First roll with the Rolleiflex MX/K4A

<p>I bought a Rolleiflex in excellent condition from a lady whose uncle had previously owned it. The viewfinder was a little dim (which I understand to be common in this model) and was a little dirty. Nevertheless, I slipped a roll into it, just to see what it could do straight out of the box. I must say, the camera handled very nicely, with smooth action. The only hiccup was setting the shutter to 1/500s, but I've since read that this should be done before cocking the shutter - I'll have to try this next time and make sure that it works okay. For a camera that has been lying around (albeit in a good clean environment), I was very pleased with its performance.<br>

Here are a few examples from the first roll (TMax 100):</p>

<p>1. Van<br>

<img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/666/20890912914_fe80374239_b.jpg"%20width="693"%20height="700"" alt="" /></p>

<p>2. Bicycles<br>

<img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5677/21502552122_fbbc3a7985_b.jpg"%20width="693"%20height="700"" alt="" /></p>

<p>3. On the phone<br>

<img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/662/21325843548_4519b40cd4_b.jpg"%20width="690"%20height="700"" alt="" /></p>

<p>4. Up close and wide open<br>

<img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5828/20890911704_82b9a8d749_b.jpg"%20width="700"%20height="601"" alt="" /></p>

<p>5. Curves<br>

<img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5825/21522344531_052f885f8e_b.jpg"%20width="690"%20height="700"" alt="" /></p>

<p>6. Slow shutter test (1/15 sec)<br>

<img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/749/20890911624_89611702da_b.jpg"%20width="693"%20height="700"" alt="" /></p>

<p>I would be pleased also! Nice shots with good rendering.</p>

<p>Thank you, John! :)</p>

<p>Looks good, I especially like 2 and 4, nice work!</p>

<p>Many thanks, Wouter.</p>

<p>This looks like a nice aquistion. Lucky You! Seems to shoot really well right out of the box! <br>

I tend to shoot houses a lot! </p>

 

<p>Great tones, and plenty of detail from the lens; is it the Tessar, the Opton or the Xenar? The soft light really suits urban photography.</p>

Nice work, Rajmohan. Well-rendered tones.

<p>Thank you, <strong>Chuck</strong>, <strong>Rick</strong> and <strong>Mike</strong>! I feel very lucky to be able to use this lovely machine.<br>

<strong>Rick</strong> - this is the Xenar; I've read that this is somewhat inferior to the Planar and Xenotar lenses, especially wider than f8, but many of the shots from the first roll are at f5.6, and some are at f4 or f3.5; I'm quite happy with its performance at the wider apertures (perhaps if I had a Planar/Xenotar-equipped Rollei, I might notice the difference, but ignorance is bliss!).<br>

I shot this entire roll on 2 blocks in about 20 minutes one afternoon, because I wanted to submit it to the lab before closing time.</p>

<p>A Xenar is a Tessar design made by Schneider, it's a very good lens (as you can see on your photos). I have a Rollei F with a Planar lens, and yes they are very sharp, sharper than Tessar at the corners, excellent for architecture, but for portraits the Tessasr are very beautiful. Keep shooting</p>

<p>Thanks, Yann - I'm very happy with my Rollei. I'm getting hooked on the bigger negatives from my MF cameras - 35mm negatives just don't seem to have the depth and tonal range. Now the only problem to choose which camera comes with me when I head out! :)</p>

<p>These scans look great, you are right about the negative size...it does matter, next you will be doing 5x4! A note of caution....using a Rollei can be addictive, one just never seems enough.</p>

<p>Thank you, Tony! I'm now lusting after a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex TLR - a most beautiful (and expensive) camera!!<br>

(By the way, I've had some (mis)adventures with the Contarex that I enumerated in your Contarex thread, if you have a chance to read my novella there!)</p>

<p>By the way, try to post a photo of your camera too when you post your photos. Thanks for sharing</p>

Too bad the world doesn't always look as beautiful as it does through your eyes.

<p>Yann - no worries; I will try to do this in future.<br>

Robert - thank you for your kind comment. :)</p>

<p>Rajmohan, you are aiming high with the Contaflex, collector interest has really forced up the price of this rare beast. I have yet to see one in the flesh, but you never know, one may turn up for $10.00 in a garage sale :) I also replied on the Contarex thread.</p>

<p>Hi Tony, the Contaflex TLR will likely remain a dream. But my dad always told me that if were to dream, then dream big! In the meantime, I'll console myself with a couple of (much cheaper) Contaflex SLRs.</p>