TLR film advance

[Gerry M]

I'm wondering what first hand opinions are about tlr, knob vs crank film advance? Since these are aged bodies, and w/o a verified cla, which system is the most reliable? I've had R'cord's, R'flex's, Yashica's and a Diacord L. Your input is welcomed.

Gerry

 

[tessar]

It all depends, but I've had trouble with the crank advance-shutter cocking system on a Mamiya C330, never any trouble with the knob advance (separate shutter cocking) on a Yashica 635. The simpler the system, the less there is to go wrong. The completely manual red-window system would be the most foolproof . . .

 

[dehk]

I am sure the knob advance is more reliable, since it has less parts. However, the crank on my Rolleiflex T never had a problem.

 

[Steve Smith]

I agree that fewer parts on a knob wind should be more reliable than the combined crank wind and cock mechanism.

I have no experience of this though.


Steve.

 

[Rick A]

I've never had any problems with either type. I currently own Mamiyas with both(C-220/C-330) and have owned several Yashicas with both styles.

 

[wblynch]

I have a Yashica 44 (127 film) with knob advance and knob focus. Many times I turn the advance knob by mistake when I go to focus. This is a "red window" camera and it is infuriating.

I also have a Minolta Autocord (120) with crank advance and no red window. It automatically locks at the next frame. I love that approach.

 

[MattKing]

I have never had to have any repairs performed on my Mamiya C220 (knob) or C330 (crank advance and shutter cock) mechanisms. In the 30 + years I have used my C330, on a few, rare occasions I have had the double-exposure interlock engage when it shouldn't, but that is easily cleared using the multi-exposure function.

The C330's mechanism could be damaged or bent if one dropped the camera, but I would expect that it would be fairly easy to correct the problem.

 

[Too old to care]

I recently let my C220 and C3 go, but kept my C330. I owned the C3 since 1970, and the C220 since 73 or so. The C330 came along in the mid 80s. The C220 is the only camera not requiring repair of the film advance. The problem with the others was the grease drying up allowing it to skip frames, a simple problem to fix. Remove the cover and clean and reapply grease. Enjoy the C3, mine help put me through college and pay for our first house. The person I gave it to is using it too.

 

[Wade D]

I like the knob wind on my 2 Yashica D's. While not quite as fast as the crank/shutter cock cameras, the routine is easy to get used to. I used both of my cameras for weddings for several decades and they never let me down.

 

[R.Gould]

I have both a Rolleiflex lever wind and a rolleicord knob wind, the knob wind has needed repair due to overlapping frames, the lever wind, which is the older camera by ten years, has never faltered, and still gives nicely evenly spaced frames.
Richard

 

[JPD]

I've used around 30-40 Rollei TLRs. One Rolleiflex Automat (crank) had a malfunctioning film feeler mechanism so it wound the whole film up without stopping when it should. I had it repaired. Also, one Rolleicord II i have won't automatically stop at each fram number. The mechanism needs a good cleaning. But it can still be used if I look at the frame counter when I wind.

The most reliable Rolleicord must be the first model from 1933-36, either with 4,5 or 3,8 Triotar. It has the simplest mechanical frame counter of them all. But I presume even they can have problems with hardened grease. The only simpler TLRs are the ones that use a red window instead of a mechanical counter, like the Yashica A.

But if you get a good Rolleicord or Rolleiflex, especially after a CLA, they will both be reliable. A Rolleiflex with it's crank is much faster to use.

 

[Gerry M]

Interesting experiences and points of view. I thought the knob advance might be somewhat less prone to failure.