Rollei 35SE review

I have a love-hate thing going with my Rollei 35S. I actually quite like how it feels, how it winds, even the shutter. However, scale focusing basically means I actively avoid shooting wider than f/5.6 (unless at hyperfocal), lest I miss focus.

Might be I just need more practice.
 
CliveC said:
I have a love-hate thing going with my Rollei 35S. I actually quite like how it feels, how it winds, even the shutter. However, scale focusing basically means I actively avoid shooting wider than f/5.6 (unless at hyperfocal), lest I miss focus.

Might be I just need more practice.
Click to expand...

I miss-focused many times at f/4. I decided to stick to f/8 with my Rollei 35 SE.
 
I just might give the Leica a break and pull out the Rollei after reading this. For a bit at least.
 
Dare to take unsharp pictures. You may find beauty in the blur. It may be lame to mention the old "Are Bure Boke", but the Provoke guys did many things right!
 
It is nice to see fresh review on old film cameras. Cameras never old as long as they are in use.

2.8 version became too overpriced few years ago. I never regretted to have two of regular ones instead, not I'm regretting to sell them.

Oly Trip 35 gives the same, for less money and less "hassle", plus quality of 40 2.8 images is astonishing.
 
One of my all-time favorite cameras. Had mine since new from the early 80's making it the camera I've owned the longest. Many people complain about the fiddly dials, but with use they become "normal". Using flash is a pain though. I've noticed comments in the forum favoring the previous model with match-needle meter visible on top, but I agree with what was said in the article about the convenience and speed of the LED's in the viewfinder. For most of its life mine was used for slides, and again, despite complaints about the light meter, I never had a bad exposure (or focus) from it. Superbly made and compact. Fabulous camera for hiking. Amazingly reliable. One of my keepers.
 
Nice article. I have an SE myself. I don't use it that often though, mostly because I suck at zone focusing, although, if i'd use it more, i'd probably get better at it. *doh* .. but I really enjoy using it when I do.
 
I remember the lens in my 35S I bought from a Vietnam Vet for a C spot..who got it in the war..having astonishingly good colors..but not as sharp as my 35mm Summicron ver 4..I think I will take that cam out for a spin soon..
 
I love mine.

But, I rarely use it. It's hard to scale focus. For such a small camera it's just too fidly.

It's a good looking camera so I keep it around. I just can't bring myself to sell it.
 
About un-sharp images.
From recent roll with Rollei 35 SE

Intentional blur:
tumblr_osq9wd88Rr1tdm6l6o1_640.jpg


Accident blur:
tumblr_osq9sl7qQ51tdm6l6o1_640.jpg
 
I have the 35S with a dead meter, but I don't let that deter me. What the writer of the review doesn't realize about the top mounted meter is street photographers rely on it quite a bit.

But I rarely do "street", so I just wing it with Sunny-16.

PF
 
i like that- "beauty in the blur"

petronius said:
Dare to take unsharp pictures. You may find beauty in the blur. It may be lame to mention the old "Are Bure Boke", but the Provoke guys did many things right!
Click to expand...

after handling mine a friend referred to it as the mercedes benz of cameras (of course this was a number of years ago)
 
I think its an easy camera to focus. The distance closest to infinity is 20 feet, so I just judge if I'm closer to 20, or to infinity. I don't do much closer than 20 feet, but when I do, I just pace off the distance. Easy.
 
Another small-sized scale focus camera I like is the Yashica Electro 35 MC, the forgotten member of the Electro 35 family. It has 40mm f/2.8 Tessar type lens, scale focus with distance indicator icons inside viewfinder (head - one person - a group of people- mountain), and the aperture priority exposure mode make it even faster to shoot with.
 
I could never get the hang of it wide open or near wide open, but it sure was fun to use. Maybe Stephen Shore had the right idea in "American Surfaces"... use flash when the light is low! ;)
 
Wide open I find myself either memorizing (visually) how close the minimum focus distance is, or focusing 5-10m or infinity for low light landscape-y shots, to make sure I get stuff in decent focus. With 400 speed film during daylight hours outdoors I'm surprised at how well zone focus works.

There are occasions when the LEDs become confusing - the two red ones indicate over and under exposure, with the green appearing between to indicate good exposure. But sometimes the green never shows up and both red ones do :-\ Which I suppose is why a lot of people still like the older Rollei 35S / original needle.
 
For those who need help in estimating distances..
Grab a camera that does have a focusing mechanism. Pick an object and guess the distance, set that on the lens. Look through the VF, correct the focus, then see how close you were. Rinse and repeat with objects of varying distances.
In about 10 minutes you will become good at estimating distances!
 
I have one. One of the kids knocked it off the counter and some part fell off inside causing a massive light leak. Would maybe consider getting it fixed if I knew someone reputable. I definitely kept it in the rotation as it really did fit in my pocket.
 
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