New Rollei 35AF Coming Soon...

[pyeh]

I got two of them late last year. They are "interesting". Lots of foibles, mainly due to poor manufacturing tolerances I'd say. The LIDAR focusing works well enough, and the auto-exposure is good, within its limits, like any P&S auto. I like them for their size but the fussy film loading and the creaky winding mechanism are real put-offs.

 

[Archlich]

Took a look at Mapcamera's inventory and they have a whopping 16 copies of the camera in stock.

Must be a reason for people to sell off en masse 🤔

 

[Bingley]

I placed an order for a Rollei 35 AF in September 2024. Nine months later, the camera arrived. I’ve been shooting a lot with it and will post some photos here soon… or start a new thread. The camera has its quirks, to be sure, but it works as a small travel camera. The lidar AF system is generally OK; I’m still learning its quirks and limitations. Stay tuned.

 

[JohnGellings]

It took 9 months!

 

[AusDLK]

the shutter release is wholy unsatisfying. the "push" required is too far (deep) and any tacile release of the shutter is practically non-existent. i sent one back for this reason. nice try but in its present form, the camera is a failure.

 

[Rob-F]

Took a look at Mapcamera's inventory and they have a whopping 16 copies of the camera in stock.

Must be a reason for people to sell off en masse 🤔

Looks like they have about 24 of them now. Are many of those returns, I wonder?

 

[valdas]

Looks like they have about 24 of them now. Are many of those returns, I wonder?

I was there in the physical store in Tokyo and was surprised to see so many AF’s. It tells something. I got mine relatively fast (in a month or so after placing an order). It was faulty (the shutter was not closing fully after the shot randomly). I returned it, got refunded and never looked back. I did not like the experience compared to the original Rollei 35.

 

[Jbennett68]

I’ve noticed a ton of used ones as well. Way more than the Pentax 17 it seems like. The fact that I can but a 35s for half the price makes it not very appealing.

 

[TenEleven]

It's also significantly larger than the original. One shop had the R35AF next to the original Sonnar one of the same color. The impression in size difference a couple of mm on each side make is remarkable.

To be fair to Mint (the makers of the 35AF) it's still by far the smallest semi-modern 35mm auto-focus compact. No contest there.

 

[Harry the K]

There are a lot of new "toy cameras" in the market (point-and-shoots, fixed focus, polaroid,...), but nobody is building a new "real" camera.