Rollei 35 Sonnar or Oly RC ?

[dukovac]

Hello!

Since my Kiev stays at home most of the time for obvious reasons, I decided I need a smaller camera. I think I'm going to decide between Rollei 35 Sonnar and Olympus RC. XA is on the third place somehow. "Coat-pocketable" is good enough for me I think. But what about the lens? How much better is Rollei's sonnar really? And ist it better at all?

I appreciate every experience, Thanx

 

[Wayne R. Scott]

Asking how much better is a lens than another lens is kind of like asking someone how many angels do they think can fit onto the head of a tailor's straight pin. Every one will come up with a different opinion.

I have only owned two Rollei 35S and two Oly RC so my testing is limited to this small sample. The winner is----------------the Rollei 35S Sonnar!!

The RC is about 1/5 the price of the Rollei and I don't think the Sonnar is 5 times better than the Oly lens. If you want a rangefinder camera the Oly wins hands down, since the Rollei is a scale focus camera.

If money is not an object I would definetly get the Rollei. It is a little funky to get used to, but it grows on you.

Wayne

 

[richard_l]

...But what about the lens? How much better is Rollei's sonnar really? And ist it better at all?...

The 40mm Sonnar is good enough for Rollei to have reincarnated it as a Leica screwmount lens.

My everyday cameras are a Rollei 35 Sonnar and a Rollei 35 Tessar. This is fine, professional equipment which has never yet let me down. I can't compare these cameras to the RC, but they are clearly superior to the XA in image quality. Many users of compact, fixed lens cameras are not terribly picky about image quality, but I am. I don't want to come across the shot of a lifetime and regret that I am not carrying one of my Leicas. It is usually hard to tell the difference between an 8x10" from the latest 50mm Elmar and an 8x10" from my Rollei 35S unless one knows exactly what to look for.