Rollei 612/614 - should I buy?

[JohnMatters]

Hello. I just came across either a Rollei 612 or 614 (saw it has the 3.8 lens, but didn't get my hands on it yet) for sale for around $100 USD. It's sold 'as is' and seems to have a fair amount of surface wear...I am having kind of a hard time finding a lot of information on the camera, and if that's a decent price for what seems to be a fairly rare Rollei. Any thoughts?

 

[summicron1]

Despite being the "first" Rollei (if you don't count the stereo models) these are not all that rare --this model Rollei were very successful and a lot were made, so $100 for one in working condition is not bad at all.

they were nice cameras in their way -- the big question is what film does it use...the original originals used 117, could be (and often were) converted to use 120 or 620. Ask what kind of spool is in the camera now, that will tell you what it uses.

other than that, make sure the shutter works, the mirror is at least working properly, and it focuses. Very little else to go wrong on those things.

http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Rolleiflex_(original)

 

[tony lockerbie]

Yes, I have one that takes an odd sized film, and I just treat it as a shelf queen. These early Rolleis have a sort of made-in-a-shed sort of look to them, but are so well put together that they always seem to work.As Summicron has said, the only issue could be the mirror or the Compur shutter sticking from lack of use.
If you want one to use regularly I would hang out for an old standard that takes 120 film, and they are a delight to use.

 

[Andy38]

Rolleiflex Original doesn't accept 120 film : 120 spool is too large.

...
If you want one to use regularly I would hang out for an old standard that takes 120 film, and they are a delight to use.

I agree.