it's first owner. It has a very early serial number. I find its images pleasing.

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimfischer/3864055390/] Adriane by jamesfischer, on Flickr[/URL]


Aftermath of a Car Crash by jamesfischer, on Flickr


abandoned farm house by jamesfischer, on Flickr

 

[valdas]

Had a quick look in my Rollei book and it looks like several choices available, Rolleiflex 3.5 E (type 2), Rolleiflex 3.5 E3, Rolleiflex 2.8C, Rolleiflex 2.8D Rolleiflex 2.8E

3.5F also have a version w/o a meter. I own one of those beauties...

 

[JeffGreene]

Here are my TLRs. I have sold the Mamiya. The three remaining are my current stable. I use the 2.8F and the Primo Jr the most. They're both going with me to the TICA Show here in Philly today. I've really enjoyed using the Primo which takes 127 film. It's lens is incredibly sharp.

 

[Vics]

I had a TLR in 1967, but I was poor and it was a Yashica 12. We took all of our kids' baby pictures with that camera. Then I did the usual Pentax-Minolta-Nikon-Contax RF-Leica-M thing, then, about 15 years ago I bought two Rolleis within a year. One is an MX (my fav) and the other is a 3.5F. I'm finally home! I SHOULD have bought the Rolleis right after the Yashica! My Dad had bought me that camera because I had shown him some books of environmental portraits, and asked him what kind of camera one needed for that kind of picture. He didn't miss a beat. "Rolleiflex!" he said, and he was right. The Yashica was a dry run, I guess. Live and learn.

 

[David Murphy]

My favorite TLR is any Rolleiflex with a 2.8 Planar or Xenotar. I don't own one right now for lack of funds, but I am using a Kalloflex - a dynamite little Japanese TLR with a sharp 4-element lens.

 

[RedLion]

Rolleiflex

Rolleiflex

My favorites are all Rolleiflexes:

 

[ian]

I'm a bit of a TLR junkie I guess. My first was a Rollieflex Auto 3.5. then to have something cheap to carry around and not worry , I got a Richoflex VI for $30. Later I found a Kalloflex in A+ shape for about $175. Eventually I wanted more variety in lenses and bought a Mamiya C330 with a 110mm lens. Soon after a friend had another C330s given to him that needed a crank; so I bought it for $125 and spent another $30 for a new crank. Along the way I also picked up a 65mm, a 135mm, a 180mm and a 250mm, all at very reasonable prices. My final purchase (so far) was a Super Richoflex for $10 at a small "antique store about three years ago.

I love the soft "old time" feel of the Richos whereas the others give me sharp, crisp images. I shoot mainly black and white with the Kalloflex and C330s and colour with the Rollie and C330. I usually pair up the Kallo and Rollie so that I can shoot both types of film and do the same with the two C330 cameras, giving me the best of both worlds. The Richos are strictly for B&W film - at the moment.

 

[JeffGreene]

I met with our local RFF group here in Philly two Sundays ago and foolishly dropped my Primo Jr. breaking the shutter. I'll be sending it off shortly. My favorite TLR is my 2.8 F Planar. I was out with it this last week. I expect to go out tomorrow as well. I usually take the 3.5 MX-EVS Xenar along which I load with Ektar and keep the 2.8 loaded with B&W.