Rolleicord camera

This evening I purchased a Rolleicord camera at an auction. I don't have any

clue what model it is... where can I find this information, and how do I set

it up to work?

I get the general idea, but I know nothing of shutter speed and the settings

on the camera, so any help would be appriciated.

Aimee, congratulations, you've scored a great camera, provided it's clean and in good working order. There will be a learning curve, if you're not used to working with fully manual cameras.

 

There are a lot of good Rollei TLR sites on the web and you will have no trouble finding them with Google. To start, you can read about your camera at:

http://www.rolleiclub.com/cameras/tlr/info/rolleicord.shtml

and there may be a manual for it at:

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/rolleiflex.htm

 

Good luck and tell us how you get on with it.

A starting point: http://www.mediajoy.com/en/cla_came/r_history/index.html (cut & paste into your browser). This site has photos and may help you identify the model. If you are new to medium format it may be a bit difficult to operate and you will want a manual. Good cameras - a bit more lightly built than the Rolleiflex, and many came with three-element lenses that need to be stopped down a bit for good results. As with any older camera, particularly with leaf shutters, the shutter is probably the weak point and may need a "CLA" (clean, lubricate and adjust) to function properly. Shutterbug magazie usually has one or two ads under "Service" for Rollei techs. Ken Ruth, "Photography on Bald Mountain" can fix anything that does not take a battery (including Rolleis) although his turn-around time is a bit slow.

Remember that the picture you see on the screen is the mirror image of the actual scene and you will have to learn to cope with it. Ordinarily it will make little difference and you will soon get used to it. Most critically you will need to practice keeping it level in most situations. Other than that you will likely find yourself totally immersed in its lore.

A Rolleicord is a very nice starting point for a TLR. If it turns out you like it, you can move up to a Rolleiflex and use the 'cord with it looks like rain. On the model, how about a picture or two? Also, most of the Rolleicord models are very easy to work on and should not cost more than 60 dollars to CLA. Most of the cameras I work on need only the shutter serviced and perhaps the focus adjusted, which runs 30-45 dollars. As the Rollei products get more complex, the price goes up, so a Rolleicord is not only economical to purchase, it is cheap to maintain as well.

 

Mark

Here is a <a href="http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/cord.htm">Rolleicord Price & Info Guide</a>. Good luck, AH

I like my Rolleicord Va very much. The following link may help establish what model you have:

 

<a href="http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/cord.htm">Rolleicord models</a>

Sorry... didn't click on the identical link on Alvin's post!

If you ID your 'Cord, I have some manuals in PDF for various models if you want to contact me off list.

Thank everyone SO MUCH for all the responses. I have figured out that I have a Rolleicord V camera, and I'm on my way to purchase film for it. It's VERY clean, it was in a leather case and there is no dust or anything on it at all. I got a whole box of older cameras last night for $14!!! There is also a Minolta something or other in there, a bunch of flash bulbs, and a rolleiflex flash gun that apparently goes to my new baby :) Now I just have to figure out where to get film for it, and start practicing. The manual sites were helpful, but I couldn't so much find one for the V, so I just took the lesser model and used that manual, figuring they'd be pretty much the same.

A clean working Rolleicord V for $14 is a very good deal. If the Minolta is of a similar age it may be a good'un as well.

The minolta is a Hi-matic F, and seems very clean as well. Now back to the Rollei... where can I get a battery for the flash gun? It is a really fat little red cannister with 150 mfd and 25 W.V printed on it. I've never seen a battery like this before (I'm used to working with digital formats, so all these cameras are new to me).

150 mfd is a measurement for capacitance, so it's more than likely you're looking at a capacitor.

 

I'm not at all familiar with the Rollei flash guns, however I seem to recall reading somewhere that they require an external battery pack of some sort or another.

Here's a manual for the Rolleicord Va. The Va is similar, but with the focus knob on the other side, and you can change to a 16 or 24 exposure counter. But besides that, it's the same camera.

 

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/rollei/rolleicord_va/rolleicord_va.htm

 

Don't bother with the old flash gun. You can use a modern electronic flash. Just set the synch lever to "X" on the camera.

Hello,

 

120 roll film is available at any of your finer cameras shops. However, I would start with color slide film, because most film processors are using a digital hybrid system that scans medium format pictures at a lower resolution than small format; so your prints look worse than if you took them 35mm! As for simple directions for using the camera, here are some:

1) Remove paper from around film.

2) Put empty spool into film advance area (upper), making sure it engages the sprocket.

3) Put film between lower spool spindles, with paper backing coming off the bottom of the spool, or the words facing out.

4) Put paper baking into slot on empty spool in upper area.

5) Crank until the arrows on the film align with the little red dots.

6) Close back and advance film until the one appears in the counter window.

7) Tension the shutter by moving the lever under the taking lens clockwise (looking form the front) until it stops.

8) Swing the same lever back until the shutter fires.

9) Advance film, and repeat 7-8.

 

When using electronic flash put the lever on the left front to the X position. For old fashioned flash bulbs use the M, and for delay, cock the shutter and push the lever down to the V. For double exposures put the move the lever off the red dot, or so the red dot is exposed.

 

All things considered these are very rugged, well made, capable cameras and should make excellent images.

 

Mark