Rolleiflex vs Brillant. Dueling Triplets.

<p>I put a new mirror in my Voigtlander Brillant w/ Voigtar lens, and a new hood, shutter, and focus screen in my Rolleicord w/ Triotar. The Rolleicord shots are Tri-X developed in Acufine. Unfortunately, the Acufine was a little past it's prime so I had to throw it out afterwards. The Brillant is Tri-X alsoo, and w/ the Acufine gone I had to go w/ my standard D-76. Both were shot w/ yellow filters, both have uncoated triplet lenses, both make sharp photos, but have totally different looks. That's probably not the developer, it's the lens quality I think. Both of these lenses were bottom of the barrel offerings for each manufacturer. </p><div></div>

<p>Rolleicord 1</p><div></div>

<p>Rolleicord 2</p><div></div>

<p>Rolleicord 3</p><div></div>

<p>Rolleicord 4</p><div></div>

<p>Rolleicord 5</p><div></div>

<p>Rolleicord 6</p><div></div>

<p>Rolleicord 7</p><div></div>

<p>Rolleicord 8. The End of the Acufine</p><div></div>

<p>Last Rolleicord Shot</p><div></div>

<p>Voigtlander Brillant w/ Voigtar in D76</p><div></div>

<p>Brillant 2</p>

<p>Brillant 2 w/ Photo</p><div></div>

<p>Brillant 3</p><div></div>

<p>Brillant 4</p><div></div>

<p>Brillant 5</p><div></div>

<p>Brillant 6</p><div></div>

<p>What a great comparison, but it looks to me as if the Rollei may take the prize. The 'Cord photos have a really nice look to them, sort of smooth but quite sharp.<br>

The Brillant doesn't seem to have as nice a oof area as the Rollei..a bit hard to tell on the web of course. I have a focussing Brillant that I can't for the life of me, focus! Must get it out and try again.</p>

<p>Nice work Steve. It's amazing what we can do with the "bottom of the barrel" offerings...perhaps a lesson for the newbies who insist on only the best! Back to the adage of the knowledgable photographer knowing hot to get the best out of his gear!</p>

<p>That's exactly as I saw it Tony. The Triotar has smoooooth bokeh. It also has a "new" shutter that is running at an honest 1/250 on its 1/500 setting, while the Brillant can only muster 1/125 on its highest setting of 1/300, so the Brillant gets to be stopped down nearly all the time using Tri-X. The new mirror really helped w/ my focus on the Brillant.</p>

<p>I think the key Stephen is to have cameras that focus correctly. That's half the battle w/ TLRs.</p>

<p>Yes - I had a Rolleiflex I just couldn't get to focus no matter what I did, a repairer thought there was some lens separation, and my eyesight wasn't working well with the diopter magnifier...sold it, and have been quite happy with a Ricoh Diacord I restored.</p>

<p>Great comparison, Steve. I wonder how the Yashicor triplet (used in Yashica D) would stack up to those two top notch triplets? Thanks for posting.</p>

<p>Ah, you have a good eye for a pic, <strong>Steve</strong>. I think the Triotar takes the prize, mainly because of the smooth OOF transitions. Not much between the lenses so far as "sharpness" goes, and subtle differences in contrast and tone could well be attributed to the different developers. Thanks for some fine images and an interesting post.</p>