November
1999
Introduction.
Franke and Heidecke was founded in
1920 but it was not until 1929 that the camera which made
their name famous was introduced. The Rolleiflex is a
roll-film twin lens reflex taking 12 exposures on 120
film. Many accessories were made for the Rolleiflex,
including the Rolleikin back for 35 mm. film and the
Rolleiflash. An adaptation of the Rolleiflex produced the
"baby" Rolleiflex which takes 12 pictures on 127
film.
In 1970 Franke and Heidecke
transferred some of their production to Singapore and in
1972 they purchased the Voigtlander name and tools after
Voigtlander closed. By 1974 the company was in financial
difficulties and in 1981 it went bankrupt.
A new Rollei was started and after
several changes of ownership it is now part of the Korean
Samsung company.
There are probably three outstanding
Rollei cameras; the Rolleiflex, the Rolleicord and the
Rollei 35. I have to be honest here and say I do not much
like any of them but even I have to admit they are
noteworthy cameras.
The
Rollei 35
was designed by Heinz Waaske who also designed two of my
favourite Rollei cameras, the A110 for 110 cartridge film
and the A26 for 126 cartridge film. It was first shown at
Photokina in 1966 and production started in 1967. The
first thing which is noticeable about it is the very
small size - for a while it was the world's smallest
mass-produced full frame 35 mm. camera. It has all metal
construction which makes it comparatively heavy (I have
heard men say that although it will fit in a shirt pocket
it is very uncomfortable to carry there because the
weight pulls it forwards). It has a Rollei Tessar or Carl
Zeiss Tessar f/3.5 40 mm. lens - quite a wide angle for a
full frame 35 mm. camera - which collapses into the
camera body when not in use. There is also a version
which has a Schneider S-Xenar f/3.5 40 mm. lens. The
camera has a coupled CdS meter with top-plate display and
a Rollei-Compur shutter offering half a second to one
five-hundredth of a second. The camera was made in black
or chrome and the cameras were made in both Germany and
(later) Singapore. Singapore models attract a lower price
than German-made cameras. There were also some special
trim models made.
The
Rollei B35
is a simplified version of the 35, also called the 35B.
It has a cheaper lens - the Triotar f/3.5 40 mm - and
simplified shutter (one thirtieth of a second to one
five-hundredth of a second). The CdS meter is replaced by
a selenium meter and the camera was available in black or
chrome. Again, it was made in both Germany and
Singapore.
The
Rollei C35
(35C), like the 35B, was introduced in about 1969. It is
similar to the B35 but has no meter. All production was
in Germany and the camera was only made in black. This
camera was not available for very long - about three
years - and is therefore comparatively
uncommon.
In 1974 two new
Rollei 35 models were introduced; the
35T (the
'T' indicates it has a Tessar lens), the
35S (The
'S' indicates it has a Sonnar lens) and the 35TE. All
three cameras were made in Singapore (except for some of
the very first of the 35S models in chrome which were
made in Germany).
The Rollei 35T is the same as the
Rollei 35 - the 'T' designation was introduced to
separate the camera from the 35S.
The Rollei 35S is the same as the 35T
but with a Sonnar f/2.8 40 mm. lens.
Production of
Rollei 35 cameras has continued wih special edition
models alongside the regular production models. The
Rollei 35
LED has a 40 mm f/3.5 Rollei
Triotar lens, a Rollei Prontor shutter and a silicon
diode meter with viewfinder exposure indication using red
and green LEDs. The Rollei
35TE has a CdS meter with 3 LEDs
in the viewfinder. The shutter is speeded from one
twentieth of a second to one five-hundredth of a second.
It has a Tessar f/3.5 40 mm. lens.
The Rollei 35
SE has the LEDs of the TE but the
Sonnar lens and shuttter speed range of the S. The most
recent model is the Rollei 35
Classic which is an updated
version of the 35S with - to my mind at least - one
long-overdue improvement, namely the hot shoe is
relocated to the top plate. The other Rollei 35 cameras
have the hot shoe on the base plate which means the
camera has to held upside down for flash or some very
strange shadow effects result. The other thing about
these cameras which I dislike is their lack of
rangefinder, but then I am hopeless at guessing
distances.
These cameras are undoubtedly popular
with both collectors and users but the sky-high prices of
a decade ago seem to have fallen to more reasonable
levels again.