Rolleiflex 2.8E clean glass .. less than $700

raid

raid

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I just saw this ebay add from a camera shop. It looks like a very good price. This is what I would look for .... challenged cosmetics but clean lenses. The meter even works.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolleiflex-...535?pt=US_Vintage_Cameras&hash=item4cfd7fa167


ad: "Rolleiflex 2.8E Planar 120 6x6 TLR Camera. Amazingly even though the exterior of the camera shows normal wear, the lens is perfectly clear. No haze, no scratches or wipe marks, no fungus, no separation, no dust inside. Focusing is smooth even though there are two dents one side of the focusing panel. All shutter speeds are working. The meter is active. From the point of view of utility, this camera is perfectly 10 out of 10. Cosmetically it is 7+ out of 10. Comes with a spotless Bay III lenscap and an alligator clip neckstrap. "
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This TLR may be a 2.8F with meter. Check it out .. for $1100.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ROL...827456643?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item4ab2ce7c83

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2.8C with Xenotar ...... buy now $795.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolleiflex-...698161227?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item2eba8ae84b


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2.8D with Xenotar ..... buy now

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolleiflex-...805900540?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item19cc8bdcfc



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Rollei-Wide for $2300 ... this is unheard of.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROLLEIFLEX-...575049771?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item5647fe842b

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3.5F for low price .... user condition

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolleiflex-...646662457?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item45fff00139
 
These are very good deals to look into and make sure if all looks OK first, and then check if you have the money, and then maybe buy one???

I wish that I could buy a few of these cameras myself.
 
i wouldnt buy any of them. especially with rolleis, i never buy from someone who doesn't know the camera well, and some of these like the D and C are overpriced already. the 3.5F is tempting but the seller obviously is clueless about the condition of the camera.

From top to bottom:
1. I would never invest in this camera, it looks neglected or poorly treated. if the seller had 100% feedback and wasn't in brooklyn i may consider it for a user but its still very ugly and speaks volumes about it's treatment.
2: Not an F. I'm guessing a 2.8 E. far too expensive especially considering the seller doesn't have a clue.
3: Too expensive, though the seller seems to know what he's talking about, doesn't mention the corroding internal pieces evidenced by the protrusions under the leather in a couple places (those are brass nuts/bolts that are literally caked in blue corrosion)
4. WAY too overpriced, even more corrosion under the leather. Needs a full service to be reliable.
5. actually not too bad. light corrosion but the price is worth sending it in for an overhaul. probably a safe buy since it's adorama and you shouldn't have problems with returns.
6. Ok for a user if you're not looking to resell it. looks to have been neglected and the meter is inoperable. seller doesn't know what he's talking about though.
 
I bought my 2.8E Xenotar from KEH for $699 in BGN condition and I thought it a great price. Mine came in better cosmetic condition than that one above, but it needed a CLA. Still seems like a good bargain to get them cheap like that and have them sent in for an overhaul.

I'm pretty sure the second one is a 2.8E, not an F.

I also got a 3.5F with a dead meter in the equivalent BGN condition for $399 at Adorama and sent it in for CLA as well. However I don't think they got the focusing quite right. Hopefully it's something they can just recalibrate and isn't a problem with the back or lens!
 
As I said above, you need to double check each case and make up your mind accordingly. I just spotted these ads for you to consider.
 
That first one looks plenty tempting. I have purchased from that seller. It was years ago but, they described quite accurately.
It seems to me that Rolleiflex cameras are trending just behind the Leica lenses in terms of prices going much higher.
If a person is a camera user rather than collector, deals like that one from Brooklyn Camera are soon to be a thing of the past.
The cosmetics are easily within normal range. It simply shows leather wear.
 
raid said:
So a 99% rating is suspiciously low ? This is maybe an overstatement.
Click to expand...

Agree.

Are you only visiting real-world shops that have an >99% average? How can you even tell?

Are there any real-world shops with an >99% average to begin with?

I think we have been lured into adapting a set of unrealistic criteria with those eBay ratings.

But still I'd prefer buying from a reputable seller that a) does have a clue and b) will take the camera back if it's out of whack too much or c) preferably had it serviced before sale.
 
Common sense still prevails.
I have bought many excellent cameras and lenses from ebay over the past years.
If you know what to look for, and the dealer is honest or semi-honest, you could get a good deal if you are lucky.
 
Raid,
I thought you had a full complement of Rolleis? How many do you have? I first bought my 2.8 Planar from a private seller (locally, so i could inspect it) and had it CLA'd and partially refurbished including a new meter by our local Rollei Expert.
The Tele and the Wide I bought later on the auction site from overseas and both work perfectly so haven't been looked at yet.
 
Hello Leigh,

I want a wide Rollei one day, but I don't need it since I use a Graflex XLSW with a lens that is like a 21mm lens in a 35mm camera (or so).


I have a Tele (Sonnar) and a 2.8D Planar as my "clean Rolleis". Both work 100% as they should from the start. My2.8D was bought locally from a trudted camera repairman for $275 about twenty years ago. Both got from Bill Maxwell his screens. My tele came to me from someone in Australia. I sold it to someone in Germany. The camera arrived to Germany with a broken outer meter cover, so I got it back. I then got from the Netherlands a replacement (new) battery cover, and the camera was back like it was.

Then I have a 3.5 that needed a new film transport mechanism, which Eddy Smolov got for me. Then he repaired the (wonderful) 3.5F Planar. I got this camera from ebay for $350 from Egypt. It arrived to me with a stuck film advance crank. I managed to get about $150 back from the seller, and then Eddy repaired it about ten years later for me.

I also have a very clean Automat (last model) and I got its screen replaced by a "made in Hongkong" screen, which works very well with it. It has a Tessar taking lens. Prices gave gone up since those times when I got my Rolleis.

I sold my "like new" 2.8F and 2.8E cameras many years ago. They were too nice looking.
 
Alot of time, the most important stuff like the aperture blades are mislooked in the description. I have received a minolta autocord that look pristine, mint, optics clean...
but when it arrived at my door, the aperture blades are in bad shape...it cannot open in full, or close nicely.
And its super difficult to find spare for an overhaul.....the camera is as good as gone!
 
I bought my Rollei T on ebay from the original owner, I bought my Rollei E3, 3.5 Xenotar from B&H. Both are very fine cameras, you just have to be cautious when buying on the net (although I trust B&H with anything I was looking for). The original screens are easy enough for me to use in that both cameras yield razor sharp images. Sometimes I don't understand why people rush out and get the screens when they first buy the camera without really trying the camera with factory screen in it. I realize some are worse for wear, but many people used these original screens taking thousands of successful pictures before the advent of the aftermarket screens.

The first camera Raid describes looks like it has a fixed waist level finder, I like the convenience of the removeable finder models.
 
Pikapig said:
Alot of time, the most important stuff like the aperture blades are mislooked in the description. I have received a minolta autocord that look pristine, mint, optics clean...
but when it arrived at my door, the aperture blades are in bad shape...it cannot open in full, or close nicely.
And its super difficult to find spare for an overhaul.....the camera is as good as gone!
Click to expand...

Have you contacted Karl Bryan? karl.kathy@frontier.com

What model shutter, by the way? I have a broken Citizen shutter from an Autocord. But the shutter and aperture blades are in fine shape. If Karl can't help with parts, maybe I ship the shutter to him and you ship your camera to him, and he makes one working shutter for your camera.

On Ebay ratings, I find it important to actually look at feedback and read what has led someone to have a lowered rating. this can tell you much more than just a percentage. I've seen people issue a negative because the shipping was a day late, the battery was dead on a $1500 item, all sorts of petty reasons. And sometimes more telling, I've seen dealers who respond to negatives with rude 'f**k this guy* comments.
 
ZivcoPhoto said:
Sometimes I don't understand why people rush out and get the screens when they first buy the camera without really trying the camera with factory screen in it. I realize some are worse for wear, but many people used these original screens taking thousands of successful pictures before the advent of the aftermarket screens.
Click to expand...

(a) I don't think people do as you suggest at all. The screens are not cheap and hardly an impulse purchase. Certainly I didn't "rush out" and it was only when my eyesight indicated it needed some help with focus that I made enquiries about alternative screens.

(b) People used those original screens simply because there was nothing else available. QED.
 
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