Rollei 35 - Parts/Repair

Hi folks,
My better half surprised me yesterday with a couple of cameras she saw in an antique shop and brought home. One is a Rollei 35. Nice little camera - I believe an early model. (The other camera is an Elioflex which should be interesting to try out.) Despite the shop owner assuring her that both cameras are in "perfect working order", the Rollei is missing a few screws and levers including the film advance lever and rewind switch. Someone has clearly been inside the camera before as the top plate pops off easily. There is little or no corrosion in the battery compartment.

Obviously I'm not expecting anyone to tell me exactly what the camera needs, but any thoughts on where to source the parts obviously missing or what to particularly look out for would be welcome. Pictures attached.

I'm going to ask around here in Ireland to see if I can find someone with experience with these to do some work on it. It would be great to get it in working order again if at all possible.

I bought my Rollei 35 from filmfurbish.com in England. They may be able to indicate a contact person who does the CLAs for them, or even take your camera in for a repair.

Good luck, it's a nice little camera.

Get a second parts camera that contains the missing parts.

You can also check e-bay for brand new parts, they show up from time to time. I got a Rollei 35 LED in 2008 and did find a brand new top plate on ebay in 2019.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/rollei-35-led-repaired.171199/

I have 4 of them and love them. Since this one has been messed with and stripped for parts (probably for a reason that may not be obvious at this point) I would recommend selling it as a parts camera and buying a complete, working one. Not to mention the cost of good labor these days;-)

sterioma said:

I bought my Rollei 35 from filmfurbish.com in England. They may be able to indicate a contact person who does the CLAs for them, or even take your camera in for a repair.

Good luck, it's a nice little camera.

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Thanks for the recommendation! I am in contact with them and they have pointed out the model I have is at the more desirable end of things since it's an original "Made in Germany" version. I'm thinking I'll send it over to them for a closer look anyway. Thanks again for the link.

ic-racer said:

Get a second parts camera that contains the missing parts.

You can also check e-bay for brand new parts, they show up from time to time. I got a Rollei 35 LED in 2008 and did find a brand new top plate on ebay in 2019.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/rollei-35-led-repaired.171199/

Click to expand...

Thanks - I can see I wouldn't be as experienced as you clearly are with repairs! This camera could do with a CLA anyway and I also worry about building up a selection of broken cameras and parts I never get around to getting rid of (already have a few).

outwest said:

I have 4 of them and love them. Since this one has been messed with and stripped for parts (probably for a reason that may not be obvious at this point) I would recommend selling it as a parts camera and buying a complete, working one. Not to mention the cost of good labor these days;-)

Click to expand...

Another option, but I think I'll at least look into getting this one repaired, particularly looking at the kind of prices this version seems to be going for, versus what was paid for it (very little!).

Thanks again for the replies.

Just remembered that I had downloaded an allegedly 1972-year version of the repair manual for the Rollei 35. Perhaps that'll be of help, too? It was quite easy to find via searching, but PM me if you wish to have me send it to you one way or another. Includes part numbers.

AdrianR said:

Just remembered that I had downloaded an allegedly 1972-year version of the repair manual for the Rollei 35. Perhaps that'll be of help, too? It was quite easy to find via searching, but PM me if you wish to have me send it to you one way or another. Includes part numbers.

Click to expand...

Thanks Adrian. Yes - I think I found that document.