new rollei rf price

I have just read in a photo magazine, here in Spain, that the new

rollei 35 rf plus the 40mm c. zeiss lens will coast about 2.500 �,

which is about $2.500. Is this not a very high price for a camera

that has been said to be nothing more than an updated Bessa r2? Is

this lens supposed to be so good that it will be worth to spend all

that money? Anybody in U.S.A. knows the price of this kit? Just for

comparison.

At B&H (www.bhphotovideo.com) it sells for $1899 US dollars (body and lens). Don't know anything about the camera though.

Hi Frank -

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I've not even looked at the Rollei until this post. It sure <i>does</i> look like a Bessa R2. Maybe with a bit nicer upholstery and a cooler name, but I can't see any real external differences. Same selector switch on top for brightline selection, same short base rangefinder, etc.

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Now - let's give Rollei the benefit of the doubt and assume that their 40mm lens is as good as something like, say ... Leica glass (Not a big stretch of the imagination - if Rollei really made it, or had Zeiss make it.) The Leica 50mm/2.8 Elmar costs $695 (B&H) new. So let's give Rollei $700 for the 40mm/2.8 Sonnar.

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That puts the Rollei rangefinder body at $1195. (again B&H)

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Hmmm. I must to be missing something here. That camera seems to be an expensive German knockoff of an inexpensive Japanese camera.

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Yes - that seems a <i>very</i> high price to me. You could (rather easily) get a used but nice condition M6, and a 50mm/2 Summicron for less.

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Randy

I am a HUGE Rollei fan but what they are asking for this rebadged R2 is offensive. I am so very disappointed with rollei. I would have been happy to pay $1900 for a quality rf with a decent rangefinder base and quality zeiss glass. Their offering is a joke. It won't last more than a couple years.

I'm seriously surprised about this price point as well.

 

40mm lens could be nice, 2.8 is a tad slow and definitely easier/cheaper to make than a 2.0.

 

I haven't handled/tried this machinery, but the price seems outrageous.

This new Rollei deal makes Leica look like a bargain.

I definately want to add the Rollei made Sonnar to my 40mm lens collection but at $900 US I think I will wait. I dont believe it will sell at all until it reaches the $500 mark and then surely this would mean taking a loss. Its a shame too, if the camera is successful we may have seen some 28 and 21 biogons in Leica screw mount but I cant see it at these prices.

Here in Japan the Rollei 35RF with 40/2.8 is being discounted at 168,000 yen. It's still a bit much. The body list for around 98,000 yen and the lens for about the same. The body is about 10,000 yen highter than the new RS S and C cameras. It is about 20,000 yen higher than the ordinary R2. In am sure that you get superior build quality somewhere for your extra 20,000 yen--maybe the paint job is better. But still the Rollei 35RF is a second-rate Leitz CL, in spite of it superior viewfinder and meter.

 

There was much fanfare before the Rollei it made its appearance here in Japan. Yet, I do not see it being a bestseller--the shelves are full of these cameras, their lenses and their trigger winders. Contrast this to the Blue and Olive R2s and the Olive and Grey Bessa Ls--both screw mounts. Impossible to find them anywhere. Snapped up by collectors like crazy! I managed to get a Grey Bessa L and consider myself not only lucky but privilaged.

 

If you want the Rollei 35RF--maybe we should call it a Collei or a Vollei--wait six to eight months. I am sure they'll be down to Bessa R2 prices.

 

If you want to see a review of the Rollei 40/2.8 see Chausser d'Images, January, 2003. It's a good lens but not outstanding according to them. For performace and pleasure of use it got three stars.

 

There are only two reasons one should get the 40/2.8. You cannot find a Rokkor 40/2 (preferably for CLE) or you want a compact semi-normal lens for your Leica screw camera.

 

The annoying thing about the Rollei 35RF is not that it is a R2 with silver paint or ever its price (which will go down) but that its widest frame is for 40mm. You cannot even go to 85 and hope to use the outer edges easily because the 40mm frame appears there too. Thanks, but I think I'll have my CL's meter serviced and put it back to work. The CL's shutter whispers and the Rollei's clacks.

 

If the Rollei 35RF ever drops to Bessa R2 prices and I have that sort of money to burn maybe I'll get one to match my silver Volvo V70.

Just goes to show that there is a demand for a lower priced Leica. Would love to see Leica come out with a M class body with the Elmar-M at $2000. Maybe in a couple of weeks we will see if they do.

 

Chip

When Rollei first came out with those two AF cameras (with the seperate side mounted flash)a couple of years ago, they were also priced twice what the market would bear. Sales were dismall. It took about 6 months before the things were discounted heavily. Now the things sell on ebay for a few hundred dollars. If you want one, wait 6 months and they will be selling for under $1000 with lens.

"When Rollei first came out with those two AF cameras (with the seperate side mounted flash)a couple of years ago, they were also priced twice what the market would bear."

I barely remember them. Were they decent cameras? Anything worth seeking now that they are discontinued? Good lenses?

"Is this not a very high price for a camera that has been said to be nothing more than an updated Bessa r2?"

 

Yes. And at the "discounted" price of "only" $ 1800 it is still a very high price. I would characterize it as a Japanses knock-off using a German name of another Japanese knock-off using a German name.

Two months ago, I paid $1400 AR for my brand new M6TTL, and $800 for the Summicron 50mm f/2. They now seem ridiculously cheap compared to the Rollei 35 RF.

Perhaps the folks at Rollei should contact Yashica about OEM-ing them some Mat-124G cameras to them. Then, they could re-badge them as Rolleiflexes, and charge $2500.

 

Things like this make me wonder if the Rollei company has any reason to exist any more, or if perhaps they should just close the doors and license their Marque to the the new Konica/Minolta entity. Surely a Hexar RF that was re-badged as a Rollei (and with an EXPLICITLY M-compatible lensmount) would be more worthy of this type of price point.

When I use to sell automobiles someone once said "there is an ass for every seat". I think that sums the Rollei up.

If the 40mm Sonnar f2.8 HFT turns out to be a stunning lens then there is no reason why you cant mount it on an 'ordinary' R2 (or on any of your existing M mount cameras) is there?

 

Anyone who has used a Contax T or T2 (like myself) will probably find no suprises as these cameras used a Zeiss T* 38mm Sonnar f2.8 lens.

 

And the original Rollei 35S/SE had an HFT 40mm Sonnar f2.8. Of course the cost of all three of these cameras (in mint used condition) would not total the cost of the new 35 RF 40mm Sonnar HFT lens even on its own without the Rollei 35 RF body!

 

But despite the inflated cost of the 'new' Rollei body ands its three Zeiss licensed lenses, I welcome any company that expands the options for those interested in new , high quality RF equipment.

David, medium format equipment is the obvious raison d'etre of Rollei (or as long as when Hassey still maintain their stratospheric pricing) since all 35mm cameras bearing their name are currently made by someone else.

It does seem to be a bit highly priced. The lens is still slower than the summicron. Ah well..

Somebody please make a 40/2 in LTM.

It's called 'badge technology'. Or 'sucker technology'

Well, one year later, hold and behold, the price is still the same!

Here in April, 2004, Adorama has the kit listed as an "overstocked item at $1699. It looks like the price is beginning to move.

 

For all of the abuse that this camera has taken as an over-priced "re-badged R2", I wonder if any of the critics have actually held one & examined it. I have not, but I have seen a Bessa R2. A camera tech that I know (with a degree in engineering), who specializes in Leica repair & service, describes the R2 as a "piece of crap." I replied that he must be referring to the R because the R2 is an upgrade from the R. He responded "Piece of crap, they're the same camera. His comment is based on all of the plastic insides of the camera, the wear that they show, & the fact that it is impossible to repair some of these parts once they go.

 

Now if the Rollei has taken the R2 & replaced the internals with more durable parts which can be repaired when broke or worn, then it may be worth the $1250 price that I am currently seeing for the body. It is not the shape of the body & the placement of its features that matters so much (except for the basleine) but the quality of the component parts which are used in its manufacture.

 

Can anyone comment on this?

An addendum to my previous comment. . . I am discouraged to see that the weights of the Rollei & the Bessa R2 are identical - 425 gm. This leads me to believe that they are the same.

 

The Rollei brochure clearly displays the body components that are used - body of die cast aluminum & metal shell of magnesium alloy. I can't find anything definitive on the R2. Hmmm

I've continued to research this topic, speaking directly with Rollei-USA. It is the same body. Only difference is the framelines, the exterior rubber coating, the shutter speed dial, & the lens mount button.

 

Although Rollei is asking $1250 for the body - a price that is clearly out of line - & $1899 for the kit. The kit is actually not a bad price. The superb 40mm/f2.8 Sonnar lens is going for $1000 at B&H, leaving $899 for the body. The Bessa R2 knock-offs for Nikon & Contax mounts are going for $699. What do you get for the extra $200? Factory warranty & access to service/repairs any of the Rollei supsidiaries around the world. Here in USA, that is New Jersey. Maybe not worth $200, but it is value. Cosina does not warranty its products - at least not here in USA. Warranties are from individual retailers & they are all over the map. But, wait. Adorama has dropped the price for the kit to $1699. B&H should follw. So that makes the body comparable to other Bessa knock-offs. So, now we have a CV Bessa body for modern Rollei/Zeiss glass as well as one for Leica glass. Not bad.

The 40mm f/2.8 Sonnar lens barrel looks suspicously like the Voigtlander 50mm f/2.5 Skopar. Is the entire lens a rebadged Cosina or is it Zeiss glass using the barrel from Cosina?