Rolleiflex EV coupling problem?

[mcgrattan]

Hi,

I just bought a Rolleiflex 3.5E [aka 3.5C]. Everything on it seems fine: shutter speeds, glass, etc. The meter seems to read half a stop or so under, but it's pretty close.

However, I don't seem to be able to get the aperture and shutter speed to couple. Whether the button is pushed in, or not, and whether it's turned at 90 degrees or not, the shutter speed and aperture always adjust independently.

Is there something I need to do to get them to recouple? Being able to adjust shutter speed and aperture together would be nice [I'm used to using EV from other cameras].

thanks

Matt

 

[Meleica]

It could easily be broken - not uncommon. On the other hand, check the manual to ensure you are engaging it correctly: see

http://butkus.org/chinon/rollei/rolleiflex_28c/rolleiflex_28c.htm

Dan

 

[Al Kaplan]

It might have been disabled by somebody who considered it royal pain.

 

[mcgrattan]

Yes, I've looked at the correct manual for the 3.5E. As far as I can tell, I'm not doing anything wrong.

The second question: when I set the aperture to 3.5 and fire the shutter on B, I can still see a little of the aperture blades. i.e. at 3.5 the aperture still looks a fraction stopped down from completely wide open [where the aperture blades would normally not be visible at all]. is this normal?

I have some cameras where wide-open, the aperture blades are invisible, and others where they are not, so not sure which is typical for the Rollei.

 

[mcgrattan]

Actually, that last question has been answered by the manual. Which shows a representation of f3.5 where the blades are clearly still slightly visible.

The decoupling is mysterious, though.

 

[Wayno]

The EV coupling is achieved by a little flat brass spring inside the mechanism which is easily bent or broken if forced. It's also an easy fix for a repair person if they have the part. It's no great loss to be without the EV coupling though, unless you're particularly fond of it.