Rolleiflex help

[JPD]

the 2.8 may be unusable on the second frame in a sequence for film curl for critical work only the mamiya and autcord TLR have straight film runs.

I've never had a problem with film flatness in any of my Rolleis. Sometimes they have been standing on a shelf for weeks loaded with film, and when I unroll the film in the darkroom I've never felt any bends in the film. Rollei TLR's have been used since the late 1920's and I've never read that this is an issue.

 

[Down Under]

Hey folks, film flatness is a Rollei is nonexistent IF you don't leave film in the camera for weeks or months. It's that simple.

With only 12 exposures to play with on a roll of 120 film, just plan to shoot the dozen, and remove the film.

I've had Rolleis since 1966. For what it's worth, my 3.5 E2 (bought 48 years ago this month, and till in use) has had to be serviced 2-3 times for film feeder issues, but it's an easy fix. My two Rolleiflex Ts (bought in 2006 and 2008, they were such good deals I couldn't pass them up, and am happy I didn't) just feed film directly ie no feeders (rollers), and I've never had a problem with them. A recently acquired 2.8 E was in storage for 35 years, oddly the shutter speeds work perfectly but everything else is as stiff as I am at almost 70! It's set to go for a full CLA next month which will include a check (and probably adjust) of the feeders.

In my almost 50 years of shooting with Rolleis, I've owned a fair few but these are my keepers. I've found that nothing much can go wrong with them if you don't drop them, if you do they magically rotate in the air and always always always land on their viewfinders, with horrible results.

Whichever ROllei you buy, budget for a CLA and then use it. You will love it.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Can you elaborate on this concern a bit? It's not something I've heard about before; is it the film feeler roll that interferes with the "straightness" of the film? (Of course they all turn a corner from the roll to the focal plane, but I guess the feeler does potentially introduce a slight S-curve in the film path.

-NT

The concern is endemic to Rolleiflexes, Rolleicords, Yashica-Mats, most TLR. The issue is that the film comes off of the spool and them makes an ~90 degree turn before getting to the film gate where it is exposed. The 'Automat' rollers of the Rolleiflex is not the issue; it is the 90 degree turn.

The idea is that the film sits with this bend in it. When the camera is wound forward, the next shot is made up of the film that was sitting with this bend, and focus will be affected on that frame. Subsequent frames, exposed soon after, will not have the same degree of bend because the film hasn't has as much time to take a set.

The idea and the reality can be different. Very few people notice this making a difference. Me, I think it is quite possible that it could happen, but I have never seen it in my own film. Rollei was a serious company with a huge professional market and reputation. They used this design and film path for 40-50 years. The Minolta Autocord with a film path to avoid this theoretical issue did not make Rollei re-design their cameras (and it isn't a huge design problem, either). So either Rollei found it to be a a non- or small-issue not worth the design/retooling effort, or they recognized that most of their customers shot film quickly enough to make it a non-issue in practice.

The Minolta Autocord and Mamiyas have the film originate on the TOP spool, run in a straight line over the film gate, and THEN make the 90 degree to the lower/take-up spool AFTER the film is exposed. A nice solution to a problem that seems to have not existed for most people.

 

[BrianShaw]

Hey folks, film flatness is a Rollei is nonexistent IF you don't leave film in the camera for weeks or months. It's that simple.

With only 12 exposures to play with on a roll of 120 film, just plan to shoot the dozen, and remove the film.

I've had Rolleis since ...

1982 for me, and the same conclusion.