v._b.

Ebay. If you are lucky, you can have a nice deal. I have a couple of 3.5F myself and I bought some filters on ebay. European seller is preferable as you avoid import VAT and duties, but I had some deals with US sellers as well. Many of them agree to declare goods as a gift and if the value is relatively low (there is a threshold usually), you pay no taxes (in most of EU countries, not sure about France). Some people say it's not fair (falsification of custom declarations!!!), but please explain me import VAT tax philosophy when it comes to private transaction on second hand item...

Marc,

 

why don't you try larger prints? I have two Rollei TLR's (both are 3.5F with 6 elements Planar) as well as M6 with Summicron 35 (pre ASPH) and 35 mm Contax system with all best Zeiss lenses. If love M6, Summicron, all Zeiss'es but when it comes to resolution - one cannot compare 35mm with 6x6 cm. I also had Rolleiflex Automat MX with Tessar (and I regret selling it) - enlargements from shots made with this old camera were grainless using any 400 sensitivity film. I never had close results with best Leica of Zeiss lenses combined with 35mm film.

I was buying some photo chemistry in one shop in Paris and checked what filters

they have. They had some Rodenstock filters. I bought two linear polarizers

(55mm and 39mm). It's double coated and I assume the quality is not inferior to

B+W. I was quite surprised by price - 20 EUR per filter, which is less than 25$

(they are brand new, not used, maybe old stock). Is it a good price? Should I

come back and buy more (anyway, I planned to replace my Tiffen filters by

higher quality stuff)? I checked B+W prices on B&H - cheapest linear polarizer

is 43$ and MRC is 60$.

 

Valdas

Thanks for all recommendations!

Valdas

I'll be in Paris next week and wanted to buy some chemistry for E6. I would

appreciate any recommendations as to where I can find this kind of stuff in

Paris.

 

Valdas

I was in similar position just two weeks ago...

Ended up with M6 and Summicron 35mm f2 (v4). I don't regret so far :)

As someone wrote - the price reflects supply/demand. Ebay is not overpriced - it's just what people are willing to pay. I've heard many advises - don't buy at that price, it's too high. Please show me better price and I will take. Yes, ebay is the place where you have no guarantee and need some luck to get good thing at low price, but every time I wanted something to buy I ended up buying on ebay, because I could not find better prices... Speaking of Rollei - I bought two of them (both 3.5F)on ebay a year ago, paid 440 Euro and 490 Euro. The cheaper one was almost unused, another had some wear, but glass is perfect. Maybe it's not the best deal, but I really enjoy those cameras, after a year price I paid does not matter any more...

I've been looking for M6 chrome version for a while. Looked many places - KEH, Photo.net, ebay. Ended up buying on ebay (finally found what I wanted for the price I was willing to pay). The way I was checking price level - looking at completed auctions on ebay, also at "SOLD" items here. After a couple of weeks of such investigations you get pretty decent idea about the price level for a particular condition.

Thanks for all opinions. I decided to buy this one. I'm in Europe and shipping from US makes it more expensive by some 25%, so even if I'm lucky to find it somewhere at 800$ or so, it would make almost the same after shipping and taxes. And here i had the chance to inspect the lens before buying. Glass is mint, body is not perfect, but that's OK and it has both caps (but not box). And US dollar is cheap those days, so in EUR price sounds right.

Well, Zeiss is another story. I already own Contax SLR and a few lenses, but wanted fully mechanical rangefinder, so I bought M6. My question is not about what else I can buy for same $, but could I find v4 Summicron for much less than 1100$?

Well, maybe prices are up those days fro 35mm Summicron, I've been bidding on ebay for a month or so, but could not find anything for less than 1000$(4th version). Then + shipping, import duties (if from US, and in Europe it's even more expensive due to FX rate).

Hello,

 

I've been offered by a friend to buy Summicron 35mm f2.0 4th version lens

(chrome, made in Germany), serial number starts with 364xxx. He is asking 1100

$. I checked ebay - current prices for 4th version are around 1000$, but I've

read somewhere that 4th chrome version is quite rare, so I'm hesitating - is

it worth paying 1100$?

 

Valdas

Hany,

 

Bay I hood and filters can be easily found on ebay. I bought some filters and hood a year ago on ebay, but then decided to upgrade from Automat to 3.5F version (Bay II), so I sold all this stuff. What I want to say is that the market for this old equipment is still pretty active. Strap? Just buy Lowepro or something similar - I have original Rolleiflex leather strap on one of my cameras, but I consider replacing it by modern one because of simple convenience and comfort.

 

Valdas

Yep, those old cameras really attract attention.

Yesterday I was sitting in the park, enjoying one of last sunny days of short Lithuanian summer and also looking for a pray (to shoot with my old Rolleiflex 3.5F). When I found the face I liked and started thinking "what do I do know - do I approach and ask for permission or just shoot unnoticed...". Then he noticed my camera, hesitated a bit, then approached and asked if I could take a picture of him with this camera...

"So, do you think they really are made in Germany, by Zeiss?

If so, I have some property just a lttle ways from Miami that I'm sure you would be interested in. I'm letting it go real cheap. You need to act now though. I'm sure it won't last long. :)"

 

Jim, your offer is really seductive :) but...

 

All I know is what I see - lens, package, and I'll see the quality (or lack of it) soon. Anyway, I did not spend a fortune on this. By the way, I think that the market for fake Softars would be too small and therefor cost of producing fake Softars would not be that low. Those guys are busy making Versace and Prada.

I've just unpacked Zeiss Softar II made by Heliopan (67mm) which I bought on

ebay from UK seller for... 18 pounds. I'm waiting for another one (55 mm) which

I bought for 14.5 EUR. It costs on Adorama >200$ and I always thought that

those filters are quite expensive. The one that arrived is in excellent

condition, on the filter itself I see - "Carl Zeiss Germany Softar II". Are

they so affordable those days due to "digital era" or do I miss something?

 

Valdas

Thanks for address!

Well, Jean-Louis is probably right about angle, but I tested it against equally illuminated surface where angle should not matter ant yet 1 EV difference regardless which lens I compare against 50mm or 85mm (measured in spot mode with Contax 167MT). Profisix gives shorter exposure values. And yes - it's exactly on green mark with battery taken out and on flat surface. But it's consistent which I guess is the most important.

 

Valdas

Hello,

 

I have just purchased used Gossen Profisix on ebay. First thing I did, I

tested it against readings of my three cameras with light meters. All camera

light meters show consistent values, Profisix also shows consistent values...

but they differ by 1EV from values given by all three cameras. Checked

battery - it's fine. Needle is also adjusted correctly. Can I say from this

that my new Profisix is wrong by 1 EV or do I need to do a more serious test?

 

Thanks,

Valdas

Hello,

 

During the last week I've been unsuccessfully trying to access

www.rolleiclub.com page which was very informative in terms of TLR

models history with serial numbers etc. Does anybody know what's

happened with this page and is there any other site with similar

information on Rolleiflex TLR?

 

Valdas

Well, disassembled and fixed :) Don't really know the terms of these mechanical parts to describe what was wrong.

 

Valdas

Hello,

the problem developed with my zeiss distagon 28 mm lens. Something

happened with the focusing ring. Has it detached or something - it

just turns without gripping the lens and I cannot focus. Initially

the "grip" was "slipping" from time to time, but later it became

completely detached. Maybe I described the problem not very clearly

but my "photographic" English isn't very good. Any suggestion how

can I fix it without professional help?

 

Thanks, Valdas

Thanks to adding even more confusion :)

 

I have also read in this forum that film flatness could be an issue with MF cameras. Maybe this is what I see (but then it should not be only corners)? The one thing I'm sure of - I see no signs that this camera has been damaged in any way -(unless it was disassembled but this is impossible to tell). Maybe I'm just too demanding? I will try to scan and post it for your judgment.

 

Thanks,

Valdas

Pete,

 

thanks for reply. In fact I shot at f stop of 8, so the aperture should not be a problem. Maybe I'm too critical, but it's a my first MF camera, so I expected something like "WOW" from my first roll. It's not an obvious blur though, just less sharp than in the center. I have read somewhere that older Tessars are not that equal center vs edges compared to later versions of Planars. It does not look like a badly treated lens, although I bought it on ebay. Everything works perfectly, all speeds are correct, even flash synch works, cosmetically very nice, I simply don't believe lens was disassembled at all.

I should probably have to print a few b&w prints myself in the darkroom to judge...

Hello,

 

I have recently purchased used Rolleiflex automat, 1951-1954 model

with Tessar 75mm lens. I shot two rolls of color negative film. When

I took my prints from the lab and examined, noticed that some

pictures (especially those that were shot on infinity) are much

sharper in the center and looks kind of blur in the corners. Is this

the lens spherical aberration or anything else?

 

Thanks,

Valdas