Price range for Rolleiflex TLR or Yashica Mat 124?

[elekm]

To add to this a bit, one of my friends at work was telling me this story:

He was just out of the Army and was working at a small newspaper up in Connecticut. The reporters sometimes took their own photos, if a staff photographer wasn't available. So the editor goes to the photo department and comes back with a Rolleiflex and hands it to Jim, who had never used a TLR.

He shows Jim how to advance the film, focus and take a photo. Jim goes out, does his interview and then proceeds to shoot a bunch of photos of his subject. He gets back to the office, hand over the camera. They open the back and -- no film. He took a bunch of blanks. I don't think he even knew how to load the film and obviously never looked at the frame counter.

Jim had to call back the person he interviewed and tell them some made-up story about why he needed to come back and reshoot all of the photos.

 

[dpurdy]

I agree that the lens is probably the only terminal problem possibility and the first thing I would do upon receiving the camera is to lock the shutter open in B and open the back and look through the lens at a small light source to see how scratched, hazy or mouldy it is. A couple light scratches are no problem and a tiny bit of haze is no real problem but anything more and I would send the camera back.

 

[jasonjoo]

Thanks for the tips. I'll be sure to take a good look at the lenses when the camera arrives. I'll try putting some film through it too.

 

[Fotohuis]

I have a Yashica Mat 124-G again. I had one 17 Y.A.
It's an almost brand new one for Eur. 125,00 but these older cameras always needed a C.L.A. which will costs about Eur. 75,- at Will van Manen camera services.
He did a pretty good job. Also new foam sealings in the camera. I just made this afternoon some new IR pictures with the Rollei IR 820/400 film and a Bay I RG715nm Heliopan IR (black) filter. Pretty convienient with these TLR cameras. I will show you the results later on this posting.

The camera feels good, the handling is perfect and so far I am very satisfied.
A Rolleiflex is a very nice camera but it will also need some C.L.A.

They all are a nice piece of mechanical masterwork.

I whish you a lot of success with you new camera.

best regards,

Robert

 

[RobertP]

I have a 3.5E...You will love it. Harry Fleenor went over mine top to bottom and installed a Maxwell screen. It is one of the finest cameras I've ever owned. Robert

 

[Allan Swindles]

"Did I make a mistake for paying $450 for this camera? What's done is done, but I'm curious"
No, I don't think so, jasonjoo. I have a Rolleiflex 3.5F which must now be about 40 years old, and has never failed me, that is, until it slipped off my shoulder whilst reaching into the car. Despite being in it's original leather case it suffered a dented base and a shutter/wind on problem. However, I have just today collected it from the repair shop and paid about $200+ (£115?), ouch!!, the fact is, after all this time, they can still be repaired. It is now as good as new. I wonder how many d****** cameras will have such a facility that many years on?
Rollei TLR's are a delight to use, i'm sure you will enjoy.

Regards - Allan.

 

[sjperry]

I have to agree with the sentiments expressed by others that $450 is not too much fo this camera - especially if the shutter happens to be working well. If you want to try to avoid CLA (I think that's about $150 or so), I would just try the shutter at the slow speeds, and if it looks ok at the slow speeds, just shoot a roll or two and see how they come out. Sometimes the shutters get sticky from non-use and just operating the shutter a bunch of times (w/o film) will get them working again. I have a number of Rollei TLR's, including a couple from the late 20's-early 30's era. On one of these I lubricated the shutter to get it going well - the other one just needed working a few times. My general user TLR is a 2.8E, which would date to 1956-59. I use it with a rollekin and shoot 35mm for things I sell on ebay (small business). Good shooting!

Steve Perry

 

[wilsonneal]

The danger of any Rolleiflex purchased at any price on eBay is that it will need significant repair work. A Rollei that's been ignored for long can be expensive to sort out. A $450 Rolleiflex that is running well with a lens in good shape (no separation, coatings in good shape) is a great buy. Regular maintenance (CLA) will allow your investment to keep on delivering. I recently paid almost twice that for a flawless, mint 2.8 that literally had never been used and came with a warranty. I did that because I saw lots of cameras from $400 to $700 that needed service. After owning and using several Yashicamats, I like the look of Rolleiflex lenses more. That's not to say you cannot make great images with a Yashicamat (or any camera, for Pete's sake), I just prefer my Rolleiflexes to just about anything else, including my Hasselblads.
N

 

[jasonjoo]

Thanks guys. Any place in particular for a CLA? I've heard of Harry Fleenor and Krimar.

BTW, has anyone have Harry Fleenor install a Maxwell screen in their Rolleiflex? Was it worth it? With a complete CLA and Maxwell screen, the total will come out to roughly $315 bucks or so. That's almost as much as what I paid for the Rollei itself! But if it's worth it, I'll go for it!

 

[Fotohuis]

If you're going to use your camera, it's necessary. Foam seals are dissolving after 35-40 years, oil on the mechanical parts are hardened which is not good for the shutter speed accuracy and life time of the fine mechanical parts. It's the same with an old timer (car). It will need some maintenance. For Rollei Paepke in Dusseldorf is a nice address (Germany). For Yashica you can ask Will van Manen (Zoetermeer, the Netherlands) and for the USA Mark Hama who has worked at the Yashica factory when this camera was under production.

A Mat in Europe is in between Eur. 100,00 - 200,00 and the CLA is about Eur. 75,- which can be 3/4 of the value of the camera. (Conversion Eur. --> US$ 1,48 at the moment: rediculous but OK..... ) But a broken Mat 124-G is worth NOTHING, so simple is it and a pain in the ass if you're on location and you're camera is broke. Unless if you're collecting cameras, especially older mechanical cameras needed more maintenance than the electronic controlled types.

Compared with the new Rolleiflex TLR cameras the prices go up from Eur. 3200 till Eur. 3800-4000 for the tele and W.A. version at F&H (Rollei).
So a second hand Rollei TLR incl. a C.L.A. is not a too bad idea!

Have fun.

best regards,

Robert

 

[markbb]

Thanks for the suggestions.

As for those that mentioned the Yashica D, what is the difference between the D and the 124/124G?

not sure about the D, but the difference between a 124 and a 124G is the latter has gold-plated electrical contacts.

 

[Fotohuis]

I couldn't resist it now.....

Now back to the dark room....

 

[David H. Bebbington]

The danger of any Rolleiflex purchased at any price on eBay is that it will need significant repair work. ...

True, but in reality the choice when buying a 40-year-old camera is often between on the one hand one that has been worked hard and thus has worn-out parts for which replacements may not be available and on the other hand an amateur-owned example that has done little work but has suffered through lying around unused.

I think the math is still in favour of e-bay, you will buy at trade prices, any repair work will probably cost you a little more than it would cost a dealer, but you then have a camera in great shape and with a guarantee (at least of those parts that fell within the scope of an overhaul) and the whole thing will cost 60 to 70% of a dealer's price.

For example, I have two Leica M2s, both bought on e-bay - one cost £220 with a stuck shutter button, fixed wth a £120 CLA, the other was stated (accurately) to have been just serviced and cost £450, so in the end the "worse" camera was a better buy!

Regards,

David