Rollei 35 se

Hi

I thinking to buy a Rollei 35 se .Who sell that ?They still make it?

I looking for a small camera .By the way I love my m6 .

Any avise will be appreciate.

Thank's

Pierre

Though they are made in Singapore rather than Germany, many Rollei 35 collectors and users feel that the SE model is the best. Check eBay.com for the Se models currently available.

The Rollei 35 SE has long been discontinued. They are available used

on ebay pretty regularly and at fairly consistent prices. The 40/2.8 sonnar HFT optic is excellent both compared to the small cameras of its time and to many made since. The rest of the camera is an industrial design oddity, to be sure: zone focusing, hotshoe on the bottom, lever cocking to collapse the lens. Having owned (and sold) a couple of them, I can say that they are fun, but not truly pocketable or as user friendly as say a Ricoh GR1.

Pierre,

Check out www.cameraquest.com/rol35se.htm

I own one of these and am very impressed with the quality of the lens, the fully manual control and it's all round sturdy German quality. Note that it isn't a true rangefinder in that you have to estimate and set the focus distance or use hyperfocal technique. I didn't coin the phrase but it is sort of like a little Leica.

Chris Henry is right about it not being truly pocketable (unless your pockets are bigger than mine) It's pretty small though and seems to appeal strongly to some and not others. I suggest you try to handle one before parting with the fairly high price you will need to pay for a good one (eg aprox US$280 - $350+) Cheers,

Pierre

 

The Rollei 35SE has a very good lens but a poor light cell. Beside, it becomes hard to find a battery in France (though you can order through the Net)

 

If you are living in France, try the Beaumarchais area, there are quite good deals. Another source is Ebay.

 

There are in la Maison du Leica a few CLs which can be a pretty good deal, the spot meter is accurate. Of course they cost a little more.

 

Salutations.

Xavier d'Alfort.

Pierre, Sorry I did not see you were in Quebec area. There are a couple of shops in Montreal but then the best source should be Ebay, definitively!

I highly recommend the Rollei. I've owned a couple over the years, and bought my current one a year or so ago. True, it isn't really pocketable (other than jacket pockets(, but if fits in a corner of my briefcase and is with me all the time. As well at certain family fucntions where I just don't want to play photographer it is again, always there, just in case something needs photographing. The thing that won me over is that fact that I have a number of photos taken with Rollei 35's that are every bit as sharp (IMO) as that taken with my current 35 Summicron Asph. One bonus feature is that you become really adept at judging distances accurately.

I would advise you to get the 35 S instead of the SE. They have the same lens but the S indicates the meter reading in a window on the top plate while the SE shows yo uthis in the viewfinder which you might might find less convenient. Think about it, as you dial in the distance you also set the exposure. It works.

Actually the most irritating thing about my 35S is that I can't make a meter reading at eyelevel so I don't know exactly what I'm metering. That said, the 35S meter is more repairable than the SE, for which specific electronic parts are unavailable. When they resurrected the 35 for the Classic a few years back, they used the S, not the SE. However either model will work even without a meter, as they are all mechanical. I always carry a separate meter (in case the in-camera craps out) and an old Leica shoe-mount rangefinder (as guess-focusing under 5m and wider than f/5.6 is hit-or-miss) with my 35S, making it effectively a lot bigger than it is. The other quirk is the flash shoe on the bottom (this was recitifed on the Classic, but they cost over $1000)which forces you to turn the camera upside down to shoot with flash.

Pierre, <P>If you will go for a Rollei 35SE make sure it's the later model with a tiny lever below the aperture dial which allows you to block said dial. This is convenient as otherwise you are likely to turn the dial inadvertedly. If you haven't made up your mind yet, you might as well consider the Minox 35ML: Even smaller, snugger(?) design, AE (!), hot shoe on top. Great lens (35mm f:2.8 Minotar), too. Cheers.

If you are considering something else. Look at a Contax T on eBay or the new T3; although, the T3 would probably be 2X more money. I haven't taken that many pictures with my T3, but so far everyone who has seen them is impressed with the quality. It almost feels like a small M6.

If you are willing to consider alternatives like the T3, a high-end current model, then you should also consider the Rollei AFM35, sort of a successor camera to the Rollei 35. Selectable focus and autofocus, aperture priority and automatic (program) exposure, all of the usual bells and whistles on high-end autofocus compacts, 38mm

f2.6 Rollei HFT lens, metal body and much more compact than a Rollei 35 SE.

FWIW, the Rollei AF35M is a re-badged Fujifilm KLASSE, its lens actually a Tessar-type EBC Fujinon.

...and with all the electronics plus built-in motor, the Fuji/Rollei twin is bigger (though much lighter) than a classic Rollei 35.

Compact 35s have always been a favorite of mine and the Rollei 35 remains

just about my favorite. I prefer the Rollei 35S ... I like doing all the settings at

waist level and then just picking the camera to my eye for framing and making

the exposure, plus the batteries tend to last longer. But it doesn't make much

difference. These are elemental, mechanical 35mm cameras, just small, and

have a superb lens.

 

Godfrey

I appreciate all the answer.I going to see minox contax other rollei

before make up my mind.

Best regards

Pierre