Rolleiflex for landscape

Hi, I'm mostly taking landscape photographs and would like to

buy a Rolleiflex TLR for change to medium format. I mostly use

my 28mm and 35-105 mm lenses on my 35mm camera. I

would choose the rolleiflex for its weight and optical qualities.

Should I worry for the non-interchangable lenses and look for

mamiya 330 instead, with tele and wide-angle possibilities?

 

(weight is an important feature on hikes and treks, this is why I

would not go for a Single lens Medium format camera)

 

any advise from MF TLR users welcome

Check out this website.:

 

http://www.silcom.com/~proark/photos.html

 

It belongs to Paul Roark and he shoots landscapes with a Rolleiflex. You can see what type of images you can get

from a 80mm lens.

I have used both Rollei and Mamiya TLR extensively. In my opinion, the Rollei f/2.8 80mm has limited depth of field for landscape, and is prone to flare. I prefer the f/3.5 models. The Mamiya 65mm and 55mm lenses are very sharp and will do very well with landscape, but heavy!

 

I am selling out most of my TLR equipment and have moved to Fuji 645 equipment...a 60mm and a 75mm folder. The Rollei and Mamiya are built with all metal, very solid, and heavy!, but the Fuji is much lighter in weight and the lenses are far better than either the Rollei or the Mamiya, in my opinion...stunningly sharp!

 

Attached is a sample photo from the 75mm folder Fuji, that I enjoy.

 

<img src="http://www.zing.com/picture/pd43f979e386efd4cdccd18e50fc2182e/ffda3486.jpg.orig.jpg">

Sorry...the html always worked before...don't know what happened here!

Ok...I forgot to press htlm!

 

<img src="http://www.zing.com/picture/pd43f979e386efd4cdccd18e50fc2182e/ffda3486.jpg.orig.jpg">

You may be interested in a Century Graphic with a couple of lenses and a 6x9 rollfilm back. Very light with some movements.

thanks for your contributions, but...

to Nhat Nguyen: It seems to me that the pictures in the gallery

are mostly taken with a Rollei 66, and not with rolleiflex.

to mr Crider: what is a Century Graphic?? never heard of.

 

 

ludwig

A Mamiya 6/6MF would also suit your lightweight requirements and give you interchangeable lenses though it might not suit your budget.

What is a Century Graphic?

 

It's an old (no longer made) folding field camera used in during the 1950-ish. The film format was 2x3 inch (roughly 6x7cm). Roll film backs were made for it. Check out the site below, it's dedicated to cameras like the Century Graphic.

 

www.graflex.org

Rollei for landscape is fine, as long as you can use the square format. Todd's photo above fascinated me, as I've just gotten up and running with PhotoShop. So I retouched the background, and blurred it out a little. What do you think, Todd. True to the original vision, with a little more attention to the subjects? (Yeah, off topic, but what's an unmoderated forum for?) Regards, Phil Stiles

<img src=http://www.pixhost.com/pixa/acutance/tods-car.jpg>

Ludwig, I have found that a Rolleiflex 3.5F with a 75mm lens for landscape photography is fine. A 2.8 with a 80mm lens would also work well. Make sure that the camera is in first-rate mechanical and optical condition, with a Planar or Xenotar lens. Use a lens-shade. Also, a new viewfinder screen from Maxwell Optics will greatly imporove your ability to focus (use the forum's search engine to see other threads on this subject).

 

I am not sure what Todd meant about a limited depth of field with a Rollei, at least as compared to the Fuji with a 75mm lens that he seems to favor. All lenses of a given focal length have the same depth of field, and there is not much difference between 75mm and 80mm. The Planar and Xenotar lenses in Rolleis (both 75mm and 80mm) are very sharp, as are Fuji lenses. A standard 80mm medium-format lens has just under two f-stops less depth of field as compared to a standard 50mm lens in a 35mm camera. In medium format you generally stop-down the lens further than in 35mm photography. This, with slow film in windy or dark conditions, is sometimes a challenge.

 

When I encounter a situation where I need more depth of field than is possible with a Rollei, I use a separate camera with a wide-angle lens: right now I am using a Horseman SW612 with a 55mm lens. The Horseman is a wonderful tool, but it is not a small light-weight camera. The Mamiya 330 that you mentioned is also bulky and heavy. I consider it a studio camera. A Fuji or Mamiya rangefinder would be much lighter for wide-angle work in the field. I use a TeleRolleiflex with a 135mm Sonnar when I need a long lens. But back to your original question: if I were to limit myself to only one easily-portable camera and lens for medium-format landscape photography, it would be a Rolleiflex 3.5F.

Ludwig,

Look also folding cameras like ZEISS-IKON (Ikonta 6*6...), AGFA (Isolette) some of them are very great when overhauled.

I am studying these cameras for users, not collectors, as an alternative and cheap choice for medium format.

I use sometimes an Ikonta 524/16 with a Novar (3 elements)and rangefinder and different Isolettes with 85mm Apotar (3 elements) and Solinar (4 elements). Agnar is not so good. I think that for landscape the Ikonta is better because it owns a 75mm.

I use to recommend also these cameras for practical considerations, lightness, volume, price. Differences with rolleiflexes are minor with (I repeat) overhauled cameras and coated lenses, although I am very fond of rolleis. I think that rolleis are best for MF ( reliability, optical performance) and photography in general.

Bonne journée.

Michel