Rollei 35S vs 35T?

[sterioma]

Thank you all.

In the end I have just pulled the trigger for a Singapore Rollei 35 with Carl Zeiss made Tessar lens that should have been made in the same year that I was born. Paid a little more for the priviledge
CLA'd and 12 months warranty.

 

[mgb74]

But we're talking about optical quality... I also have some Canon New FD lenses that at first look appear cheap, weight extremely light and are mostly plastic. They are also of very high optical performance.

When i mean "quality inspection" i mean making sure that the optical quality is OK.

If the lens is flimsy (my term, not yours) it's not likely to maintain high optical performance over time.

 

[Ces1um]

I know the rollei 35's are popular cameras these days but I've been disappointed by mine. I don't love the photos I take with it. It's a nice camera to hold and in my mind looks amazing. I just have been disappointed with my results so far (with colour film). Now maybe it's the film I've used and admittedly I haven't spent much time with it as my first few rolls of film have proven lackluster. I have yet to put black and white through it- which I think I'll try this weekend. Maybe that will be more to my taste. I just thought I would love the thing and really I don't at all.

 

[Ebbinaoil]

I recently acquired a Rollei 35. But oddly it comes with a Sonnar and not a Tessar, does anyone know why?

 

[grain elevator]

I recently acquired a Rollei 35. But oddly it comes with a Sonnar and not a Tessar, does anyone know why?

Why? They were made with Sonnars, Tessars and Triotars.

 

[AgX]

I assume Ebbinaoil refers to designations:

Rollei 35 / Rollei 35T = Tessar
Rollei 35S = Sonnar

Thus a Rollei 35 with Sonnar seems strange..

 

[Tony-S]

Just got a free 35S with HFT f/2.8 and after figuring out how to open this complicated thing I have it loaded with a roll of a Neopan 400. I hope to finish the roll and develop it tomorrow to see how it is. I’m using the Pocket Light Meter app on my iPhone so I hope it is giving me proper exposure information.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Just got a free 35S with HFT f/2.8 and after figuring out how to open this complicated thing I have it loaded with a roll of a Neopan 400. I hope to finish the roll and develop it tomorrow to see how it is. I’m using the Pocket Light Meter app on my iPhone so I hope it is giving me proper exposure information.

Do you know if the light meter in your unit is working? Originally, it used a Mercury battery. Now, your best choice will be one of the little adapter devices or the hearing aid batteries, which are also 1.35 volts.

 

[Tony-S]

Didn’t check. I have an MR9 for my Canon F-1n though.

 

[ericB&W]

I have a Rollei 35 T and is very, very sharp.

Mine has the shutter speeds that work properly, but
i was asking if is better to keep the camera at home without closing the collapsible lens ,
with the shutter unloaded , so to not put in tension the mechanical parts and try to preserve better in years.

 

[John Wiegerink]

I have owned more than a few Rollei 35's and think they are a great camera, but just a little bulky compared to my Minox 35's. Huss mentioned the shutters slow speeds sticking and that does happen when just about any all-mechanical shuttered camera rests on a shelf for long periods of time. The Rollei 35 shutters slow speed train is very easy to bring back to life. The meters on certain equipped models id another story. Best just use a separate hand-held meter since they are usually far more accurate anyway. As for which lens is better? I like the Tessar over the Sonnar. I'm not saying the Sonnar is that bad, but the Tessar just seems better in the samples I have tried. The Tessar seems to have slightly better contrast to my eye. What I really like about the Rollei's Tessar lens is that it has, what I call, superior micro contrast, which also help add to that "sharp" look. They are great little cameras, but slightly over price in my opinion. I have shot both the Minox 35 along side the Rollei 35 and I think the Rolleis Tessar might be just a tad better in the sharpness department. I'll take the Minox every time for ease of use and being more compact, easy to carry. That's another story of course. I still have two Rollei35's left and they both have the Tessar. JohnW

 

[ph]

sirs,

Both cameras lived for years in my anorak pocket when hiking after I gave up on having the heavier M3 plus meter there.

in my experience the Minox 35 electronics were higly unreliable. I worked through ,bout 3 of them returning them to gthe maker to have them fixed on the guarantee, but they failed again (the shutter nagnets). But the simple four element tessar type optics were excellent, regardless of what they were called. The lenses can easily be extracted from the camera and used on mirrorless digitals but aperture control will then be gone.

The Rollei " Sonnar" (As with all current varieties, no relation to the original Sonnar design) is a good performer although the cocking and collapsing system is more fiddly than the Minox. Sunshade is recommended although Rolleis HFT multicoating works well.

p.

 

[Huss]

The Rollei 40mm 2.8 LTM lens is apparently identical to the 40mm 2.8 Sonnar in the 35S and 35SE. Funny thing is it is much bigger, just because of the casing they put it in to make it 'fit' on an interchangeable lens camera.

It is one of my favourite lenses on Leicas.

 

[Tony-S]

OK, I can now say I shot a roll with it. I have the 35S (f/2.8) and it has the slow shutter speed problem that makes it effectively B on anything slower than 1/15 second. It's put away and don't know if it'll every see the light of day again! Not a big fan of zone focussing. Anyway, here's one image from it, shot with Delta 100 and processed with Perceptual 1+2 for 21 min at 72F.