kk_cheung

The late Rolleicord Vb has brighter view finder than earlier ones. I have one that was made in the 1970's. I believe the later Rolleicord Vb has "Rollei Werke" labeled on the lens, rather than "Franke and Heikel". Since this late model Rolleicord Vb is lighter, much cheaper, and the view finder is bright enough, I'd say this is the most practical choice. Furthermore, it is easier to find lens hood and other misc items for xenar/tessar lens.

I have used a number of tessar lens: Rolleiflex (T and a pre-war flex), Zeiss Contessa, Contax SLR, and Rollei 35. I have to admit I am not a tessar fan.

 

Lately, I am enjoying the 3-element lens more and more. (Rolleicord, Contax RF, and Rollei C35). The 3-element lens produce smooth tone, and somehow a more 3-D feel. And the lens has different character at different aperture. Yes, it is softer in the corner, until F/11. And more distortion. And the plane of focus is not flat.

 

The best thing is the smooth and natural in-focus to out-of-focus transition, almost linear. The opposite are the Planars: The transition from in-focus to out-focus is very abrupt. The saving grace is that the Planars renders the out-of-focus into a creamy smooth blur.

 

Although I like the triotars, somehow I am disappointed at the near-distance performance (under 10 feet). This is where the Planar shines. The Yashikor maybe perform differently.

I always suspect the Hexar has a "primitive" metering system. Therefore I have to use the EV compensation frequently.

 

I did a little experimenting by comparing the hexar setting with another camera. My conclusion is that the Hexar tends to bias towards highlight. If your image include bright areas, such as the sky, your image will be underexposed. And underexposure means dull/grainy picture for negatives.

 

Now that I am comfortable withthe Hexar, knowing when to compensate by how much. I suggest you do the same, experiement with the metering.

 

The Hexar is one of the most enjoyable camera to use.

Of all TLR's made in Japan, the primoflex by TOPCON has the best reputation. I'm drooling for one.

 

If you are looking for an inexpensive TLR, you might want to look at Ricohflex also. It's even smaller than the Autocord. I have seen pictures taken by the Ricohflex, and they are quite decent. The only limiting factor is that it has limited shutter speed (At least the model I looked at).

Bay 1 is for the tessar/xenar type lens

 

Bay 2 is for the 75/3.5 planar/xenotar lens

 

Bay 3 is for the 80/2.8 planar/xenotar lens

 

Yashica accessories also fit Bay 1. I use a Yashica lens hood on my Rolleicord Vb.

The scenery along the roads is nice. But if you really want to enjoy the Canadian Rockies, do some hiking away from the roads, the scenery is even better.

 

I'd recommend mount Robson, west of Jasper. Takes one day to hike into Berg Glacier. Stay for one day. And return on the third day.

Thanks. What I missed was pushing the button while turing the advance knob.

My friend bought a Rolleicord with Triotar lens. We have trouble

figuring out how to load the film.

 

 

Thinking that it operates similarly to other Rolleicord or

Rolleiflexes, I put in a roll of film, advance it to "START", close

the back, and advance the film. But the advance knob does not stop at

the first frame. I can keep on winding. One roll of film wasted.

 

 

Under scrutiny, I find this Rolleicord has some controls that is not

present in my Rolleicord (Vb, Type 3).

 

 

First, there is a switch under the film advance knob. If I pull the

switch, the film counter resets.

 

 

Secondly, the film advance knob contains a push button. If I pull the

aforementioned switch, and push this button simultaneously, the film

counter jumps to "1".

 

 

Then I opened the back, used my thumb to turn the film spool

manually, the film counter advances normaly: 1,2 ,...to 12

 

 

Thirdly, there is a red window on the bottom allowing me to view the

film frame number.

 

 

Thinking that I figured out the mechanism, I tried another roll of

film.

 

 

1) Put in a roll of film, advance to "START"

 

 

2) close the back, reset the film counter.

 

 

3) Advance the film to "1" (Looking into the red window)

 

 

4) Reset the film counter to "1"

 

 

5) Take one picture.

 

 

6) Advance the film

 

 

The problem is, again, the film counter does not advance to "2". I

can keep on winding the advance knob. Now the film is advanced to the

third frame.

 

 

Is this Rolleicord malfunctioning?

I visited Osaka, Japan back in November.

 

 

After reading so many praises for Autocord in this forum, and actually borrowed one briefly, I planned to purchase one in Japan.

 

 

I was shocked to see the Autocord appreciated in price, as compare to two years ago when I visited the same stores. And in deflationary Japan. As I have a Rolleiflex already, I changed my plan, and purchased an inexpensive Konica IIIa instead.

 

 

Buy Konica III before it appreciate in price too. It is a gem.

>>The words "good camera" and "Made in China" do not, in my experience, go together.

 

 

I read in a newspaper a month ago, reporting that Minolta is planning to move "all" its production facilities to China. Partly due to the low cost. Partly due to its potential internal market.

 

 

Seagull used to make decent cameras, twenty years ago. Those were the days when cost accounting was not a business consideration.

 

 

But old state enterprises, Seagull included, are struggling in the rapid changes, especially WTO is looming ahead. These state enterprises, along with the employees plus management, are being shaken up. Perhaps this is the possible cause of quality problem.

 

 

But quality should be improving. A Japanese brand called the "Texar" is using Seagull TLR's as OEM. The test reports in Japan is not negative.

The Fuji GS645S is lighter, but not much smaller than Mimiya 6. The viewfinder is not as bright. And the focusing patch is way smaller than the Mamiya 6.

 

The GS645s is a good camera. It's fun to use. But the Mamiya 6's 50mm lens and the Rolleiflex (especially the Planar) have that 3-D look that is difficult to describe. Even harder to quantify.

I borrowed many Rolleiflexes/Rolleicord (2.8 Planar, 3.5 Planar, 3.5 Tessar) before purchasing a GX. And afterwards, I did a side by side comparison with a Rolleiflex F.

 

My impression of GX comparing to other Rolleiflexes:

 

1) The shutter release is stiffer. The older Rolleiflexes was silky smooth.

 

2) The operation is different. I think the GX is based on the Rolleiflex T. But I cannot say one is noticeably better than the other.

 

3) The GX viewfinder is much-much brighter than the other Rolleiflexes I used.

 

4) The GX images has higher color saturation. I haven't tried B/W yet.

 

5) The GX has a very accurate exposure meter.

 

The main reason I bought the GX rather than the older models was there was a brand new sample sitting on the shelf for a long long time, and selling at a huge discount. If there wasn't a discount, I probably would have bought the older models.

Shutter problem and flash problem on my third and fourth roll of

films. Half of the films were not exposed. The others were badly

underexposed. The flash discharged static thru the camera body when

turned on. The local distributer in Hong Kong will send the whole set

to Germany for repair.

Thanks for the pointer. I went thru a lot of info there. I bought the

Minox GTE set (with flash). Here in Hong Kong, the GR1 is selling at

US$50 more than the GTE set, which is not substantial. Here is some

of my feelings towards the GTE.

 

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I tested the GTE with a roll of Fuji Superia 100, and developed at a

reliable 1-hour lab. The results is very satisfactory. The contact

prints indicate that the light meter is quite consistent. The lens is

sharp from F4 to F16. I didn't try F2.8. The pictures are evenly

illuminated (No light falloff detected). The color reproduction is

rich and natural. Of all the sub-$300 P/S I've used, only the Leica

Minizoom comes close in terms of lens performance.

 

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Guesstimating the focusing distance is not as difficult as I expect.

The slide shooters bracket their exposures, Minox users can bracket

the focus :-) To summarize, with DOF and aperture control, the Minox

GTE is fun to use.

 

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Less satisfactory is the flash. At its selling price, the build

quality is rather disappointing. It is powerful though. When I set

the aperture according to the user's manual, subjects 6ft away are

washed out. Restricting the shutter speed at 1/125 sec makes the

flash difficult to use.

When the film is advanced and the shutter cocked, the light meter is

turned on. Even if you close the lens cover, the light meter is still

activated, but I guess with less electric current running thru the

light sensor.

 

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Out of curiosity, why advancing film requires two strokes? I noticed

that the film spindle actually turned for each stroke.

Thanks. This means I shouldn't advance the film after each shot and

leave the shutter cocked as I always do with my manual SLR.

I just bought a Minox GTE. I cannot find any on/off switch to turn off the camera. The owner's manual does not indicate any on/off switch. The owner's manual does advise "Closing the front cover in intervalls (sp?) between shooting reduces battery drain." So I assume there is no on/off switch. Am I correct?

 

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I do have an old SLR with needle light indicator, and the battery does drain rapidly if left turned on. So, how long will the GTE's battery last with the lens cover closed? Should I reverse the battery polarity while not in use, as what I usually do with my flashlite?

I've owned/used a number of P/S. The one I liked most was the Fuji DL Mini (Nonzoom). Too bad I lost it. The replacement is Fuji fotonex 3000i (APS). I'm not satisfied with the picture quality.

 

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I'm searching for another P/S with high optical quality. The ones I have in mind are Minox GTE and Ricoh GR1. How do they compare. I've seen some GR1 photos and they have darkened corners. And I've heard that the GTE's flash is difficult to use.

 

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-KK Cheung May 17, 1999