Mamiya C’s are not quite like the one in the background. A C330 with a 105mm and a porro finder is definitely a beast, I couldn’t get rid of mine fast enough!
Mamya C's are dinkey little lightweights compared to the RB67 especially with prism. Only the LH grip makes it practical (term used loosley) to carry on the streets.
Mamiya C on tripod not too bad to manage round the streets.. RB67 on tripod PURE UNADULTERATED HELL. Like carrying a pregnant donkey.
Bah. The RB67 is a tiny point-and-shoot compared with the GX680: (Not my picture, as I only have a GX680 and a C33)
The chimney finder is pretty big, but yeah-- I've got the prism finder as well. Actually, if it were my picture, it would have the honkin' huge 80mm f/5.6 on the front. There's always this:
I have the Mamiya C33, which has the side-mounted release, and I thought I would hate it-- but reality is, you cradle the camera in your hands, and that side-mounted release works really well with your right thumb.
Thank you. I have googled several sites however did not find the information you have provided. I have tried many photo forum websites and have decided upon PHOTO.NET as the most lively and informative.
It's clearly a 1a, which were produced from 1936 to 1947. There were two different name plates, one is a flat plate, the other is embossed, as yours is. The flat plate is model 2 K3, not sure what model yours is but it seems to be fairly rare, it was made after '38 and probably a type 3 or model 3. Perhaps many 1a's built before the War may have disappeared because of the stigma of owning a German product at that time. Total number of 1a's built from '36 to '47 was only a little over 12,000. A Police version of yours was made with a faster lens, f3.5 instead of f4.5, 500 were made If you subtract the 500 Police cameras from the 12,000, you get 11,500. Then if you consider that your Rolleicord was just one model out of all the 1a models, that 11,500 would be reduced quite substantially. Let's pull a figure out of the air, it may have been as low as a 4,000 unit production run, how many of those would still be around? Link to Collectiblend .... Rollei: Rolleicord Ia Price Guide: estimate a camera value ... they call it just "Rolleicord 1a"
Thank you. I am so happy to have become a member as this forum is so much more active and current than those that I have ceased using.
My Hasselblad 500ELM with AA battery box modification and the huge honking 40mm f/4 Distagon C T*: if you think the RB67 is unwieldy, try this combo and you'll quickly change your mind. The focus ring is so stiff from the front-heavy lens weight it might as well be fixed focus at infinity. Great optics, esp for the late '60s era, but weight and ergonomics are "beastly" indeed. Mamiya Press Universal with 150mm f/5.6, 6x9 back, grip and hood: quite a handful, you're basically supporting a five pound sack of potatoes leveraged off your wrist via the grip. Worth it for the results: the 150mm made for the Press is one of the most underrated lenses out there. Beautiful rendering for both people portraits and landscapes, lovely bokeh despite the f/5.6 max aperture. Nobody wants the 150 because its slow and the required fine tuning of its rangefinder cam to exactly match your specific Press body is a PITA, so it can be found for as low as $50. Mamiya C220F, the final model with bright contrasty standard focus screen. Fitted with the incredible 180mm f/4.5 Super (another fantastic bargain optic), rigid magnifying finder and lens hood borrowed from my 65mm f/3.5 (more manageable than the huge dedicated 180 hood).
