Best Rollei 35s -- help!

Hi,

 

I've been looking into the Rollei 35 for street photography.

 

Now, which one of the Rollei 35s would you guys recommend? I see just "Rollei

35" which look pretty good, "Rollei 35 black" which also look good, "Rollei

35SE" (looks great) and a "Rollei 35 TE (apparently directly from Germany) that

also looks good.

 

I did not like the "B35" or the newer "XF".

 

Please let me know.

 

Thanks.

 

G. Silva

If this camera is to be a "user" rather than a collector's item, there would be little to no advantage in paying the extra money for the German made ones vs. the Singapore made ones, as there is really no discernable difference in the quality, especially considering the price difference. If you could find an early Singapore made one with the Schneider-Kreuznach lens (my first "real" camera bought with my own money back around 1974!), well, that would be pretty nice, but from what I understand the difference is negligable. The SE and TE models have an LED meter in the viewfinder vs. a match needle meter on top of the camera, none of which are very accurate with today's batteries. The S models have a slightly faster lens, which is of course nice, but for street shooting you will probably want to use fast film with the aperature as small as possible for the depth of field. Black is nice, as it can be hidden more easily. I personally like chrome cameras, but that is just my personal taste. Try to get one from a reputable seller in good condition with a return guaranty, as I've found that almost every camera on eBay is described as "mint condition"...and if one might actally BE mint, it would be a fluke. An honest seller will list the flaws, no matter how slight. Repairs can be expensive on any camera, and you will pay less in the end by paying more at the start. Happy hunting!

I have a Rollei 35se, which is a great and very small camera. If you are not really good at estimating distances,or shooting fast fil in bright light (to cover the DOF) then I do not think the Rollei 35's are very good street cameras.I have used them and I am pretty good at guessing distances ,but I still do not think they are a good street camera. The differences between the models you mentioned are, the 35 S is a Sonnar Lens (very sharp), and the 35SE is the kind of meter the camera uses. The SE has lights and the S is matched Needle. The Black is just the color of the camera not a model ,and the T model stands for a Tessar lens, very good , but in my opinion not as good as the Sonnar.

I have a "Singapore" 35SE with Tessar lens. Took it and a digital camera on a Rhine/Mosell river cruise last year. After a while, I grew a bit tired of all the exposure-compensation that I needed to set with the digital, and started shooting more with the Rollei.

 

Don't know if the meter works, 'cause the battery can be hard to find. So I used the Sunny-16 rule. And the distance markings on the front of the lens (though tiny) were still quite usable for Hyperfocal Focusing.

 

Bottom line: It's one dang fast and sharp street shooter! And the quality, detail, and sharpness of every image was very, very good.

 

Someone else on photo.net has mentioned using the camera for capturing discrete shots by holding it in his palm with the lens pointing out between two fingers. I'm going to try this next time...the camera is small enough to pull it off.

 

Sincerely,

 

Dave

Dave, I think you have the TE ,with the Tessar and not the SE , its a small thing both cameras are great.

 

http://www.cameraquest.com/rol35se.htm

Thank you guys.

 

I was reading (at cameraquest) that the Olympus 35 RC may be better cameras (with more necessary features) than the Rolleis, and at perhaps 1/4th of the cost.

 

what do you know about that?

 

If they are better for street photography (rather than for a collectors' item), why get a Rollei?

First, about Rollei 35.

 

They started only with a Tessar lens. Later, they added a model with Sonnar lens. So, the early Rollei 35 became Rollei 35T and the other one 35S.

 

Later, the meter became electronic : 35TE , 35SE and a new one called 35 LED with a lesser triotar lens, the only one to avoid.

 

Tessar are very good, Sonnar even better. In fact very near the top of every compact cameras made. 35S is the favorite of some pros for street shots but you have to practice with it.

 

Any small and silent manual focus model with above average lens will do. Manual focus because you have to pre-zone focus to be very quick (can also be set on hyperfocal) . My favorite model would be Olympus XA but the lens does not seem to be good enough.

Hi Michael...Exactly right! (I should keep my cameras at the office for fact-checking.)

 

I've also heard some very nice reviews of the Olympus 35's. And I once owned a marvelous XE. But the meter quit working one day, and I discovered that the teeny, tiny, leetle wires inside had detached. So my love of the totally manual Rollei 35 started to build at that point.

 

Great weekend, everyone!

 

Dave

Forget the Rollei and get a Ricoh FF-1 or FF-1s. The Rollei is eminently unsuitable for street photography. You need automatic exposure and preferable an unobtrusive black camera.<div></div>

I just got a nice Rollei 35, black body, 3.5 Tessar lens, for a bit over $60, in good working condition (meter is not working, but that's not a problem). We'll see when I get it. A collectors one, the SE with the 2.8 Sonar went for a bit over $190. I'll start with this lower priced one and if I like it, then may be I'll go for an SE (if and when one becomes available).

Congratulations! Enjoy your new camera. Even if the meter was working, it would not be very accurate with today's batteries. I use a hand-held, or mostly I just guess. A nice low-tech meter option is an exposure guide such as the one in the Kodak Master Photoguide...I've been using it for 30 years without fail. I think you will be amazed what a beautiful little machine the Rollei 35 is. Remember that Henri Cartier-Bresson did the most amazing street photography without meters, auto exposure, or focusing aids, and with much slower film than what we have today.