Rollei 35 image blur

Hi

My daughters are on a World trip and as well as digital I've tried to encourage them to shot analog by buying them each a Rollei 35. We had the first 3 films developed from the 35 TE that one of them is using and while most shots are really good a significant number are blurred.

We are trying to understand why. This seems to be in situations where there was enough light. She was relying on the inbuilt light meter which worked well with a test roll. So I would think that she was using a fast shutter speed. However my conclusion is the light meter was wrongly indicating the shutter speed. What do you think?

Edited January 8, 2020 by jimnorwood

My first guess is camera shake due to 'long' exposure times.

I would check if the shutter actually does open and closes smoothly. Might be that it's slightly sticky.

Was the lens properly extended and locked? (Though the rollei 35 shutter shouldn't work if it isn't, if I recall correctly)

That would cause out-of-focus images, not blurred, though.

Was the lens properly extended and locked? (Though the rollei 35 shutter shouldn't work if it isn't, if I recall correctly)

That would cause out-of-focus images, not blurred, though.

Thanks for your suggestions.

I think you're right that it's only possible to take a photo with the lens extended and locked. The test film I shot was fine. 70% of the shots were fine and really sharp in this film but it is troubling that a significant number were blurred. Unfortunately my daughter can't remember which setting she used. The camera has a film inserted so difficult to test a sticky shutter.

Forgot to mention that she did have 200 film loaded and at one time had the iso wrongly set to 100 but this could lead to exposure problems but not blur?

Rick +1.

 

wrong speed, bad shutter, whatever cause... much of the evidence suggests too slow a speed for hand holding.

 

The Rollei 35 is also a camera where it can be easy for the settings to get knocked off where they are set, both speeds and focus.

If this were a shutter issue, as suggested, the images would also be over exposed (especially the first image shot in bright sunlight).

 

This could still be camera shake, but I suspect this is a lens problem. Are both cameras producing the same issue?

Color negative film can tolerate a lot of over exposure and still print well so the ASA setting error and a slow shutter could account for the results.

If this were a shutter issue, as suggested, the images would also be over exposed (especially the first image shot in bright sunlight).

 

This could still be camera shake, but I suspect this is a lens problem. Are both cameras producing the same issue?

Hi

Thanks. This problem is with only one camera. Good point about over exposure. Hadn't thought of that. Still odd that similar shots on the same roll are perfect. What kind of lens problem could cause this occasional problem?

 

It could of course be that the light meter is occasionally off and my daughter just set it too slow a shutter speed.I've suggested she double check with a hand held light meter.

 

I guess this couldn't be related to the lens filter fitted?

Edited January 8, 2020 by jimnorwood

...This problem is with only one camera. ... Still odd that similar shots on the same roll are perfect. What kind of lens problem could cause this occasional problem?...

This was a common problem in my youth when SLR cameras were growing ever popular. The rangefinder screen [in a rangefinder camera] is always sharp and clear while the prism screen in an SLR is blurry when out of focus.

 

I suspect the person using the camera with the "issue" is unaccustomed to RF style shooting and is forgetting to focus.

This was a common problem in my youth when SLR cameras were growing ever popular. The rangefinder screen [in a rangefinder camera] is always sharp and clear while the prism screen in an SLR is blurry when out of focus.

 

I suspect the person using the camera with the "issue" is unaccustomed to RF style shooting and is forgetting to focus.

Thanks. I thought that too but the images are blurred which doesn't simply indicate and out of focus shot but also a slow shutter speed.

On the 35 TE I understand the shutter speed needs to be set only to values on the dial and not a setting between. What about for the aperture dial? Can that be set to an intermediate setting? Might an intermediate shutter speed setting cause problems? Edited January 10, 2020 by jimnorwood

Thanks. I thought that too but the images are blurred which doesn't simply indicate and out of focus shot but also a slow shutter speed.

The first image simply looks like it's out of focus to me. The second image is as you said, but if a lens has haze, foliage can appear jagged (as seen with the second image) when out of focus. As I indicated, there could be camera sake here too, but the user would have to be carelessly jittery in order for it to get this bad at speeds above, say, a 60th of a second.

 

IIRC, the Rollei 35 cameras are hyper focused via a distance scale with no RF assistance. This bolsters my opinion that we are simply looking at focus problem from an inexperienced user.

Edited January 10, 2020 by Bill Blackwell Images

I have and use a Rollei 35 as an occaissonal backp and learned very early about its quirks. I'm noting in the posting pictures that the exposures appear a bit over, but not to excess. However if a slow shutter speed, maybe 1/125 or even 1/60 was used, the lens would be stopped down as there was more than enough light. It appears that two problems are in play; camera shake and lack of correct focus. My bet is the camera lens was in the close up distance setting and perhaps not locked in.

 

Due to the compact size of the Rollei, I found it a challenge to control camera movement on shutter release. I had much better results once I started using a TA softie shutter release button together with as fast a shutter speed I could set using f4-f11. Dry shooting practice, use of the meter, then careful distance estimating, high shutter speeds and softie/careful shutter use led to consistent good results on film. I never thought of it as a point and shoot 35mm equivalent of an Instamatic. I recommend using ASA 400 film for better overall results. Used within its limits, it is a very good camera.

Thanks for all the tips which really helped. One last question. On the 35 TE I understand the shutter speed needs to be set only to the values on the dial and not a setting between. What about for the aperture dial? Can that be set to an intermediate setting? Might an intermediate shutter speed setting cause problems?

I first set the Rollei's shutter speed and then roll in while checking the meter for whatever lens opening is needed for the scene. Hopefully, I can come up with with a lens opening between f5.6 and f11. As the f3.5 Tessar lens does not have aperture click stops, 35S lens openings can be set in between marked stops. I can't opine regarding the 35 TE. I try not to go slower than 1/60th @ f4. Most consumer color print emulsions have enough exposure latitude that half stops are not necessary.

 

Another hint for shutter control; the Rollei is small enough that you can brace your right thumb underneath and squeeze the shutter between your thumb and forefinger. That way you are pushing up at the same time you are pushing down on the shutter. It does take some practice, but the technique does seem to work. Good luck with your Rollei.

Definitely looks like a combination of focus error and too-slow shutter speed in both shots. If other pics from the same roll look good, then most likely this is simply occasional operator error: as christopher_a._junker and billblackwell aptly described, the Rollei 35 isn't/wasn't intended to be a "point and shoot" camera.

 

It was always marketed as the "thinking photographers miniature camera", with advertising emphasis on the fully manual wide-range exposure controls and flexibility of shutter/aperture combination at "photographer's experienced discretion" (most small 35mm cams of the same era were full auto only and/or had a more limited range of shutter speeds). The lack of rangefinder proved problematic even for experienced photographers: the distance scale on the lens isn't especially accurate, which makes guess focus setting difficult. Usually its best to follow the instruction manual suggestion of using the middle-distance hyperfocal triangle setting on the distance scale along with f/8 or smaller aperture (if daylight outdoor conditions permit). Even this can be tricky, because its so easy to knock the lens off its distance setting.

 

You can't use in-between shutter speed setting on the 35TE: the shutter either won't expose or you'll get the nearest marked speed. The apertures can be set continuously / steplessly to make a good meter reading, but the lock button will usually force it to the nearest half stop when you let go of it (not a big factor).

 

The suggestion above to squeeze the camera from above and below when firing is excellent advice: otherwise holding it steady can be more difficult. But perhaps the key to good shots with any Rollei 35 is understanding that its design ethos assumes you really know how to shoot a manual film camera and that you will make both careful settings AND be constantly aware that those settings remain exactly where you want them. The Rollei 35 is for "conscientious" photographers: it isn't very suitable for spring break or spontaneous vacation shooting.

 

Sure, you can leave it on some basic snapshot settings and use it in a point and shoot manner (just like people did with more fiddly folding cameras in 1922). But doing so successfully requires that the photographer have enough experience with film cameras that they've developed the unconscious habit of always staying one step ahead of the camera. I got tack-sharp results from my Rollei 35S over the years, esp in bright daylight where it excels, but the small size is belied by the need to pay it as much (if not more) attention than my Nikon F2 manual slr. It simply isn't appropriate for "grab and shoot now, think later" situations.

 

If your family's typical use case leans more to spontaneous point and shoot ala cellphone cams, a Rollei 35 will tend to disappoint because its too much work and annoying to keep track of its settings at all times. For all practical purposes, using a Rollei 35 spontaneously is the same as using a Leica A with collapsible Elmar (equally tedious, just smaller). You might be happier with a vintage Japanese (Konica, Canon, Minolta) compact shutter-priority AE rangefinder, or perhaps one of the better modern auto-everything AF models like Olympus Stylus or Contax T-whatever.

Edited January 13, 2020 by orsetto

There is a Leica that in several ways is similar to the Rollei, namely the Leica CL and its Minolta cousin. Slightly larger, the CL has a rangefinder and through the lens metering system with a superb Summicron f2 lens and greater range of shutter speeds. However it too, is not a "point and shoot" camera but when properly used, delivers outstanding images. If I didn't own a rebuilt CL, I would be looking at cameras suggested for travel use by Orsetto.

Leica CL was a really compelling camera back in the '70s: so compelling, Leica had to kill it after just three years because it decimated sales of their lifeblood M system. Popular as it was, financially it functioned as a loss leader because Leica didn't make it themselves (so no employment or direct cash flow at their own factories).

 

The CL brochure was a masterstroke of marketing: made the CL + its two tiny lenses (40mm & 90mm) look as if they could solve almost any photo situation, and that those situations would be tons of exciting fun. When I was a teenager, I wanted one so bad I could taste it, but you could buy four Rollei 35S or two Olympus OM-1 for what a CL + 40mm cost (I ended up with the OM-1 and later a 35S).

 

Twenty years ago I finally bit the bullet and picked up a used CL outfit. Sadly, took the absolute worst pictures I ever made: tried everything, but just could not get on with it. Dealer said it happens sometimes with eyeglass wearers: rangefinder patch parallax issue or some such. Always meant to try the newer completely re-designed Minolta CLE, to see if I could focus that better, but the moment passed with the rise of digital. I only use film in larger cameras today (Nikon F2, Mamiya TLR, Hasselblad, Mamiya Press). My Rollei 35S is long gone, replaced by phone cam (yuck, but always on me).

 

Edited January 14, 2020 by orsetto

I haven't fully followed this thread, but much as I like quality manual rangefinder and viewfinder cameras, I can't help thinking that a small auto exposure SLR like a Pentax ME / Super or Nikon FE would be more appropriate for the purposes described, and much more pleasant to use, with potential fewer sources of misuse.

+1 for Nikon FG or FG2 with the pancake 50mm f/1.8, or a Pentax ME with 40mm f/2.8 pancake (barely larger than the Rollei 35!)

Leica CL with a Summicron 40 or M-Rokkor 40mm was a lovely camera to use. Rangefinder prone to misalignment and of course the meter cells are often shot these days. I too coveted the CLE at one time. I seem to be the only person alive who finds the Rollei 35 the most overrated camera. A beautiful thing to look at but an ergonomic nightmare. Agree completely with Orsetto about its lack of suitability for the average shooter. I am/was an experienced shooter and hated it in use. A Contax T series or Minox GT or even the plasticy Olympus XA is a better option in my opinion. Then there is the Olympus Stylus, Canon Sureshot etc which are better shooters for most people.

Robin accurately described the Rollei and CL cameras in comparison to auto 35 cameras. For a time, my Rollei was the backup camera and saw limited use. Being small, it was easy to use among people as it didn't intimidate. Being a lefty and used to the Rollei's limitations, the ergonomics were evident but tolerable. Later I purchased a used CL and had it rebuilt and updated. Much better backup camera. But a borrowed Canon Sureshot was so easy to use and took great pictures. Still, the image quality of the CL's Summicron was then and remains, outstanding. The most irritating CL feature is the strap that only works on the shoulder. The Minolta CLE has regular strap mounts so you could leave it around your neck. Today, girls on vacation would have more fun with a small, waterproof digital camera.