Exchanging Rolleiflex doors

Elmarc · Monday at 10:34 AM

Hello all,
I have a Rolleiflex Automat MX which does not have the correct tripod mount to accept a Rolleifix. However I do have a spare door that does have the grooved mount which looks like it came from a later Automat MX/MX EVS etc.
Should I be able to swap the doors without the need for any recalibration?
All opinions greatly appreciated as usual.

Dan Daniel · Monday at 12:30 PM

"Should I be able to swap the doors without the need for any recalibration?" Yes.

The one significant change to the backs that I have noticed is the addition of a thin metal tab at the top and bottom spool locations. This is meant to hook behind a groove in the spool knob assembly. It prevents releasing of the spools with the door closed. I've never looked at how this intersects with earlier spool knobs to see if it would prevent closing.

But this didn't come along until much later, Fs and maybe later Es.

Elmarc · Monday at 1:29 PM

Thank you Dan,
How does one actually change the door? Do the pins on the door just clip in?
I actually just opened the door to the camera and realised that there was freshly loaded film inside! The counter sits at 1 so will I have lost the first 1 or 2 frames? I presume that the backing will have protected at least some of the roll or not?
Never happened to me in decades of Rollei use until now..

Dan Daniel · Monday at 1:45 PM

The door hinge opens up in one form or another. I think the MX has the rotating lock on each side. Later ones might have a single small dot underneath the wind side hinge pin area. In both cases, you need to open the door to the top and then slide it sideways.

Oh, forgot. The MX-EVS door might have a small tit below the wind side hinge pin. This should clear the older style hinge just fine. A change I forgot about. The tit pushes the hinge release back to the closed position on the later style.

Elmarc · Monday at 2:35 PM

Thank you Dan very helpful. I will give it a go and report back.

Will start a new thread re my mishap re opening the door with film loaded to avoid confusion.

frost242 · Monday at 4:28 PM

Hello,
You can use the Rollei panorama head as a Rolleifix for your MX. I do that with my Automat.
Of course it's not as convenient as a Rolleifix but it's probably cheaper.

frost242 · Monday at 4:33 PM

And I missed the sentence where you explain you have a spare door... Sorry.

Elmarc · Monday at 4:43 PM

frost242 said:
Hello,
You can use the Rollei panorama head as a Rolleifix for your MX. I do that with my Automat.
Of course it's not as convenient as a Rolleifix but it's probably cheaper.

I was unaware of that option. Does the panoramic head support and protect the door in the same way as the rolleifix?

frost242 · 2025-12-16T00:41:31-0500

Yes it does. The only drawback is that it screws on the tripod mount.
There are two kind of heads, don't take the modern one.
You should seek this model : https://www.ebay.fr/itm/115455294630

Elmarc · 2025-12-16T05:48:14-0500

Thank you, I see that the earlier model has the pins that mate to the two points on the lower part of the body just like the Rolleifix

frost242 · 2025-12-16T11:48:12-0500

Yes, it even fits my older Old Standard.

Exchanging Rolleiflex doors

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