Rollei 35 shutter speeds

[Gerry M]

I am wondering if anyone has had this problem with a Rollei 35: The shutter speeds/timing are off by about 50%. That is the speeds are too fast for the setting. 1/2 = ~1/4, 1/4 = ~ 1/8 and so on up the speed scale, but am not sure if this is linear. The results are negs that are very under exposed. Of course the uncoupled meter(which is accurate), has no bearing on this problem. A slow/sticking shutter seems more likely, but not in this case. I know a CLA is the logical answer, but I doubt the camera is worth that expense. Any input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Gerry

 

[Highway 61]

This is adjustable by bending (or straightening back an unproperly bent cam) a cam which is designed to behave as a speeds regulator.

This cam is under the top cover and the adjustment must be done so that the 1/15s is correct. Then, combined with a clean slow speeds escapement, you're in the good ballpark from 1/2s to 1/500s.

A sticky shutter escapement would bring too slow speeds, not too fast ones...

As for your Rollei 35 not being worth the expense of a CLA : 😱

 

[RBruceCR]

A Rollei 35 S CLA and shutter overhaul is around US$165 plus 6 weeks of lead time at Harry Fleenor's. A used eBay Rollei 35S is around $400, perhaps due to the Summer season. So I believe it pays to have it overhauled if you can live without the camera for 6 weeks.

 

[zeitoun]

Another option which will most probably be cheaper (though I have no idea about shipping costs) would be to contact René Genest of Service Camera Pro in Québec City. He is a real Rollei expert and a really nice person. He has taken care of my Rollei 35S on several occasions, and it is a joy to see the smile on his face when you bring him an old mechanical camera to fix. I am convinced that adjusting the speeds will be a breeze for him.

Good luck. The Rollei's are, in my mind, definitely worth cherishing.

Paul

 

[CliveC]

A Rollei 35 S CLA and shutter overhaul is around US$165 plus 6 weeks of lead time at Harry Fleenor's. A used eBay Rollei 35S is around $400, perhaps due to the Summer season. So I believe it pays to have it overhauled if you can live without the camera for 6 weeks.

Rollei 35S are not $400 on eBay (outside of the Buy it Now offers). According to the ones sold recently, you can get a perfectly acceptable one for under $200, some going as low as $100 (which are candidates for CLA).

As a financial equation, using your pricing, unless the camera is mint to begin with or you plan on shooting the camera for a long, long time, professional CLAs for Rollei 35s don't make a lot of sense.

 

[Highway 61]

Servicing a Rollei 35 or 35S oneself isn't difficult. It requires :

- having learnt how to read
- one small screwdriver
- a rubber pad
- a bit of lighter fluid
- a bit of lubricating thin oil

Total time to service the shutter and reassemble the camera is roughly one hour.

The repair manual as a PDF file is easily available.

 

[Gerry M]

Thanks to all for your input. Time to decide: Service it or shelf it.

 

[RBruceCR]

Rollei 35S are not $400 on eBay (outside of the Buy it Now offers). According to the ones sold recently, you can get a perfectly acceptable one for under $200, some going as low as $100 (which are candidates for CLA).

As a financial equation, using your pricing, unless the camera is mint to begin with or you plan on shooting the camera for a long, long time, professional CLAs for Rollei 35s don't make a lot of sense.

Indeed pricing is seasonal! And with some examples under the $200 mark today, shooting mine every day for the last year, it made all the sense to send it to Harry Fleenor for over-haul, until yesterday" that I dropped in the parking lot after a friend's reunion and dinged the top plate.

Now, I am looking for a top plate of my mint condition, freshly overhauled and believed to be in good operating shape Rollei 35S top plate. By the way, it makes great pictures if you guess the focusing well!

 

[RBruceCR]

Another option which will most probably be cheaper (though I have no idea about shipping costs) would be to contact René Genest of Service Camera Pro in Québec City. He is a real Rollei expert and a really nice person. He has taken care of my Rollei 35S on several occasions, and it is a joy to see the smile on his face when you bring him an old mechanical camera to fix. I am convinced that adjusting the speeds will be a breeze for him.

Good luck. The Rollei's are, in my mind, definitely worth cherishing.

Paul

Hi! I have a friend in Quebec and he can probably talk to René in French which I don't to see if he has a spare black Rollei 35S top plate that I can buy from him!

Can you provide his store address and phone Number?

Regards,

Robert H. Bruce

 

[Al83]

Hi All. I've a shutter speed problem on my 35 that seems to be the opposite of most. Speeds below 1/30 all fire too fast. I can't really detect a difference between them. Higher speeds and bulb seem OK. Any ideas how to fix this? Thank you!

 

[Highway 61]

Hi All. I've a shutter speed problem on my 35 that seems to be the opposite of most. Speeds below 1/30 all fire too fast. I can't really detect a difference between them. Higher speeds and bulb seem OK. Any ideas how to fix this? Thank you!

The slow speeds geartrain has to be engaged when you turn the speeds knob to speeds under 1/30 (with the shutter cocked, you must hear some typical clockwork noise coming from the slow speeds escapement when you move the speeds knob back and forth between B and 1/15). In your case it is not. Something is stuck inside your camera. Basically it is not much different that sticky slow speeds.

Any idea to fix this ? Yes. The camera has to be taken apart, and some parts of the shutter unit have to be CLA'd.