Rollei 35 B, help please

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I just received a Rollei 35 b from ebay, it is in pristine condition, I have looked for manuals online and only really found 1 and its rather strange english, I think its an old German on translated to english....even though..it didnt asnwer all my questions...there is plenty of info about the Rollei 35 but not the Rollei 35 B</p>

<p>so..my question, everything functions correct, I extended the lens, turned it clockwise, it locked in nice, film advance works, fires perfect....now when I try to put the lens back it wont turn, is there a lock on it? do I need to push somthing and then turn? there is film in yet.<br>

next question is..the ring on the lens closer the the camera body with b..30-500 is obviously the shutter speed.....so what is the same mach of numbers 30-500 on the top...with the arrow pointing to it...<br>

last question..should I see the light meter inside the viewfinder? or only on the top..<br>

thanks for your time. J</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Had a Rollei 35, gave it. Anyway, to retract the lens, you must:<br>

1/ Advance the film to cock the shutter<br>

2/ Press a small button (don't remember exactly where, but it should be easy if you have the camera)<br>

3/ then you can twist and push the lens.<br>

Enjoy your Rollei 35</p>

<p>Yup, got the lens sorted, I think it was a little stiff....</p>

<p>On the B35 the little red button at the bottom front of camera is what you press to retract the lens back into the body, ONLY WITH THE SHUTTER COCKED! NEVER TRY TO RETRACT THE LENS OF ANY ROLLEI 35 WITHOUT COCKING THE SHUTTER FIRST! The shutter speed numbers are on the meter as well as the aperture numbers. If I remember right you place a mark on the shutter speed your using and the needle will show what aperture to use. Outdoors in bright light with ISO 400 film start at 1/250 for the shutter speed and see what aperture the meter shows. Most likely somewhere between f8 and f16 depending on where you point the camera. No, you can't see the meter reading in the viewfinder, only on the top. Please remember that this camera is not a rangefinder camera. It is a scale focusing viewfinder camera. You have to estimate the distance to subject and depth of field is your friend here. At larger apertures, f3.5 f4 f5.6 for instance and at close distances say 3 to 12 feet you have to be able to estimate distances with a fair degree of accuracy or you will get back slightly fuzzy to very fuzzy pictures. Sometimes you don't want to muck about to take pictures. In that case you can reduce the Rollei B35 to a snapshot camera. First load the camera with an ISO400 film, next set the shutter speed to 1/125 and the aperture to f11, now set the focus to 15 feet and leave it there. Now you have a quick snapshot camera that will work in from moderately dull to bright sunshine outdoors and will be in adequate focus from 6 ft. to infinity. Enjoy.</p>

<p>A few more points; The meter has a little window on top that shows ASA numbers. These are now called ISO numbers and are the same. You need to rotate the dial on this window to show what speed film you are using, if you don't the needle will not indicate the correct aperture for your selected shutter speed. Also, this meter is uncoupled from the camera. No matter where it is set it has no effect on the exposure you set. In fact, even if the meter is ignored or broken you could still take pictures with this camera. This camera does not depend on the meter to work. On the bottom of the camera is the lock around the tripod socket, rotate it about a 1/8 turn or so to remove the back for loading. There is next to it a little button, press it in to rewind at the end of the roll. Next to that is a hot shoe for a flash. If you decide to use a little electronic flash, hold the camera upside down to avoid frankenstein shadows on your subjects. At the other end of the bottom is of course the rewind crank with the fold out handle. Hope this helps and is not too much information too soon.</p>

<p>Haha, that was perfect, thanks John, and I did catch myself using the flash normal way taking a photo of my girlfriend, will remember next time to hold it upside down,<br>

I think the light meter is stuffed, it only moves if I hold it really close to a light buld, maybe thats normal but no way near sensitive to my other cameras. But will try tomorrow outside in the daylight.<br>

Thanks very much for the info. j</p>

<p>The Rollei 35B was the first camera given to me by my parents when I was a schoolboy. Anyhow, there is little to add to what John already told you. Just a few points: The meter is a so-called selenium cell meter which does not need any battery. On the other hand, its range is rather limited and maybe the selenium cell is exhausted, especially if the camera was not stored in the dark. So I hope the meter needle will move at all when pointing at a bright light. If the light meter still works, it should be sufficiently accurate for print film, I even shot some rolls of slide film (which has to be exposed very accurate) with good results. If you shoot landscape scenes or against the sky, tilt the camera somewhat down when metering, otherwise you rather meter the exposure for the bright part of the image and the lower part or foreground will be too dark. <br>

I do not know your expectations towards this camera as you seem to be a beginner. But do not expect too much from the simple Triotar lens. It is very soft in the corners of the image when wide open (f/3.5 or f/4), so you' d better use it with "midrange" apertures in the f/5.6 to f/11 range. Try to set the shutter speed (both on the lens and the meter) such that the needle will show up in this range.</p>