Graflex vs Rolleicord

Mitya138 · Feb 1, 2012

I had been considering a TLR for some time and saw on that auction site that about the cheapest option was a Graflex 22. It's a moot point now, as I picked up a Rolleicord V in excellent condition for a great price. But could anyone tell me how the two stack up against each other? I'm extremely satisfied with the V, but I can't help wondering, "what if?"

Dan Daniel · Feb 1, 2012

The Graflex was a continuation of the Ciro-Flex, yes? If so, well, you are doing quite well. Don't look back. Unless the focusing system was completely redesigned from the Ciro-Flex, unless the film transport was updated, unless they basically re-tooled the Ciro-Flex, the Rolleicord is a better camera all around. I consider the Yashica-Mat series to be sort of the bottom rung of 'good' TLRs. And the Ciro-Flex is below that. Not to say that they aren't usable, and that you can't get good results. But as basic objects, as examples of what a camera can be, the Rolleicord is far above the Ciro-Flex.

EASmithV · Feb 1, 2012

I too have been wondering about this. I've had a hankering for a Rolleicord lately, But as i'm somewhat of a Graflex aficionado, I gave the Graflex 22 some thought. Hopefully someone will come along an post images from a Graflex 22 (preferably wide open at close range).

Dan Daniel · Feb 1, 2012

Go to flickr and search for Graflex 22. You'll get lots of samples, and lots of images of the camera.

removed account4 · Feb 1, 2012

back in the 80s i had a 124ma-g and i loved it ... when i was broke in 1990 i sold it
and regretted it for a long time. i eventually ( 20 years later ) decided to get
another tlr and found a rolleicord 1a-3 on ebay for not much $$. i brought it to
zack's camera repair 2x, once to fix the pop up viewing hood and to a shutter cla
and most recently to fix the winder so it stops again when the new frame is reached.
now it runs like a dream it is a great camera that i look forward to using as often as possible.
i'd get the rollei over the graflex any day of the week ... minolta tlr's run nice too
but the performance of a rollei ( even a 70 year old one ) can't really be beat.

snay1345 · Feb 1, 2012

I had a graflex 22 and took a couple of rolls of photos with it. I will scan some of the negs and post them. I didn't have any problems with the camera. The only real limiting factor was the max 200 shutter speed. But using slow film with filters it worked. I ended up not using it much because i also have a yashicamat 124 so I gave it away to one of my facebook friends that didn't have any kind of tlr in hopes it would get some use.

jp498 · Feb 1, 2012

I don't think graflex wanted to compete against their much nicer speed/crown graphics or perhaps they wanted some down-market or first time camera owners to buy into the brand.

I played with an graflex 22 that someone wanted to sell me for $20 (it needed some work). It turned it down as it wasn't built anywhere near as good as the yashica or rollei TLRs. It was a toy / low end camera compared to the good tlrs.

One would be better off investing the $100+ in a decent yashica or $250+ in a decent rollei automat or cord, and reselling it if it doesn't suit your style.

Sirius Glass · Feb 1, 2012

Look up information on www.graflex.org and then post your questions.

phh · Apr 24, 2012

I just repaired a Graflex 22 and finished the first roll on it. The result is great and the coated lens works much better than I thought before. My favorite is still Super Ricohflex, a tiny box with amazing coated triplet lens.

It may sounds weird but recently I realized that coated triplet lens is the focus group I really like. The reason is in nowadays a great image is not so hard to take, what's hard is getting great images with unique characters. The Rollei would always be great choices but I prefer to do things differently on the alternative ways.

Mitya138 · Apr 25, 2012

'Ya miissed the point

Sirius Glass said:
Look up information on www.graflex.org and then post your questions.

Just out of curiousity, I wanted to hear the opinions of people who have had experience with both cameras. Thanks, APUGers!

I'm quite familiar with the graflex.org site and it has no such comparisons.

Geez, I miiss-spelled "missed" in the title....

Graflex vs Rolleicord

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