Rollei 35 tips?

EASmithV · Jul 5, 2009

Well, in return for taking care of a good friend of my family's cat while he went on vacation, he gave me his old Rollei 35, it's flash, collapsable lens hood, medium yellow filter, protective filter, and manual, as he no longer used it. It has the Zeiss Tessar 40mm f3.5 and it's serial is 3067585. The shutter sticks at all speeds below 30 but from 30 to 500 the speeds seem to work correctly. I just put a roll of E200 in it, so we'll just have to see how accurate it is. The light meter is spot on, I checked it with my L-508.

My biggest problem is that the manual seems to be in French (wtf?) and I can't read French. It took a while to figure out, but by looking at the pictures I finally figured out how to retract the lens. :rolleyes:

Sorry for the ramble, but can anyone tell me the age of this camera and any tips and tricks when using a camera such as this?

Sirius Glass · Jul 5, 2009

Check out these two URLs:

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/rollei/rollei_35se_35te/rollei_35_se_35_te.htm

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/rollei/rollei_xf_35/rollei_xf_35.htm

Steve

Mark Antony · Jul 6, 2009

I have one they're fun once you get used to the quirky control placement. I keep my lens out all the time, I seem to remember there is a problem if you attempt to use it while it is still retracted.
The Tessar is a very good lens, quite capable of excellent results, some more of my thoughts and images here:
Rollei 35

Mark

archphoto · Jul 6, 2009

I have a black Rollei 35S since 1981 and took it with me on my travels throughout Europe and the Middle East and the last time to Brazil.
It is a great performer and as said has some quirky control placement due to the extreme compactness of the camera.

I truely love this little camera with its great performance.

Peter

Denis K · Jul 6, 2009

Like you I have been enjoying an old camera, in my case a Vito II folder from the 50's which also has a Tessar lens. The shutter on my camera also has problems in the 25'th of a second range. My enjoyment level improved measurably after I decided to start using 400 ASA film in the Vito II. This has allowed me to keep shutter speeds up in the safe range all the time with aperatures in the sweat spot. I've been using the new TMY-2 film, but if you want to go color I've heard good things about Provia 400. These two films, IMHO, could very well be a one stop kit for shutter challenged camera's like ours. The one downside could be if your old camera has a lens with excellent performance at f/4 and below.

Denis K

neelin · Jul 6, 2009

after having not used mine for a couple of years, tip#1
"it's not broken. the lens won't retract unless the shutter is cocked!"

EASmithV · Jul 6, 2009

Mark Antony said:
I have one they're fun once you get used to the quirky control placement. I keep my lens out all the time, I seem to remember there is a problem if you attempt to use it while it is still retracted.
The Tessar is a very good lens, quite capable of excellent results, some more of my thoughts and images here:
Rollei 35

Mark

What do you mean? My shutter won't even fire with the lens retracted.

neelin said:
after having not used mine for a couple of years, tip#1
"it's not broken. the lens won't retract unless the shutter is cocked!"

Yeah that freaked me out at first.

Is it normal for these cameras to have problems with the slower shutter speeds?

Is it possible to get these cameras fixed? Expensive?

I want to take this camera backpacking with some Velvia and Kodachrome due to it's small size and quality lens.

Usually, a camera this small with components this small gives me doubts about build quality, but however this camera seems to be quite solid indeed. What are your experiences about the reliability of this camera?

Mark Antony · Jul 6, 2009

What do you mean? My shutter won't even fire with the lens retracted.

Possibly I didn't explain that too well, what I meant was you can’t push the lens back in until the shutter is cocked and if you try people have told me you have a paperweight- hence why I leave it out all the time.

Rol_Lei Nut · Jul 6, 2009

Check the focussing accuracy: At least on two Sonnar equipped models that has been an issue (2 out of 2).

Shoot something at infinity at full aperture. Or even better, shoot something at one (measured from film plane) metre on tripod, still full aperture. If the sharpness isn't "perfect", then it needs adjusting.

At least on the Sonnar models, it's a very easy, if somewhat fiddly, fix. Ask again if necessary, but do check.

smcclarin · Jun 6, 2011

I noticed on my Rollei 35 (Honeywell sticker still in place, made in germany, Tessar lens) That with Bulb setting, you have to really press the shutter button with certitude otherwise the shutter will close prematurely (watching the actuations with the back open to see what is happening), it also appears that this feature really can only be used effectively with a shuter cable and a tripod, but long exposures are possible with this little Gem, it is as big as my Nikon P5100, but goes along nicely in my Mamiya RB67 bag during landscape adventures. sometimes I check the meter agains my Soligor spot meter, so far the meter is accurate enough for me. The BW images from Ilford Delta 100ISO are really nice and this camera quickly becomes a point and shoot with very little understanding, save for the obvious shutter always cocked to open the lens and close it (springs always under tension) Too bad there wasnt a switch to close the shutter when stored to preserve the slow speed timing. Bought mine from Forsters Camera for 175.00 it had been adjusted and CLA'd so the slow shutter sounds accurate down to 1/4 of a second compared to my Mamiya RB 67 Pro-s. I have taken to storing it with the lens out and the shutter fired but transport it with the lens in shutter cocked. the good thing with this little thing is you never go out half cocked which is sometimes the case with the Mamiya. I am looking foreward to doing candids in Salt Lake city, the shutter is really a whisper.

ROL · Jun 6, 2011

smcclarin said:
That with Bulb setting, you have to really press the shutter button with certitude otherwise the shutter will close prematurely...

CERTITUDE! ...and premature "actuation" as well. The duck drops from the ceiling and we have a "weiner"(ism). Congratulations, you're a w(e)in(n)er!

Sorry, couldn't resist

ic-racer · Jun 6, 2011

Tricks? Use left thumb on the shutter release when using a flash (hold camera up side down).

Richard S. (rich815) · Jun 6, 2011

Great little cameras. I have two, one with a Tessar, one with a Sonnar. If your slower shutter speeds are a problem you really do need a CLA. I was under-impressed with my Tessar one until I had it overall checked with a complete CLA and focus accuracy test. Turns out something was off in the focus and after the repair I was like WOW!. Great performer. And great camera. Worth getting it checked and put into proper specs.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jun 6, 2011

Couple of examples using my Rollei 35T:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rich8155/133693706/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rich8155/1366426720/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rich8155/165071172/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rich8155/133696277/

Quirkly camera but a unique design to keep it so compact and a real winner once you get used to using it....

Neanderman · Jun 6, 2011

Great camera. The friend of mine who got me interested in photography had one and I used it a few times. One of the sharpest I've ever used.

Get a CLA done; odds are it will fix the slow speeds.

Then enjoy it!

Ed

Brac · Jun 8, 2011

I bought a new Rollei 35SE in the early 1980's, when I was a lot better off financially than I am now (it wasn't cheap). Although it gave excellent results, I found it fiddly and not very user friendly. The back had to be slid off to change films, and care is needed to not force it when putting it back. The flash shoe is on the bottom,which is about the worst place it could be, but there is nowhere else for it to go. But the lack of a rangefinder was the biggest disadvantage, plus the exposure is not fully automatic, so it was a slow camera to use, and in the end I stopped using it and eventually sold it. I can't say I miss it one bit.

mablo · Jun 8, 2011

I have an early Singapore Tessar version. it's so small, handy and sharp. It's meant to be used in daylight and stopped down. Just use 400 speed film, park the shutter speed to 1/250s, set the aperture dial according to the light (sunny-16) and estimate the approximate distance to your target and you always get nice sharp negs.

konsomod · Jun 12, 2011

nothing to do with the discussion, I just had to ask, the family cat has friends?

Rollei 35 tips?

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