I'm in love! Or lust at least LOL

[Eric Rose]

Check out this link for the in production model of the Rollei TLR. I love my Rolleiflex (mid 50's vintage, and in mint shape) and take it out whenever photography starts to get me down. Some how this camera has some kind of magic. My creative juices just seem to start flowing again and things become exciting.

Now if I sell my van .........

http://www.rolleiclub.com/rollei/tlr/048_2.8FX.htm

 

[victor]

ya - eric
its a great camera. a real joy.
u know, it is one of those things that is perfect. the new ones are built outstandingly good as well. and of course the new plannar. there is also the wide angle verssion. but i think that the true wa cameras are better there, though much more expenssive.
i know that they are planing to make the new long lense. i suppose it will be something like 120mm (image circyle, and zeiss has a disign of it as well, on hasselglad).
camera with inspitation.

 

[127]

I love TLR's (preferably 127 obviously)... Which has often led me to ponder: What happened to camera's in the 60's and early 70's to lead us to the sorry state we're in now:

Walk into a camera shop and say you're interested in taking up photography, and the salesman will say:

a) for the kind of work you're interested in you'll want a 35mm autofocus SLR with a zoom lens.
b) what kind of photography were you interested in again?

Somewhere along the line we decided that 35mm SLR was the answer, but can't quite remember what the question was.

Once upon a time there was diversity in camera's - at all levels you could choose between film formats, and camera styles, picking something that fitted you. Then the choice went away. It's now engrained in the mind set of modern photographers: I've got a komaflex slr and a rolleiflex; in use they're very similar except the SLR is heavier and noisier, yet my girlfriend (who has more photography experience than me - on modern cameras) is far more prepared to consider the Koma as a practical camera, simply because its an SLR.

The TLR has become a dinosaur, despite its superiority in many respects. The SLR crowd oftern point out that TLR's lack auto-exposure, auto-focus, motor drive etc but at the time TLR's went out of style, SLR's didn't have these features either. The new Rollei's give a hint of where TLR's could be with 40 years of development, but why can't we get a TLR with those kind of features (and more) for the price of a decent SLR.

It's a little like the cambrian(?) period in geology - there was a huge explosion in different species of animals, and then they all died of for some unexplained reason.

Ian
www.onetwoseven.org.uk

 

[dr bob]

I love TLR's (preferably 127 obviously)... Which has often led me to ponder: What happened to camera's in the 60's and early 70's to lead us to the sorry state we're in now:
___editing, sorry___
It's a little like the cambrian(?) period in geology - there was a huge explosion in different species of animals, and then they all died of for some unexplained reason.

Ian
www.onetwoseven.org.uk

Not quite. More like survival of the "most convenient".

 

[Ed Sukach]

The 127 format acquire a bad image, back in the mists of time - the '50's and early '60's. Prestige - one's image - was far more important in that period of ancient camera history.

There was a flood of cheap 127 cameras at the time. Single aperture, single shutter speed, single element meniscus lens - and single fixed focus (todays "focus free"). I think that the smaller 127 format required less plastic in manufacture.

The camera magazines either propagated or bowed to the idea of the inclusion of exposure information; "This photograph was taken at f/8, 1/50 second." - and quite a few of the unwashed crowd thought: "If I set my camera to f/8 @ 1/50th - I could take the same photograph. Not possible with the single/single/single 127.

The were some - too few - *wonderful* 127 cameras - the Rollei 4x4 was one - I think Yashica made another 4x4 TLR, and I seem to remember one or two rangefinder *gems*.

The massive shift to 35mm, with their prestige - displaced the 127. Certainly, there was nothing wrong with the format itself.

 

[juan]

Hey, I still use my Brownie 127 TLR. As long as it's sunny. It's much lighter than my 8x10.
juan

 

[127]

Not quite. More like survival of the "most convenient".

But that supposes that the 35mm SLR is the "most convenient". Personally I find the typical 35mm SLR big, heavy, unwieldy (lens heavy), intrusive, and noisey. They are a kind of "one size fits all", but its pretty hard to find something for which the typical modern 35mm SLR is the BEST solution.

If 100 years ago Kodak could build a small, lightweight, 120 camera at an entry level price, why can't we have that option now? Where are the rangefinders, the TLR's, the waist level finders, the choice of film formats... Most of these designs should be cheaper to produce that the complex mechanism that is required in an SLR. However to get any of these features in a new camera you need to step well outside the beginers budget, and you won't find them even in many so-called specialist camera shops.

Ian

 

[Eric Rose]

SLR's at least film ones are going the way of the dodo bird as well. In a very short while you won't be able to buy a good quality 35mm film camera. Just cheapy digi do dads.

 

[harveyje]

Yashica did make the "Yashica 44", a little gem very similar to the Rollie 4x4. I was using the Yashica C at the time but really lusted after the "44". Unfortunately, as a college student, it was out of my reach and illegal means were not in my psychological makeup.

 

[jovo]

I loved my Mamiya C220 and it's three lenses (65, 80, 135) dearly for years. After an interval of no photography at all, I returned with a P67 and three lenses which I now love equally dearly. Just the first glimpse of a big 6x6, or 6x7 negative was enough to kill any interest I may have had for 35mm shooting beyond it's use as an exrtemely portable convenience camera.

But the mania of the moment is digital...so very much like the SLR tidal wave of the late 60's and 70's that one needs to be well seasoned to resist the onslaught of 'film is dead' nonsense that has dominated the photographic zeitgeist. It sounds quite quaint to read a thread that still even remembers that there ever was an SLR steamroller. My antidote? I've taken the plunge into LF. Anyone know what real estate prices are in Luddia???

 

[Eric Rose]

It's funny when I first started becoming interested in photography my dad got me a Kodak Brownie that took 620 film. I was about 12. He showed me how to develop my own film and print a contact sheet. Eventually when he figured I had something worth printing he let me use his enlarger (a DeJur). He had a 35 mm SLR (Exakta, the good one with Zeiss glass) and a Rollei TLR. He couldn't understand why I was always drooling over the TLR and not this sexing SLR he had. Eventually he let me step up to the Rollei.

I still have the Rollei and it works like new. It's had a ton of film thru it over the years and has got some impressive frequent flyer miles. I still have the old Brownie too. Just wish I could find some 620 film for it. Since the Holga rage I have been interested in generating some nice fuzzy pictures.

When I started using 35mm seriously I bought a fixed lens RF rather than a SLR. It wasn't until I got into newspaper work that I finally broke down and bought a Nikon SLR. That's only because we had a pool of lenses we could use.

Some much for the trip down memory lane! I've never been one for the main stream, so it's no surprise I love my TLR and LF gear.

 

[noblebeast]

I guess I'm sort of a born again TLR fan. After using 35mm for years I got a Mamiya 645 a couple years ago for the bigger negatives. Once I started working with those I wanted a less expensive MF camera to lug around and was lucky to acquire a near-pristine Yashica D with a decent example of the Yashinon lens (some users report terribly soft corners, but I haven't had that problem). The simplicity of that camera is leading me to want to get rid of everything I have that isn't fully manual. I now understand why my father - my first photography teacher - gladly gave his 35mm equipment to me and sang the praises of his Minolta Autocord. He said it was the only camera he would ever use again. When he died I discovered its joys, and would still be today if some a**hole hadn't broken into my home and stolen it.

This then leads to a question for all you TLR fans around here: I want to eventually get a TLR with better glass than the Yashica. I want to stay with 120/220 format. I will use it in a variety of situations (landscape/studio portraits and anything in between). Mostly black&white but some color. So if it was you, what would you pick and why. Rollei with Zeiss? Rollei with Schneider? Mamiya 220? Another Autocord?

Looking forward to your input!

 

[Eric Rose]

My Rollei has the Zeiss lens. It's sharper than my Blad 80mm and just as contrasty.

 

[Les McLean]

I now understand why my father - my first photography teacher - gladly gave his 35mm equipment to me and sang the praises of his Minolta Autocord. He said it was the only camera he would ever use again. When he died I discovered its joys, and would still be today if some a**hole hadn't broken into my home and stolen it.

Your father was a wise man. I started my photography nearly 30 years ago using LF and after less that 1 year I purchased my first Autocord for £10 sterling followed by a second within 2 years for £35 sterling and used them for the first 15 years of my photographic life. All of my friends had Hassleblads and Bronicas and we couldn't see a great difference in the quality of the final prints we made. Eventually one of my Autocords gave up and I used it for spares for the other until I felt that I needed the facility of interchangeable lens and purchased a Mamiya 645 and a range of lens that I still use today.

The Autocord is safely tucked away in my house and is considered a trusted friend, having shared some wonderful times with me. Not wishing to sound morbid, I intend to go to meet my maker with my friend, and yes there will be a roll of my favourite black and white film in it.

 

[noblebeast]

The Autocord is safely tucked away in my house and is considered a trusted friend, having shared some wonderful times with me. Not wishing to sound morbid, I intend to go to meet my maker with my friend, and yes there will be a roll of my favourite black and white film in it.

Les, I know that day is still a long way off, but don't forget a lens shade - I'm willing to bet that those gold-paved streets can cause a tremendous amount of lens flare.

 

[harveyje]

"It's funny when I first started becoming interested in photography my dad got me a Kodak Brownie that took 620 film"

Like you, Eric, my father gave me a Brownie 620 when I on my 11th birthday(circa 1950), mainly so I would quit playing with my mother's Kodak Tourist 620. I couldn't keep up with the processing costs so the next Christmas I was presented with a Kodak developing kit to process the film and contact print the negs on paper that was so insensitive that you could handle it in subdued room light and the printer had a 100 watt bulb! I have been involved with photography ever since, in spite of other distractions such as medical school, etc. I combined all the cash graduation presents I received and used them to purchase an Olympus Pen F which I loved until it died some years later. Thanks to the Army I was able to get into Nikon equipment while stationed in the far East. Now I have 35mm, 6x6, and 4x5 and enjoy using each of them. My favorite is 6x6 which allows portability and a good negative size for my meager darkroom efforts.

 

[rjs003]

About a year ago I was going through my old photos when I noticed that the best work I had ever done was with my Yashica 635. In as much as I was about to retire and was considering starting up my old hobby of photography, set about buying a complete Yashica outfit. I now have three 124G with extra lens and close ups lens. Anything I could find on E bay; including an Omega 4x5 enlarger. Well long story short I'm still impressed with the Yashica's and photography has never been so satifying.
Like so many others I've had a selection of 35mm SLR, none of which has been all that impressive, I keep them around so my daughter can borrow them from me.