Acros + Rolleiflex= PITA

NB23 · Jul 11, 2019

Wow, thanks for all the help, there is truly a lot of good info here.

Just to clarify a few things that arose along this thread, I am not in iceland but in eastern Europe and Greece. In general, this part of the world is extremely photogenic, especially in the fall and winter.
Shooting 100 rolls of film is not a lot for a month’s stay. When I go to Paris or Cuba, i shoot 80-100 rolls within a 5 day period. I shoot a lot, and I’m very careful and selective, too. This eats all my energy but I’m usually rewarded with very fine images in the end.
I have a backlog of about 1500-2000 negatives that I haven’t even contact printed. I plan to go through all of it during 2019-2021 and finally produce something meaningful, gigantic and of high quality. I’ve been saying this for years but I’ve only been accumulating.

I own 3 rolleiflexes and I’m a Leica total nut. However, I don’t fall for the Leica magic bullcrap. The real magic is in the Rolleiflex! It simply oozes magic all over the negatives! If I had a name and a publisher waiting for my next work, I wouldn’t hesitate to travel around the world with 2 rolleiflexes alone. These things work for you. It’s the best advice I can give.

Thanks for all the help

GRHazelton · Jul 11, 2019

Too bad that Rollei didn't furnish red dots as a fall-back loading mode. Think I'll stick with my Minolta Autocord. It uses the red dot method, takes a little longer to load up, but.... Additionally, its paid for!

pentaxuser · Jul 11, 2019

Thanks for the explanation Dan Daniel.

pentaxuser

NB23 · Jul 11, 2019

Nothing has worked. I will try the last trick, to stick a thicker piece of tape over the film junction and hope for the best.

I have found 3 rolls of HP5 and the one I have loaded worked out beautifully, with a strong “ping” as soon as the camera sensed the film.

So there is that; 3 rolls of HP5, good deal.

Dan Daniel · Jul 11, 2019

Bummer. It'll be a pain to do that to 35 rolls.Be sure to use a heavy-ish tape, like a paint masking tape. If you are going to go to all that trouble, no sense being subtle here. You just need it to kick, no matter what.

etn · Jul 11, 2019

There are online shops in Europe which can send you film - for instance look at fotoimpex.com and macodirect.de
They will ship to wherever you are in Europe.
Enjoy your trip!

Vaughn · Jul 11, 2019

I have'd that adjusted on my old Rolleiflex many years ago. In many ways (such as weight) I have come to appreciate my Rolleicord.

ic-racer · Jul 11, 2019

I was going to say you were foolish for not testing first, but this is not a job it is fun and I recall going to England in 1985. I had never used 220 in my Yashica 124G, but I wanted to try 220 Plus-X for the trip.

After a few winds a straight line showed up that looked like the index line for 220. All was well with the trip, but when I got home and processed the film I saw a large arrow on the paper backing about one wind further along. So all the rolls cued up wrong. After that they discontinued the film, so I never got to use it the proper way.

NB23 · Jul 12, 2019

Sure, I was foolish for not testing. But even more foolish is the industry that can’t agree on a standard.

After all, 120 film is 120 film. It’s not like I tried to use 126 film...

mooseontheloose · Jul 12, 2019

summicron1 said:
never had any trouble with Acros in my Rolleis. May be time to have yours checked. It should load fine.
This is why we test all our gear before a trip. Unless you did and this just started happening, in which case you really do need it checked/serviced.

Same. The majority of photos are taken with my Rolleiflex and I'd say that Acros is loaded in there at least 50% of the time (I also bring 50-100 rolls for a 4 week trip). Never had this issue. Like others have mentioned, I wonder if the adjustment needed is due to age or the model.

NB23 · Jul 12, 2019

mooseontheloose said:
Same. The majority of photos are taken with my Rolleiflex and I'd say that Acros is loaded in there at least 50% of the time (I also bring 50-100 rolls for a 4 week trip). Never had this issue. Like others have mentioned, I wonder if the adjustment needed is due to age or the model.

My 2.8E accepts acros just fine, and my other 3.5F (planar version) works with acros but with a late start where I lose 1/2 to 1 frame. It probably senses the film but by such a tiny amount that it lags to catch it firmly. This is my best explanation.

Grim Tuesday · Sep 2, 2019

Does anyone know if all Fuji films have the same thickness backing paper? I've never put anything but black and white through my Rolleiflex but I want to take some Velvia on an upcoming trip. Unfortunately I can't take a test roll of that and get it developed in time to know if I am getting all the frames. I do have some Acros 100 which I could develop and examine in time. Would it be safe to assume if the Acros works then the Velvia will too? I would hate to end up like NB23 with a bunch of film that can't be shot!

NB23 · Sep 2, 2019

Grim Tuesday said:
Does anyone know if all Fuji films have the same thickness backing paper? I've never put anything but black and white through my Rolleiflex but I want to take some Velvia on an upcoming trip. Unfortunately I can't take a test roll of that and get it developed in time to know if I am getting all the frames. I do have some Acros 100 which I could develop and examine in time. Would it be safe to assume if the Acros works then the Velvia will too? I would hate to end up like NB23 with a bunch of film that can't be shot!

Acros’ paper is so thin! I believe it’s safe to assume that if Acros would work, anything would work.
From my memory it’s the same paper.

But you can do a test: load your Velvia and if it catches, then you’re fine. If it doesn’t catch it’s going to wind all the way through. You can always wind it back on another spool in your darkroom and use it on another camera. In other words you won’t lose the roll.

abruzzi · Sep 2, 2019

I don’t have a micrometer or anything that can say with certainty the papers thickness, but I pulled a piece of acros paper out of my trash bin and a piece that was labeled “Fujichrome”. I couldn’t find a marker on the piece that said whether it was Velvia or Provia, but it felt identical to the Acros paper.

dodphotography · Sep 3, 2019

Strange... a 3.5F (that I recently sold) never had issues with either Trix400, Delta 100, or Acros 100.

Perhaps a CLA is in order.

dpurdy · Sep 3, 2019

I had that issue with my 2.8F and ACROS. I put a couple pieces of masking tape on the sensor roller, made sure it was nice and clean, cut with a razor knife so ragged edges and it worked fine for probably 5 years with the same tape. I recently had it adjusted by Fleenor so the tape is gone.

NB23 · Sep 3, 2019

dpurdy said:
I had that issue with my 2.8F and ACROS. I put a couple pieces of masking tape on the sensor roller, made sure it was nice and clean, cut with a razor knife so ragged edges and it worked fine for probably 5 years with the same tape. I recently had it adjusted by Fleenor so the tape is gone.

You must have magical fingers because there was no way I could put a tape on mine...

Renato Tonelli · Sep 4, 2019

Good info. I wonder if this is an issue with the Rollei SL66 as well.

Pieter12 · Sep 4, 2019

I'm pretty sure the SL66 film transport is a totally different design.

Helinophoto · Sep 12, 2019

Yes, the best workaround for this issue, apart from sticking extra tape on the film, is to roll on tape onto the roll above the sensor-roll in the camera. (so that the film is pushed harder on the sensor-roll)

This is a very easy procedure, just attach the tape to the roll above it and roll it on with a finger.

But, in the end, instead of moaning about it, you should send your camera in for a proper adjustment.

I don't know the history of all films, but I know that Acros came to the marked many years after my Rolleiflex was made.

Have your camera properly adjusted and it will work with any film, there are people in Europe that can do this.

Sgore · Sep 16, 2019

My 2.8F does this about half the time with Acros, and never with any other film. I like the tape trick and will try it out as I have about 100 rolls of Acros waiting in the wings

Grim Tuesday · Sep 16, 2019

In case anyone was wondering about the particular case I bumped this thread for, I ran several rolls of Velvia through the camera on this trip with no issues. Also some Fuji 160S, some of the new shiny Kodak backing paper and Ilford stuff. As far as I can tell this particular camera hasn't been services since 1978. Remarkable piece of kit. Mine is a 3.5E. Perhaps @Dan Daniel can comment on if the mechanism is the same in the E as it is in the F.

john_s · Sep 16, 2019

Renato Tonelli said:
Good info. I wonder if this is an issue with the Rollei SL66 as well.

It sure is!

Only the very latest magazines for the final couple of models with meters (not all models with meters) use the line-up-the-arrow method. All earlier ones (with winding-on loading knob, not handle) use the same sensor system and the same problem occurs. I had this problem years ago.

At least a late model magazine can be used on the earlier cameras.

Dan Daniel · Sep 17, 2019

Grim Tuesday said:
In case anyone was wondering about the particular case I bumped this thread for, I ran several rolls of Velvia through the camera on this trip with no issues. Also some Fuji 160S, some of the new shiny Kodak backing paper and Ilford stuff. As far as I can tell this particular camera hasn't been services since 1978. Remarkable piece of kit. Mine is a 3.5E. Perhaps @Dan Daniel can comment on if the mechanism is the same in the E as it is in the F.

Best as I have seen, the mechanism is the same. Just worked on both an Automat IIa from 1938 or so and on a 2.8F from the late '60s and the feeler mechanism was the same. I doubt that the parts would be fully interchangeable but the basic parts and mechanical principles are the same.

I have a National Camera repair book from the late '60s that discusses this problem specifically. And it recommends a change in the Rollei procedure for the default setting of the mechanism to handle it. So the problem and solution has been known for a long time. It is a series of levers being manually adjusted which allows for a variance. So I bet there are cameras out there from the factory in 1938 that handle ACROS and cameras adjusted by someone in the 1980s where everything is fine except for that last .001 missing from ACROS.

javieref · Sep 21, 2019

After reading through the posts, I took out my (c.1959) Rolleiflex 2.8E and put through a few test rolls I have Portra 160, Tri-X (reroll back as original unexposed roll - rinse & repeat, so I can test 120 format cameras I might be looking into buying.)

All went through without a hitch.
After loading the leader, closing and cranking, I did feel when the film 'caught/went through' the rollers *there was a noticable hesitation in the crank.

The Portra film base was certainly a heavier guage than the Tri-X.
Backing paper was the same guage. Both Kodak stock so neither here or there.

The only other thought I had was the film base for Neopan? or even backing paper guage.

Acros + Rolleiflex= PITA

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