Rolleiflex with built in selenium meter - how common for these to fail or drift?

[rolleiflex1954]

For Rolleiflex owners with built in selenium meter - how common is it for these to fail or drift?

 

[JPD]

It depends a lot on how they have been stored. If they have been stored in darkness the selenium meter might still give a reading (correct or not). The 3,5F I bought in the early 1990s was about 25 years old and had a working meter, but it had to be adjusted one stop. I haven't checked it for accuracy lately, because I use a handheld meter. The meter on my 2,8F and 2,8E didn't work properly (way too low readings). My guess it that most selenium meters are either dead or too weak by now.

 

[Kino]

Pretty common. Best to use a handheld meter or confirm the selenium meter's reading with same until you are sure it is fine.

 

[guangong]

The selenium meter on my otherwise mint 2.8F has been useless for at least past 5 years. My LunaPro meters are working perfectly thanks to Gossen battery adapters.

 

[itsdoable]

Selenium cells are solid state semiconductors where the electrical properties typicality do not degrade. The issue is oxidization of selenium in the presence of moisture, which corrodes the semiconductor. The cells are coated with a varnish/shellac which protects them from moisture, and as long as that layer of shellac is intact, the cell is probably working. UV light degrades the coating, so if the cells have been left exposed to the sun, there is a good chance they have been compromised (and hence the advice to keep them in the dark).

The quality of the coating plays a big roll in the longevity, and you find a lot of Gossen selenium meters that still work, not just because they made a lot of them, but they also used a quality shellac (Rollei sourced their meters from Gossen).

And obviously do not scratch or de-solder the wires...

 

[paddycook]

The Selenium meter on my 2.8F is working perfectly.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

On one of my 2.8 E's, the meter is dead. On the other, it works, but I don't trust it beyond confirming Sunny 16 still applies - anything more than a couple stops below that and I don't trust it. So with either camera, I either Sunny 16 rule or use a handheld meter.

 

[rolleiflex1954]

Selenium cells are solid state semiconductors where the electrical properties typicality do not degrade. The issue is oxidization of selenium in the presence of moisture, which corrodes the semiconductor. The cells are coated with a varnish/shellac which protects them from moisture, and as long as that layer of shellac is intact, the cell is probably working. UV light degrades the coating, so if the cells have been left exposed to the sun, there is a good chance they have been compromised (and hence the advice to keep them in the dark).

The quality of the coating plays a big roll in the longevity, and you find a lot of Gossen selenium meters that still work, not just because they made a lot of them, but they also used a quality shellac (Rollei sourced their meters from Gossen).

And obviously do not scratch or de-solder the wires...

Thanks! This is an excellent explanation of the failure modes...

 

[beemermark]

My 2.8F works perfectly from very low light to F16 sunshine. The meters are easily adjustable.

 

[ic-racer]

I recently tested my Rolleiflex 2.8f (1968) with a calibrated light source and found it to be within about 1/2 stop throughout its range.

In my experience the Rolleiflex selenium meters are as good as any selenium cell meter.

On the other end of the specturm, I was recently repairing some Yashica Atoron Minox-style cameras and it seems almost all of them on ebay (including mine) have a failed selenium cell.

I did have a Rolleiflex 2.8F in 1986 with a failed meter, but that turned out to be a bad galvometer. There was green oxidation on the wires to the galvometer causing open circuit. The selenium cell, however, still worked.

Since a hand-held camera without a meter is kind of useless to me, I traded that one in on the one I have now.

 

[xya]

I have 2 T-models with meters, both working perfectly. One has a cracks in the needle housing from being dropped, nevertheless it works well.

BTW: if somebody has this transparent plastic housing to sell, I would be glad to buy it...

 

[blee1996]

My Rolleiflex 3.5F (model 3, late 1960s) has a nice working meter, which is still accurate today. Not bad for a 60 years old selenium meter.

Some of my other camera/meter have even older selenium meters that still works reasonably well.

 

[Arthurwg]

Can these be restored or fixed?

 

[richyd]

When I got my 3.5F a few years ago the meter worked well but then got a bit erratic. On close inspection I noticed that one of the soldered lead connections looked poor and cold, so I re-soldered it and after it functioned accurately.

I have seen online a few conversions - complicated unless you are an electronics buff.

 

[JPD]

Maybe there will be new replacement selenium cells of good quality for a reasonable price someday. Probably from China, since most of the new replacement parts and accessories come from there. In Germany just the thought of it would cost thousands of Euros.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Well, heretic time. I pulled a solar cell from a $3 calculator from Walgreens (a cheap drug & junk store for the non-Americans) and put it in a YashicaMat LM. I needed to adjust a couple of pots in the circuitry but it worked and was accurate...

So the tech is out there, but making it work is usually not worth it.

 

[itsdoable]

Can these be restored or fixed?

Not really, you need a new Selenium cell if the old one has corroded, and they have not been made in many years.

Well, heretic time. I pulled a solar cell from a $3 calculator from Walgreens (a cheap drug & junk store for the non-Americans) and put it in a YashicaMat LM. I needed to adjust a couple of pots in the circuitry but it worked and was accurate...

So the tech is out there, but making it work is usually not worth it.

I've done the same with a cheap cell from a solar calculator too, on Yashicamat LM no less!

I had to put a partial block on the cell as it produces more current and voltage than the old selenium cell. The other issue is that silicon cells are quite sensitive in IR, so they may miss-read in certain conditions, so its useful to compensate with a blue filter in front of the cell. Selenium cell sensitivity is close to visible light.

 

[dave olson]

I have a 3.5 F, near the last of production. That puts my meter in the old group. When I go out I take the 3.5 F, built in meter, and a Sekonic or Gossen handheld meter. I will experiment between the two types to see what difference there is. Usually not more than 1 to 1/12 stops. I've had my Rolleiflex since the '70's. You can calibrate the camera mounted meter by adjusting the small screw.