Rolleiflex factory to be liquidated

Mainecoonmaniac · Mar 13, 2015

I own an old Rolleiflex Automat IV and the camera has a lot of soul. It's just too bad.

http://petapixel.com/2015/03/13/rolleiflex-factory-to-be-liquidated-at-auction-heres-a-look-inside/

BobMarvin · Mar 13, 2015

How sad. If the 2.8E I bought used in 1962 ever wears out I'll have to buy another used Rollei instead of a brand new one.

Richard S. (rich815) · Mar 13, 2015

Something inside me just died

GRHazelton · Mar 13, 2015

What a pity. I've been unable to afford a Rollei, so I make do with a Yashicamat. Nice, but not the same.

Moopheus · Mar 13, 2015

BobMarvin said:
How sad. If the 2.8E I bought used in 1962 ever wears out I'll have to buy another used Rollei instead of a brand new one.

In the future you will be able to buy a Rollei brand phone. It will have two tiny lenses.

AgX · Mar 13, 2015

Moopheus said:
In the future you will be able to buy a Rollei brand phone. It will have two tiny lenses.

DHW ("the Rolleiflex plant") did not own the brand name. It already was used for re-branding.
In our field that applied on the Rollei-films.

benjiboy · Mar 13, 2015

It's a sign of the times, when photography has largely become a handmaiden of of the electronics/computer industry.

rbultman · Mar 13, 2015

Maybe Cosina can make a go of the brand*. I love my Bessa and glass from them.

* Please, no torches, pitchforks only, preferably through the aorta.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

snapguy · Mar 13, 2015

Aaaawg

This hurts. In 1956 I wanted to get into pro photography but could not afford a fine camera. That year, I won a Rolleiflex in a raffle (cost me $1) and that is what I learned photography on. A few years later when I became a staff newspaper photog that is the camera I used. It was the perfect camera for me for the time. That camera is long gone but I recently bought a 60-year-old "new" Rolleiflex. Amazing camera.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Mar 13, 2015

I have Rollei 35S and have every kind of failures at the mechanism someone can imagine. I tried to repair it and it went worse. I found many people whose their cameras have similar issues. If you do it for long time , someone cuts your ticket , thats what happened to rollei.

Dr Croubie · Mar 13, 2015

Patrick Robert James · Mar 13, 2015

I wonder if I could bribe someone to give me a shopping cart and 5 minutes in there.......

Sad.

snapguy · Mar 13, 2015

poor

A poor workman blames his tools.

removed account4 · Mar 13, 2015

doesn't polaroid make rollie cameras now ?

AgX · Mar 13, 2015

No, but DHW (Rollei) manufactured for Impossible.

see here:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
(starting with post #46)

jwd722 · Mar 13, 2015

My Automat is in mourning and is wearing an arm...I mean a WLF Band in honor of it's fallen brethren.

gone · Mar 13, 2015

Out with the old, in with the....I guess there aren't any new TLRs to come in. For some reason this doesn't bother me a bit. All things are impermanent. The amazing thing is that so many of these old cameras are still around, and still working fine.

Sirius Glass · Mar 13, 2015

It is sad to see another camera manufacture go down the road on an journey down the road with no possibility of returning.

Ken Nadvornick · Mar 13, 2015

A world without new Rolleiflex TLRs? Unimaginable.

But...

Although I realize this is largely out of their control at this stage of the game, nevertheless the problem from our perspective is pretty clear:

Rolleiflex TLRs at B&H Photo
(for however long this link is still good)

Recently I fulfilled a long-time bucket list item by purchasing a Mamiya C330S together with all seven lenses, the four original lens hoods, the prism finder, the four sports finder masks (as a gift), a paramender, the wide-angle parallax viewfinder plate, and special slim Mamiya filters. I completely refoamed the light and focus screen seals. I then added one of those Suntar form-fitted heavy-duty left-hand grips with the square mount.

The camera equipment is all either NIB NOS, or very close to it. The lenses are all the latest black/blue-dot models. With the exception of the chimney finder, there is not a single scratch or rub mark on anything. Every lens and body feature and control functions as-new. Nothing is missing.

The cost?

A little over $2,000, out the door. About the same as a still-available Fuji GF670 folder. Compare that amount with the link above. If I make the assumption that the Rolleiflex tele-version is the same price as the wide-version, a three-lens Rolleiflex setup comes to $27,211, not including shipping. That's a difference of over $25,000, and the Mamiya has seven, not three, lens options.

Had I been able to afford one, I might have gone with a new Rolleiflex. Unfortunately, that price difference alone is enough for a down-payment on a young married couple's modest starter home.

Ken

Mike Evangelist · Mar 13, 2015

This news makes me very sad.

one90guy · Mar 13, 2015

Patrick Robert James said:
I wonder if I could bribe someone to give me a shopping cart and 5 minutes in there.......

Sad.

Was thinking that too, but I would like a hour. Only have a Rolleicord III but like it a lot.

Marvin · Mar 13, 2015

Someone may use that name as its very well known, but may be Rolleiflex made in China!

Ken Nadvornick · Mar 13, 2015

The Greatest Sports Photograph of All Time

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston
St. Dominic’s Arena, Lewiston, Maine, USA
May 25, 1965

Made using a Rolleiflex TLR for Sports Illustrated by a very young Neil Leifer.

Ken

Ektagraphic · Mar 13, 2015

No no no! I wish I could have afforded the silly prices for the new gear...can't really afford the well used stuff even. Where is the next DHW-Impossible-Rollei project?! We have had one for Impossible films, Ferriania films, Type 55 films, now, we just need a camera manufacturer, and the circle will be almost complete!

Sirius Glass · Mar 13, 2015

Ken Nadvornick said:
If I make the assumption that the Rolleiflex tele-version is the same price as the wide-version, a three-lens Rolleiflex setup comes to $27,211, not including shipping. That's a difference of over $25,000, and the Mamiya has seven, not three, lens options.

Had I been able to afford one, I might have gone with a new Rolleiflex.

But look at the bling that comes from walking down the street wearing all three Rolleis around your neck. Will you pass up the opportunity. Besides someone must stimulate the economy, why not you?

Rolleiflex factory to be liquidated

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