gordon_mcgowan

I have just bought a mint Rolleimeter 3.5 from EBay complete with

two 3.5 discs (for calibrating the Rolleimeter via the focussing

knob).

Alas, it does not fit my Rolleiflex T Type 1 but appears to be made

for an earlier 1950's Rolleiflex.

The reason for buying this was I recently had to photograph a

function with on-camera flash and available light levels were very

low, making focussing via the screen difficult. In these

circumstances a rangefinder seemed to be the best solution, hence

the purchase.

I am prepared to buy another Rolleiflex just for this circumstance

but am unsure which model would fit the Rolleimeter? Can anyone

advise if it will fit the Rolleiflex MX or MX-EVS (I'd prefer to get

an MX-EVS if possible but it appears to have a larger focussing

knob?)

As always, the condition of the camera plays it part, and CLA would

be included in the budget.

Look forward to your advice (especially from any 1950's former press

photographers who used the Rolleimeter?)

Best wishes,

Gordon

Don't neglect the Rolleiflex T! I have a Type 1 with grey leather finish and it has a very fine 75mm f3.5 Tessar. There is much talked about bokeh, but this quality was apparent from the first roll of Delta 100 shot, and I'm very happy using this camera.

Pro's:

Price. Rolleiflex T's are usually cheaper than the F models.

One practical factor to consider is that the T is the only one of the Rolleiflex's to take a 645 adapter giving 16 frames on 120 film. OK, it's 5.5x4mm but read the specs on modern 645 systems, and you'll find none of them are exactly the advertised size. Any lab capable of printing 645 will have no trouble with the Rollei T 16-on-120 format. It takes about 30 seconds to switch before loading film between 6x6 and 645 using the masking set giving you the option of 30 percent more images per roll.

Later models of the Rolleiflex T also accepted the Rolleikin 2, so could shoot 35mm as well (the 75mm 'standard' lens on 120 becomes a short telephoto suitable for head and shoulder portraits.)

So the T is a true multi-format Rollei and accepts the same accessory range as the 3.5F (pistol grip, prism finder, Rolleifix, etc) with bayonet 1 filter size.

Con's: The Rolleflex T doesn't allow multiple exposures on the same frame, so John Blakemore-type seascapes are out. It has a similar aperture/shutter speed control to the Rolleicord Vb - some like it, some don't. Personally I find it fast to set EV's from my Sekonic handheld meter which was the idea behind this layout. If it is equipped with a Rollei meter it is uncoupled, but that makes no practical difference in speed of usage.

The 3.5F's were aimed at the professional market and heavier duty use.

However the last 6000 T's were ordered by the British Ministry of Defence and distributed amongst the Army, Royal Air Force, and Royal Navy, all of which are known to give their equipment a real hammering. Reportedly, these Rollei T's proved far more reliable than the Hasselblads which eventually replaced them, a testament to exceptional Rollei engineering.

Hope this helps, Gordon

Hi Kyle,

I'd look at the Sekonic L-308s. Inexpensive, does flash and ambient, incident and reflective. Can be used corded or very usefully, cordless for flash (no trailing leads).

The L-398 mentioned above in the thread is a good selenium cell meter and I used one for years. If I was in some far off place where batteries were unavailable it's what I would carry. But the L-308s is much better in low light and offers more bang for the buck.

Just my penny's worth.

Gordon

Hi Zac - don't neglect the Rolleiflex T! I have a Type 1 with grey leather finish and it has a really nice 75mm f3.5 Tessar. There is much talked about bokeh, but this quality was apparent from the first roll of Delta 100 shot, and I'm very happy using this camera.

One practical factor to consider is that the T is the only one of the Rolleiflex's to take a 645 adapter giving 16 frames on 120 film. OK, it's 5.5x4mm but read the specs on modern 645 systems, and you'll find none of them are exactly the advertised size. Any lab capable of printing 645 will have no trouble with the Rollei T 16-on-120 format.

It takes about 30 seconds to switch before loading film between 6x6 and 645 using the masking set giving you the option of 30 percent more images per roll.

Later models of the Rolleiflex T also accepted the Rolleikin 2, so could shoot 35mm as well (the 75mm 'standard' lens on 120 becomes a short telephoto suitable for head and shoulder portraits.)

In other words, the T is a true multi-format Rollei and accepts the same accessory range as the 3.5F (pistol grip, prism finder, Rolleifix, etc) with bayonet 1 filter size.

Con's: The Rolleflex T doesn't allow multiple exposures on the same frame, so John Blakemore-type seascapes are out. It has a similar aperture/shutter speed control to the Rolleicord Vb - some like it, some don't. Personally I find it fast to set EV's from my Sekonic handheld meter which was the idea behind this layout.

The 3.5F's were aimed at the professional market and heavier duty use.

However the last 6000 T's were ordered by the British Ministry of Defence and distributed amongst the Army, Royal Air Force, and Royal Navy, all of which are known to give their equipment a real hammering.

Reportedly, these Rollei T's proved far more reliable than the Hasselblads which eventually replaced them, a testament to exceptional Rollei engineering.

Hope this helps,

Gordon

Hi Pedro,

I ended up buying the kit you listed from EBay and it was complete.

With my Rolleiflex T it is exceptionally handy for shooting 645 and is very fast to install (or remove) from the camera. Only takes about 30 seconds.

The film mask automatically changes the film counter between 12 and 16 exposures, and the ground glass screen mask moves to correct for parallax when focussing. The 75mm Tessar on the T is ideal with 645, being just that bit wider than the 80mm Planer or Xenotars on the F's.

The sports finder mask allows for portrait format:

1) focus horizontally with the ground glass,

2) then flip the sports finder open and rotate the camera 90 degrees

3) frame the shot using guessworking to allow for parallax if close up.

4) - better served by using an eye level pentaprism, which I'll be shopping for...

5) a pistol grip for handheld 645 also makes sense for rapid handling, especially with portable flash.

16-on-120 with a Rolleiflex is really useful (less frequent reloads; better film economy; no cropping of 'dead' space in a square image; neg sufficiently bigger than 35mm to give a real leap in quality). Plus you can decide in a moment to shoot 6x6 on 1 roll, then change to 645 on the next, using only a really compact kit. No bulky magazines...

In my humble opinion, the 645 kit is one of the best selling features for the T over its more expensive F siblings.

BTW, the remaining masks in the kit are for shooting superslides.

Best wishes,

Gordon

I've not used this Rolleiflex, but the Schneider Super-Angulon is an indespensable focal length for architectural work.

Some years ago I did a shoot of the Plaisterers Hall in London with a Mamiya TLR and 55mm. Using _very_ careful framing on a tripod I managed to get a spread of fine images published (it was commissioned work) despite having no camera movements to adjust for perspective. So it is possible to do this type of work with a TLR.

The Rolleiflex 4.0 FW has the very real advantage of TTL flash and if they have managed to retain the quality of the older F's (and T's) would be well worth the money. Other pro's to consider for travelling are it's pretty compact for a medium format tool and the rapid wind/cocking lever action and near silent shutter make it a good reportage camera (ala Ernst Haas, Werner Bischof, Capa, etc).

Hope this helps in your decision.

Gordon

Hi Stephen,

I have the Minox Leica IIIf Swedish Army black edition and am very pleased with the results it gives.

Please bear in mind it is a pan focus lens with fixed f5.6 and 1/250th sec aperture and shutter speed. Nonetheless it is capable of very fine images in the right hands.

It is also well engineered and incredibly neat, and very unobtrusive for shooting.

Look at the following links for decent image samples:

http://www.8x11film.com/spur/engbilderclassic.html

http://www.photoworkshop.com/public/public_rooms/minox/thumbs.html

Minox do a rather nice, but inexpensive book to go with the Classic cameras. It gives a well illustrated history of Leica for Minox users, and a history of Minox for Leica afficionados. It also shows some good image results from the classic cameras:

http://www.minox.com/minox2002/index.phtml?&speechchange=e&sprache=e

PS, I also have Minox B, C and Digital Classic Leica M3 cameras as well.

Best wishes,

Gordon