Rolleiflex factory to be liquidated

Brett Rogers · Mar 14, 2015

Mustafa Umut Sarac said:
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.

Unless I am mistaken all the Rollei 35 S models with the Sonnar were manufactured in Singapore when Rollei had a plant there many years ago. I do not think you should really conflate the issues involving your long out of production Singapore-made 35S with the circumstances surrounding the demise of the latter day DHW Braunschweig operation that was making medium format equipment. Apart from the name, there is no connection between the cameras whatsoever.

I have never owned a Rollei 35 however were I to change that it would, for me, have to be a German-made 35 with the Tessar. I have no interest in owning a German camera made in Singapore.

I'm OK because I possess a few Rollei TLRs. But I am sorry to see DHW fold. They have been very helpful to me regarding the provision of parts in the past.
Regards
Brett

Sal Santamaura · Mar 14, 2015

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

You're better off with the Mamiya's straight film feed path. If you ever decide to sell that outfit, here's a standing offer for 10% more than you paid, assuming it's still in the condition you've described it.

Sal Santamaura · Mar 14, 2015

APUGuser19 said:
Almost inconceivable what body Cassius Clay has to live in today. Age is cruel.

Muhammad Ali (please use people's correct, legal names) suffers from the effects of a so-called sport. When one is subjected to years of battering, it's easy to conceive of negative brain health consequences.

Xmas · Mar 14, 2015

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

Most smart phones have two lenses already all you need is an Avery label.

Noel

fotch · Mar 14, 2015

So sad. I would of never imagined (back before digital) that this whole industry (film related) would be some day vanish.

Ken Nadvornick · Mar 14, 2015

APUGuser19 said:
Almost inconceivable what body Cassius Clay has to live in today. Age is cruel.

Yes, it is. As is fate. There are no free lunches in life.

(He was Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in the first Liston fight, and became Muhammad Ali before the rematch 15 months later. The photograph is from the second of those two fights.)

Ken

Ken Nadvornick · Mar 14, 2015

Sal Santamaura said:
You're better off with the Mamiya's straight film feed path.

Agreed. And as I know you recall, that was a major deciding factor in my decision, given my earlier distorted film experience with the Yashica Mat 124G. Besides, as good as a Rolleiflex TLR is, there are things the Mamiya can do easily that the Rolleiflex can only dream about.

None of which, however, makes this any less sad of a day...

Ken

IloveTLRs · Mar 15, 2015

rbultman said:
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.

...

I think that would be a good idea.

Cosina taking over I mean, not the pitchforks.

elekm · Mar 15, 2015

Sal Santamaura said:
Muhammad Ali (please use people's correct, legal names) suffers from the effects of a so-called sport. When one is subjected to years of battering, it's easy to conceive of negative brain health consequences.

Some believe that the beating he took from George Foreman contributed greatly to his current condition. He won the fight but paid a significant price.

Mick Fagan · Mar 15, 2015

I visited the Rollei factory in the early 1980's and did a tour that I won when attending Photokina, the then price of a camera was close to the price of the motorcycle I was travelling on, I wanted one but just couldn't afford one.

Mick.

removed account4 · Mar 15, 2015

exactly mick !

used are plentiful in the marketplace ( and often times inexpensive )
new costs a pretty-penny, like most well crafted things.

i had and loved a 1930s rolliecord it was fun
and i sold it last summer/spring .. i am sure if i wanted to
i could buy another used one and fill the hole in my heard from the company's closure
because it is always sad when a company of nearly 100 years closes.

(my polaroid question was a joke)

Sal Santamaura · Mar 15, 2015

APUGuser19 said:
I guess it's entirely possible that he developed Parkinsons for no reason related to boxing...

Yes. And it's possible to win a lottery jackpot. I prefer to approach life's questions from a probabilistic perspective rather than relying on the merely "possible."

Argenticien · Mar 16, 2015

I do think those among us who (like myself) have not bought DHW's product somewhat lose the right to whinge and lament the loss of the firm. If we all say we want to have Rollei (& succrs.) around forever for its historical significance and for sentimentality's sake, but we don't buy, that doesn't help keep them afloat. Having said that, yes I realize the onus was not all on us. DHW's Rolleiflexen were not easy for most mortals to buy. I guess it was a death spiral: lower sales volume begat higher per-unit prices, which scared off ever more customers, which begat still lower volume... (That's before you even get into the questions of German labor costs and other external factors.)

--Dave

BrianShaw · Mar 16, 2015

Sal Santamaura said:
Yes. And it's possible to win a lottery jackpot. I prefer to approach life's questions from a probabilistic perspective rather than relying on the merely "possible."

I was thinking same thing - high probabilities are more likely than low probabilities.

E. von Hoegh · Mar 16, 2015

BrianShaw said:
I was thinking same thing - high probabilities are more likely than low probabilities.

Then you have infinite improbability, which is 42 times more useful.

On topic, I was given a nice Automat from 1948 or so by a baker from Bremen last month. Kind of ironic.

Sal Santamaura · Mar 16, 2015

Argenticien said:
...lose the right to whinge...

Dave, when did you relocate from the UK to North Carolina? I assume you did that because you used "whinge" rather than its American synonym "whine."

Argenticien · Mar 17, 2015

Sal Santamaura said:
Dave, when did you relocate from the UK to North Carolina? I assume you did that because you used "whinge" rather than its American synonym "whine."

Wow and I thought the posts were far off-topic earlier when they went into Ali's nomenclature and Parkinson's! Anyway I must admit I'm not from UK (or any part of the Commonwealth). I probably learned/learnt "whinge" several years ago while/whilst in New York working with, and in fact working for, a previous employer's teams in London and Bournemouth. To me at least, "whinge" usefully seemed to mean more purely "complain more than you have right or reason to do," without the connotation of "at a high pitch or with a nasal tone" that "whine" has. So I've kept it.

--Dave

Mainecoonmaniac · Mar 17, 2015

Here's a chuckle for you APUG folks.

http://whitewhine.com/

Rolleiflex factory to be liquidated

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency