Tele TLR,Rollei

[khai_do]

Hello

everybody,

Need to know how the Tele Rollei TLR lenses resolution and contrast

stack up against the 3.5F,2.8F Planar/Xenotar because I would like to

buy one and use it for enlargement up to 16 by 20 size picture.Thanks

all for your help.Should I buy a ?glass plate for the back to have

optimum film

flatness?

Khai Do.

[brian yarvin]

Khai:

 

The lens quality of a camera that old will depend more on the way it was cared for than its' original peromance specs.

 

Tele Rolleis are rare collectors items and are often in incredible shape, but they're a real expensive way to get a camera with those specs, aren't they?

 

Brian in Queens, NY

[andrew_schank]

They also have a very poor minimum focus distance. I'd leave them for the collectors, and pick up something more modern of a short tele medium format camera.

[christian deichert]

If it's a TLR with telephoto capability, you might consider a Mamiya C330 (f or s) and 180mm f/4.5 Super lens. The 180 Super is an outstanding lens, quite possibly the best Mamiya produced for their TLR's. You should be able to pick up the both of these without spending more than $800.

[christian deichert]

If it's a TLR with telephoto capability you want, you might consider a Mamiya C330 (f or s) and 180mm f/4.5 Super lens. The 180 Super is an outstanding lens, quite possibly the best Mamiya produced for their TLR's. You should be able to pick up the both of these without spending more than $800.

[christian deichert]

d'oh! sorry

[garrett_adams]

Stick with roll film, glass plates are not a viable option. If properly working you'll have no problem getting 16x20 (or higher). I used one professionally for three years in conjunction with a 75mm f/3.5 Planar and 80mm f/2.8 Planar 120/220.

 

Close focus was around the 6-7 foot range but can be reduced with the addition of the Rollei 0,7 Rolleinar closeup lens set.

[nolan woodbury]

To heck with the naysayers Khki! If you have a chance to purchase and shoot through one of these beauties, do it! Sure, its a sizable investment (and I'd have it throughly checked out before plonking out the greenbacks) but its a Tele Rollei man! Visions of that camera, and the Super Wide keep me awake at night. Image quality? You have to ask?

[msitaraman]

You may want to check through the older threads-I seem to vaguely recall that a major limitation of the Tele-Rollei was that it would not focus very closely, making it all but useless for portraiture, except environmental or full body portraiture.

[msitaraman]

2.8 meters or about 8 feet to be precise, with a 135 lens.

[mark_eban]

1. I use a tele rollei among other cameras. The lens is superb and compares favourably to the hasselblad 120mm macro and to the 150mm Mamiya for the 7. I have not used the Mamiya TLR. I was always put off by the big parallax shift which meant that I could not see the whole image.

 

2. It is a nice camera to use because of the lack of mirror black out and general feeling of heft and quality.

 

3. I do not use the glass plate in this camera because I cant face the knifing and spotting that I believe will come from the inevitable associated dust problem. In the original tests in photo magazines at the time this camera was introduced, the glass plate increased sharpness minimally on 16x20s in the centre but ONLY wide open. From f5.6, no difference was discernible.

 

4. The 8ft focussing limitation is its major drawback. I use a 0.35 rolleinar. This is a close-up which flips open (off the lens) or closed (on the lens) and brings the minimum focus down to a 0.8m x 0.8m square (broadly head and shoulders). The top rolleinar lens corrects for parallax so you dont have the Mamiya tlr problem. I also use it with a prism and a pistol grip which I find minimises shake.

 

5. However, absent the rolleinar and if you are not set on a medium tele, you should have a look at the Linhof 220 with 90mm f3.5 lens. No mirror black-out, fast (rangefinder) focussing, and lovely for head and shoulder pictures. The lens is undoubtedly the sharpest medium format lens I have ever used (hasselblad, rollei, mamiya) and it has a lovely 3d quality. Contrast is lower than modern lenses however. These cameras are bulky and not light but are undoubtedly underappreciated users.

[fwstutterheim]

I am not quite shure I understood your question on the glass plate. Do you intend to use sheet film? That matter was dealt with in a previous answer. Or were you referring to the "Planglas"? This is the glass plate just in front of the roll film to keep the film flat. Part of the Tele-Rolleiflex series was equiped with this feature. It works but tends to get dirty by emulsion smears. That dirt will be right in focus too. Also "planglasses" break easily. If one comes with the camera I would store it in a safe place. I am the proud owner of a Tele_Rollei and two glasses. I am very happy with its performance and use the Rolleinar for portraiture.

[michael_alpert1]

When I've worked with a TeleRolleiflex, I've enjoyed this camera for the same reasons I've enjoyed my 3.5F: it is quiet, relatively light, simple, friendly, dependable, and optically sharp. I've used the camera as a backup, when perspective and/or distance considerations makes the 3.5F problematic. I've made enlargements to 14 x14 inches without seeing any limitation due to lens quality (my limitations as a photographer are another matter). I've never tried to use glass plates, and I think using a glass negative carrier in your enlarger would have the same effect (frankly, film flatness has not been a problem for me, and I have experienced a problem with Newton rings when using a glass negative carrier with TMax 100 film). The close focus on the TeleRolleiflex is a serious limitation without the Rolleinars that were made for the camera. The Rolleinars work like the Proxars for a Hasselblad; in fact, I think they are the same. The Rolleinars are not a bad solution; sharp image quality is still maintained. These cameras, in good mechanical and optical condition, are expensive; but equivalent alternatives are just as expensive. In any case, I think the best idea is to work with equipment that you feel comfortable using.

[Troll]

If you're not familiar with the Tele-Rollei, I believe the glass plate referred to is a clear piece of planar optical glass placed in front of the film to assure film flatness, much like a glass negative carrier for an enlarger. It has nothing to do with the stuff used to make pictures on in the old days.

[michael_alpert1]

Bill, you're correct, of course, about the glass plate. I have never used one with my TeleRollei, so I don't know how well it might work. I apologize for the confusion in that part of my previous response.