35 m.m. cameras with film cassettes/backs

[ic-racer]

 

[Renato Tonelli]

I have the Rolleiflex 3003; beautifully made and so on, but:
A couple of the magazines will no longer work beyond the 20th frame; there is an easy fix for this but have not been able to find what it is, so far.
The camera needs a battery pack to work at all and this puts me off a bit - it’s also loud.
There have been times when I have had three magazines with three different emulsions: Panchromatic, Infrared and Transparency - that has been its greatest attribute for me.

 

[Renato Tonelli]

Ic-racer:
Do you have a range of lenses for your 3003?
I have from 21mm to 135 (possibly a 200 as well).

 

[Les Sarile]

Very nice. Did not know about that one. I guess ADOX and Kodak also had rangefinder models like it.

I've been on the lookout for one since I first saw that magazine ad. I'm not aware of another like it like an ADOX or Kodak?

 

[markjwyatt]

I've been on the lookout for one since I first saw that magazine ad. I'm not aware of another like it like an ADOX or Kodak?

I read it here: https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Mamiya_Magazine_35

https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Adox_300#Magazine_backs

https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Kodak_Ektra
" ...The Ektra had a system of interchangeable magazine backs, allowing to change film in the middle of a roll..."

I see all three cameras on ebay now, including magazines.

 

[ic-racer]

Ic-racer:
Do you have a range of lenses for your 3003?
I have from 21mm to 135 (possibly a 200 as well).

I'm not familiar with the 21mm, but I have the 16mm fisheye and the 18mm Distagon, 35 1.4 and 35 2.8, two of the 28 f2 and a Makro-Planar. Since the 1980s I have been on the lookout for the 15mm but to no avail.

 

[Renato Tonelli]

I'm not familiar with the 21mm, but I have the 16mm fisheye and the 18mm Distagon, 35 1.4 and 35 2.8, two of the 28 f2 and a Makro-Planar. Since the 1980s I have been on the lookout for the 15mm but to no avail.

View attachment 268388

Nice collection. I have one 3003 that I keep in the USA and a 2000 that I keep in Italy. Ended up selling the 16mm fisheye as I never used it. I keep the Makro-Planar in Italy for wildflower photography. I have some Pentax K lenses that I would like to use on the Rollei but have never found an adapter - maybe it was never made (the one for adapting screw-mounl lenses is available).

 

[ic-racer]

I have some Pentax K lenses that I would like to use on the Rollei

That is nice to read. I grow tired of reading how people want to destroy the QBM Rollei/Zeiss lenses by changing the mount.

Looking through my manual I see the 21mm was a Rollienar. I only have the 85-200 Rolleinar, which is quite good. I suspect the 21mm is a nice lens too.

 

[choiliefan]

Weren't the Rolleinars manufactured by Mamiya?

 

[ic-racer]

Weren't the Rolleinars manufactured by Mamiya?

According to my 3003 manual, the Rollinar range was pretty large. From 35mm lenses; Zooms, to a 21mm and a Fisheye to a number of 6000 series medium format lenses. The only one I own is the 80-200 f4.

 

[Minolta93]

What I'd like to know is how come we didn't see something like APS film, but for 35mm? I mean only as far as switching mid-roll is concerned.

It seems to me that some sensor or mechanism in the camera can count sprocket holes and use that to index the film. You're on shot number whatever, and it knows maybe it's counted 100 sprocket holes. rewind, and when you put it back in, wind it back 100 holes again.

Although I suppose you wouldn't have had a way to mark down how far a roll had been loaded, anyway.

 

[markjwyatt]

What I'd like to know is how come we didn't see something like APS film, but for 35mm? I mean only as far as switching mid-roll is concerned.

It seems to me that some sensor or mechanism in the camera can count sprocket holes and use that to index the film. You're on shot number whatever, and it knows maybe it's counted 100 sprocket holes. rewind, and when you put it back in, wind it back 100 holes again.

Although I suppose you wouldn't have had a way to mark down how far a roll had been loaded, anyway.

With today's cheap chips, each cartridge could have a chip in it, and store all history from any camera it was put in.

 

[Minolta93]

With today's cheap chips, each cartridge could have a chip in it, and store all history from any camera it was put in.

Yes, that's what I was thinking! Such a system could even use regular 35mm cartridges, simply with a small chip, like the ones they have in SIM cards, attached to it somewhere. A reader inside the camera could then interface with it.

It sure would have been neat to have seen something like that introduced many years ago. I envision such a system equipped with chipped film and sprocket counting could do a lot of things. Of course, you'd be able to load and unload film mid-roll. Rolls could be marked for push or pull processing. Each frame could save data like the date and time, shutter speed, and aperture, among other things. Perhaps a camera could even shoot a half frame of 35mm, shoot a full frame on the next shot, and then shoot a panorama on the next, and have it all recorded on the roll.

Frankly, I think such a system isn't out of the reach of a smart hobbyist. Reading from and writing to such a chip should be pretty simple, although getting something like that to interface with an existing camera I assume would be quite tricky. But I have seen people 3d printing 35mm cameras, too. Who knows what someone (much) more talented than me can accomplish.

 

[markjwyatt]

Yes, that's what I was thinking! Such a system could even use regular 35mm cartridges, simply with a small chip, like the ones they have in SIM cards, attached to it somewhere. A reader inside the camera could then interface with it.

It sure would have been neat to have seen something like that introduced many years ago. I envision such a system equipped with chipped film and sprocket counting could do a lot of things. Of course, you'd be able to load and unload film mid-roll. Rolls could be marked for push or pull processing. Each frame could save data like the date and time, shutter speed, and aperture, among other things. Perhaps a camera could even shoot a half frame of 35mm, shoot a full frame on the next shot, and then shoot a panorama on the next, and have it all recorded on the roll.

Frankly, I think such a system isn't out of the reach of a smart hobbyist. Reading from and writing to such a chip should be pretty simple, although getting something like that to interface with an existing camera I assume would be quite tricky. But I have seen people 3d printing 35mm cameras, too. Who knows what someone (much) more talented than me can accomplish.

You could actually coat a strip on the film itself which could be used to measure what was used (it could even store information- i.e., exposure, etc.). To me it does not sound that exciting because I am perfectly happy with film as it is, BUT for the future of film as a viable product, and a camera industry it could bring film into more contemporary use. Such new technology cameras could actually shoot film AND create a digital image. You would get instant gratification and potentially classic film results. Of course logic (and basic economics) would say digital can do both also (e.g., Fujifilm digital cameras come close), but hey, we are brainstorming here.

 

[MattKing]

This local Craigslist listing might be of interest in respect to this thread: https://vancouver.craigslist.org/pml/pho/d/mission-east-mamiya-magazine-35/7287892226.html

 

[Minolta93]

You could actually coat a strip on the film itself which could be used to measure what was used (it could even store information- i.e., exposure, etc.). To me it does not sound that exciting because I am perfectly happy with film as it is, BUT for the future of film as a viable product, and a camera industry it could bring film into more contemporary use. Such new technology cameras could actually shoot film AND create a digital image. You would get instant gratification and potentially classic film results. Of course logic (and basic economics) would say digital can do both also (e.g., Fujifilm digital cameras come close), but hey, we are brainstorming here.

That could work as well. Similar to the magnetic strip on APS film I believe. I think such "improvements" are maybe not what people who do shoot film are looking for, anyway, though. I'm perfectly content using a 63 year old camera. But even so the idea interests me all the same. If we'd seen things like that in the '90s I think things might have looked a lot better for film, but it's a what-if game there. Even though things like that are past their prime, I think they'd still be interesting to see. And who knows, maybe there are a few people who are turned off of film because they can't change ISO, or something like that.

If you ask me though, the more people using film, the better. To me it's a beautiful medium, and the more of it that goes around, the nicer things are. I doubt that big companies would be the ones to innovate today, though. More and more it seems like small projects and hobbyists are better able to take a risk and try things.

I was considering 3d printing the "Goodman Zone" camera. It's a medium format camera, and I'd wanted to start shooting 120 film. But you still need to find a lens for it, and it was still too expensive for me. Luckily for me, I recently got a Zeiss Ikonta 6x6 camera for free, so when I want to get a roll of 120 and start shooting I have nothing in my way.

 

[ic-racer]

It is pretty easy to rewind the film and use a Sharpie or other analog device to mark the frame number on the leader.
When re-inserting, there might be uncertainty if one or two cocks of the lever were performed prior to closing the back the first time, so I'd advance two frames past the last exposed frame.