Rolleiflex 3.5e depth of field indicator

[Bruce Butterfield]

I have the meterless version of this camera. The depth of field indicator has become disconnected from the aperture setting ring. Is this a relatively simple repair? John Phillips in “The Classic Rollei” says this problem is easily fixed but I have no idea how he judges a repair to be “easy.” I never really use this feature but I do like to have everything working as it should on my cameras. Any hints or suggestions welcome.

 

[OAPOli]

It's reasonably simple.

On the focus side, remove the leatherette and then the small slotted screws (I think there's a bigger one; you don't need to touch it). The side panel should come out.

Under the focusing knob you'll find the two forks that mask the white bar for the DOF indication. They should couple with the moving tabs on the camera body. You have to align them carefully when replacing the panel. Don't forget to couple the focusing tab as well.

 

[Bruce Butterfield]

That sounds doable. Thanks!

 

[blee1996]

My 3.5F has the same problem with DoF scale. Is it more complex to fix? Thx

 

[Bruce Butterfield]

I found this link which is for the 3.5f but I imagine much of it is relevant:

 

[blee1996]

Thank you for sharing @Bruce Butterfield

 

[OAPOli]

On the 3.5F you have to remove the meter on the focusing knob and be mindful in properly coupling the ISO dial.

The DOF indicator can be finicky. Mine is lagging and likely requires shortening the springs that pull the tabs on the body side.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Oh my....... oh.........

... I never really use this feature....

Excellent solution!

 

[blee1996]

Maybe better not to jinx it. My meter is working accurately and I hardly ever use DOF either.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Maybe better not to jinx it. My meter is working accurately and I hardly ever use DOF either.

To be simple, there are two possibilities.

1, it was assembled with the mechanism not properly connected. So everything is in there all set, all clean, all moving smoothly. All that is needed is to position the blade tabs properly with aperture set properly and put the side panel in position (for F, with shutter speed and aperture properly set, ASA dial properly set, then install meter block with proper setting of its lever).

2, there is something off somewhere in the mechanism itself and you get to trace out the problem along a pathway of maybe 8-12 or more parts that are underneath the ASA mechanism in the side, and turn corners to connect to the shutter block. This can mean removing the lens shroud and possibly the lens board (with all the attendant fun of doing this on an F). Can also mean disassembling the focus knob to clean up the indicator vanes themselves.

If you want to have everything working and you are willing to have to learn more than you might have expected about the internals of a Rolleiflex, go for it. It isn't difficult. But it is demanding. I would be prone to suggest that it's the kind of fix that is best done when there are more pressing reasons to go in and disassemble the side and lens boards.

 

[Bruce Butterfield]

Actually turned out to be pretty simple; the semaphore arms had become disconnected from the focus knob assembly. Takes a bit of patience to get all moving parts back together properly (kind of by-guess-and-by-golly since there is no real indication of how to set the tabs on the focus knob) but it only took a half hour or so. Hardest part really was removing the leather without tearing it, fortunately I have a little dental spade tool that works well for this.

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Great! Nice to hear that it went well.