Rolfix II Franka (Rodenstock-Trinar f3.5/105mm)

[sperera]

Hi there,
Anybody out there shot this camera? I have one with me and wondering if worth putting a roll in....there seems to be quite a few streaks of early stages of mould on the outer areas of the lens but that doesnt bother me.....

 

[ricksplace]

Yup. I have one. Do you have the 6X6 mask too? The Trinar is a three element lens. It's pretty fuzzy wide open, covers 6X6 sharp at f8, but needs to be stopped down to f16 for the full 6X9 frame to sharpen up the corners. At f8, the centre is pretty sharp, which can give nice effects. The compur rapid shutter is a jewel. It's a good 6X9 folder. Have fun with it. You probably won't want to shoot it wide open so don't worry about the fungus on the edges of the lens.

 

[sperera]

Thanks for coming in on this.....yes it has the 6x6 mask....yes, i was thinking the same....the fungus on the edges could actually be quite funky....
Rickspace, do you have any shots with it i could see on Flickr for example or anywhere else?

Yup. I have one. Do you have the 6X6 mask too? The Trinar is a three element lens. It's pretty fuzzy wide open, covers 6X6 sharp at f8, but needs to be stopped down to f16 for the full 6X9 frame to sharpen up the corners. At f8, the centre is pretty sharp, which can give nice effects. The compur rapid shutter is a jewel. It's a good 6X9 folder. Have fun with it. You probably won't want to shoot it wide open so don't worry about the fungus on the edges of the lens.

 

[Whiteymorange]

I have one and, just for fun, I took it and a Zeiss tessar out the same day and did identical shots with each one, developing the rolls at the same time. There was surprisingly little difference in the sharpness of the images when stopped down. The build of the camera was much sturdier and the overall quality much higher on the Zeiss, but I came away with a higher opinion of the Franka than I expected to have.

 

[ricksplace]

Thanks for coming in on this.....yes it has the 6x6 mask....yes, i was thinking the same....the fungus on the edges could actually be quite funky....
Rickspace, do you have any shots with it i could see on Flickr for example or anywhere else?

Sorry I don't have any. I haven't shot it much, but like Wiley said, I was very pleasantly surprised with the results. I have an Agfa with a solinar that I use when I want to use a folder. On a 6X6 neg, I can't tell the difference between the solinar and the trinar at f11 and smaller.

 

[P C Headland]

I have one, also with the 6x6 mask.

It's not a bad camera at all, although the little flap things in the film chamber can be a bit awkward. Having a 40.5mm filter thread is nice.