Who else here travels with their Rolleiflex?

Kodachromeguy

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The Rolleiflex is a handy and convenient travel camera. I am not as study as Mr. Sirius with his pack full of Hasselblads and lenses, but if I want 6×6, the Rolleiflex is light, quiet, and top quality optically. The example below is Birkenauu Camp in Poland (Tri-X 400, exp. at ISO 250).

 

Sirius Glass

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But a real Rolleiflex guy will travel or walk down the street with wide, normal and telephoto Rolleis hanging around his neck. Now that is eye candy at its best!
 

mooseontheloose

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I brought my Rolleiflex for my current trip (Portugal and Spain), but with Storm Emma wreaking havoc over here, I haven't had a chance to use it. The rain is not a problem, the wind is not a problem, but the combination of both is, especially when it comes to changing film! So my Nikon is getting a bit more of a workout than planned. Hopefully the weather calms down soon (although it looks like rain for at least the next week).
 

TheFlyingCamera

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outwest

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On one trip to Europe I was carrying a 3.5 E and a 3.5 F. At an outdoor museum overheard a young guy whisper to his girlfriend "Hasselblads." At another tourist location I attracted the attention of a local film photographer who took my picture for his camera club! I take a light monopod along with a Rolleifix. It can be carried on the camera with the shoulder strap and is adequate for those slow speed interior shots. Of course, outdoors it is fine shooting from the hand supported by the strap around my neck.
 

Kodachromeguy

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outwest said:
It can be carried on the camera with the shoulder strap and is adequate for those slow speed interior shots. Of course, outdoors it is fine shooting from the hand supported by the strap around my neck.
Click to expand...
I think the Rolleiflex is one of the most convenient slow speed cameras for use in interiors or at dusk. Because of its square shape and top viewfinder, you can place it on a chair, shelf, or chunk of concrete, point it at any direction, set the self-timer, and take an exposure up to a second long. With a cable release, as long as you wish. I have often used mine this way in abandoned buildings. The example below is an abandoned tuberculosis hospital on Mount Parnitha outside of Athens, Greece. I put the Rolleiflex on a ledge and measured the light in the middle of the room with a Gossen Luna Pro digital meter with the incident dome facing the camera. Tri-X 400 film. The rest of the TB hospital group:
https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-tb-hospital-on-parnitha-greece.html

 
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dodphotography

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About to take a 10 day trip to France with my Rolleiflex. Now, how much film to order?
 

JensH

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dodphotography said:
About to take a 10 day trip to France with my Rolleiflex. Now, how much film to order?
Click to expand...

Hi,

hard to say - I would just double the number of films you usually expose on a 10 day vacancy...
Have a good time.
Jens
 

TheFlyingCamera

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You shoot conservatively, then. On my Paris trip, I think I shot an average of five a day, some days more. I had about 40 rolls to process at the end of seven days.
Eric Rose said:
I always budget 2 rolls per day. Some days you shoot 3 and other days you shot only 1 or maybe none. YMMV
Click to expand...
 

Sirius Glass

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It depends on where I am traveling, some places are more photogenic. Have I been here before? If so, how well did I photograph it? Is there something special to see? Am I taking slides or negatives? [I shoot a lot more slides than negatives]. Generally I plan on three to five rolls of film per day. If I am shooting both color and black & white, then that much for each if I plan equal usage. Some vacations I will shot more of one than the other, depends on what I will be seeing and how I want to photograph. This is for 120, but the numbers of rolls is about the same for 135-36.
 

NJH

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I like to think in rolls per hour of actually doing photography which for me is something like 1 roll of 120 per hour. Of course this could mean only using 1 roll all day long on holiday if much of the day is spent lounging about or enjoying one place, or it could mean 5 or more if packing lots of touring about into the day.
 

mooseontheloose

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dodphotography said:
About to take a 10 day trip to France with my Rolleiflex. Now, how much film to order?
Click to expand...

Depends where in France you are going, and what you are doing - is the trip photography-based, or one that focuses on something else? Travelling alone or with others? I would say the bare minimum is 2 rolls a day (20 rolls don’t take up too much room), but personally I would plan for at least 5 rolls/day (based on my shooting preferences). That said, you can pick up film in Paris, although it will probably cost more than what you are used to, especially in the States.
 

JWMster

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Nice to see this thread get new life. I've been shooting a Rollei 6008 and of course like so many things in life that I said I'd never do, I love it. Ditto for Leica M6. Downside to these two cameras is that I can't resist over-packing, the Rollei 6008 ain't a small package - especially if you add another back and lens to carry, and the Leica hates to go anywhere without the 35mm, 21mm and 90mm. Of course I tend to shoot only the 35mm. I love the output of these cameras... shooting Zeiss glass. Could I discipline myself? Hmmmm.... that's a thought, and of course tougher done than said.

But I've really come to love MF negative ...the gateway drug everyone warned me against, and now even toy with the idea of a travel MF camera. Here the toss up seems to be between a Mamiya 6 RF and Rolleiflex TLR of some sort. For the latter, a 2.8D lacks a meter... but seems to have a sweet setup for the price. Mamiya 6 has some ruggedness quotient issues from what I read that the Rolleis just don't. And then if I go into Mamiya 6 land, I think we're dealing with GAS and over-packing issues. Rollei TLR seems to force traveling with a small package... and that's a virtue. Of course there's the Fuji GF670 folder, but that's a about double the cost. Worth it?

So I'm wondering if any of this makes any sense and whether any of you folks have some suggestions on the subject? Harry Fleenor's site pushes the 3.5's and warns the 2.8 were beaten too hard in the day to be worth the trouble. I'm okay with manual light meters and working on my Sunny 16 sort of lifestyle, but have found in-camera meters have a certain utility that can come in handy. From the outside, Rollei TLR's are almost as obscure as the Leica (film) M's were before I plunged there. Mark me open to suggestions... even to just stick with what I've got.
 
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Kodachromeguy

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Wow, a Rollei 6008 - very nice!! OK here are some rambling thoughts:

1. The rational advice. If you have a 6008 and a Leica M, you are all set for life. Use them indefinitely; you don't need any more photographic film machinery.
2. For the person with some GAS: Buy a Mamiya 6 or Rolleiflex or whatever you like. If you are reasonably comfortable in life, cameras are cheap, especially compared to sports cars, big hog motorcycles, young women, scuba, jet skis, or the wine thing.
3. 2.8 Rolleiflex TLR models being beaten: I am not sure if I agree. Many were purchased by wealthy hobby users. Now that most are 40+ years old, condition is everything for both 3.5 or 2.8 models.
4. Mamiya 6 has fantastic lenses. You need to consider your photo philosophy. The Mamiya is an eye-level camera, while the Rolleiflex is a waist level (unless you buy a prism finder). You might view the world differently depending on which you use.

Here is another example of why I like my Rolleiflex 3.5E with 75mm Xenotar lens. I often place it on low objects. This is the Jewish cemetery in Lodz, Poland. The cemetery survived WWII largely intact, which is almost unique in Poland. Tri-X 400 film, scanned with a Minolta Scan Multi film scanner. I placed the camera on a stone and used the self-timer. For more of this series: https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2016/11/tragic-memories-jewish-cemetery-of-odz.html

 

JWMster

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Andrew: THanks for the comments, the photograph and the link. I love the range of tones in the shot above. In the article, I have to admit that there's always something sad about a cemetery where the stones are uncared for, and fallen. Here it is particularly poignant for obvious reasons. The comment on 2.8's came from Fleenor's website, and without knowing all that much about Rollei TLR's, I'd say my more limited experience is a bit more cautious on over-characterizations. But Harry's supposed to be the expert. FWIW, I have the poor boy Leica M4-2 everyone tells you to avoid, and it takes fine pictures. I'm shooting the 6008 which is pretty much in the same category and having rebuilt the battery with Lipo drone batteries with amazing life, it's nothing short of wonderful. So many "truisms" are stumbling blocks, but not the whole story. I may have to just wonder about TLR's a while longer. Better to learn some self-discipline than to feed the GAS beast.
 

TheFlyingCamera

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I've got a pair of 2.8E's and a Tele. All of them are over 60 years old. They have all been professionally serviced, and they work like a charm. I have no hesitation recommending a 2.8 if someone needs the extra speed, or even if you just like the way the camera looks (I think the 2.8 looks better than the 3.5... more like a real Rollei, whatever that means).
 

JWMster

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Flyningcamera: 2.8E with or without a meter, or one of each?
 

TheFlyingCamera

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JWMster said:
Flyningcamera: 2.8E with or without a meter, or one of each?
Click to expand...
Both have meters - the one meter works, well enough to confirm that Sunny 16 applies give or take a couple stops, but I wouldn't trust it in low light. The other meter is kaput. I just use a modern hand-held meter that's more precise and sensitive than the Rollei meter was even when new.
 

taomeister

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Love using the Rolleiflex as a single MF camera for travel - I had taken lots of trips with various other MF setups (Bronica RF645, Fuji GF670, Fuji GA645zi) but there's something about the manual discreteness of a TLR and the ability to take close-ups and double exposures easily that keeps me reaching for the Rolleiflex instead of an eye-level rangefinder. Without having to lift the camera to the eye, I'm surprised at how stable I can handhold it at 1/30, and how freeing the 6x6 square format can be.

A meter on the lighter 3.5F can be great for fast shooting:
https://flic.kr/p/223DKgA
 

JWMster

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Great shot Taomeister. Faved it. Guess I'd already been "folllowing"... so there you are. And yes, moving an RF to the eye can result in unsteadiness in the hand I haven't managed to train out my shooting technique just yet.
 
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