by Ferdi Stutterheim
On this page:
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| Photograph of new Rolleiflex 2,8 E with factory seal. Photo © Karl Keung. Photo used with permission. |
The Rolleiflex and Rolleicord TLRs are very sturdy built cameras meant for professional use. A member of the Photo.net community writes over and over again that one should not buy a fourty year old Rolleiflex camera because it will be worn. For heavily used cameras of mediocre built quality, this may be true. For the Rolleiflex that is complete nonsense. Most Rolleiflexes from the Fifties are still sound cameras for daily use. Like all mechanical tools they have to be serviced now and then. When a Rolleiflex is not working properly, all it will need is a service by a competent repair person. Inexperienced "repair" is a rather common fault.
In his book Collecting and using Classic Cameras (London, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-27656-0), Ivor Matanle gives a few points to watch: the lens panel, the back and the leaf shutter.
"Everything in a TLR depends on the lens panel being parallel to the film plane. Be very cautious about a twin-lens reflex whose focusing is stiff, as this often indicates it has been dropped on its front, and look for other evidence of this mistreatment. Avoid twin-lens reflex cameras with dents in the back, as the blow may have pushed the pressure-plate, and therefore the film, out of parallel with the lens panel. ... check that the wheel that sets the aperture is not stiff, and that the shutter button pops smartly out after being pressed. Stiffness or sluggishness indicates a need for servicing."
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| Photograph of new Rolleiflex 2.8 E with factory seal. Photo © Karl Keung. Photo used with permission. |
Sometimes it is suggested that one should check the gap between the moving lens panel and the camera body. Move the lens panel back altogether and then slightly forward. The gap is visible against an Aluminium background. Now check that the gap is even. This test only proves that the lens board cover is shimmed correctly. The inside lens board is shimmed independently of the cover, so an even gap does not guarantee both lenses being parallel to the film plane. After a long discussion, R.U.G. experts agreed on this. (They do not agree on much else!) I would like to add that an uneven gap suggests that someone has done work in there and did not do a good job remounting the cover. You could ask yourself what else was done in there and how good that will be.
Mr Matanle's further checks for leaf shutter blades would be: no corrosion, no signs of any free oil, no pin hole when "closed". Corrosion is bad because the camera might have been kept in adverse conditions. Any sign of free oil suggests inexpert servicing. Set a speed of 1 second and trip the shutter. You should hear a nice even buzz of about 1 second, without hesitations. A hesitating buzz would indicate a need for a shutter overhaul. Then check all other shutter speeds.
Then the lenses have to be checked carefully. In an ideal world the lenses should be completely clear. In reality a slight haze is not unusual. Some fine lenses are prone to haze as result of dust etc. They can be cleaned but it will add to the cost.
A more serious fault is lens separation. The Tessars, Xenars, Planars and Xenotars are built from lens elements. Some elements are cemented together into groups. It is not uncommon for classic cement to disintegrate and elements will start to separate, starting at the edges. Focal Point offer to recement elements, but the tricky part is to free the elements completely before recementing can take place. At this point elements can be damaged and the repairer takes on this kind of work on "best effort basis, rather than guaranteed result". My advice is to stay away from separating lenses, unless the camera is really cheep.
Another nasty problem is fungus. Cleaning a lens infested with fungi is possible but may be expensive. You want to have your lens rebuilt properly, won't you? The real downside is that the lens coating is effected by fungi. This is irreversible. When buying a camera, it is impossible to determine the stage of this progressive process. Off course there is a man who can recoat your lenses, but, well, ............ I think you have got the picture. Fungus is associated with moisture. In some parts of the world it is not a frequent fault, in other parts it is.
While I am not in the trade, I would like to refer you to D. Colluci's web-page. It is regularly updated and can be found at my Rolleiflex Links page:
Rolleiflex TLR Camera Price Guide
Consider joining a Rolleiflex Mailing List. The Rollei List is provided by Marc James Small. To join click on the following link and subscribe.
Members are mainly TLR users.
A word of advice. Please use plain text mode without any attachments such as calling cards when writing to the Rollei List. Many Members are limited in the use of bandwidth or they use antiquated mail applications and may get really upset by modern mail formats such as HTML. A nice and helpful lot most of the time. Some of them are a bit peculiar. ;-) That's part of the fun but not everyone's cup of tea.
After the RUG moved to Freelists and the name was changed to Rollei List the old archives were inaccessible for a number of years. Thanks to Brian and Emmanuel the archive was rescued and is now restored:
A second Rollei mailing list (Rolleiusers) was started by Daniel Ridings. It is hosted with Yahoo Groups. To join visit
Most members were or still are members of the first Rollei List. Rolleiusers is a more sedate group. When touchy or suffering from a nervous disposition try this list first. :-)
A Rollei List FAQ sheet is edited by Emmanuel Bigler. This file started with answers to some basic questions on the Rolleis and has evolved into a real Rollei knowledge base. A back-up copy of the FAQ sheet is available from the Rollei List Archives site. The FAQ sheet in html-format (with active links) will be mailed to anybody interested upon request.
Just click on the following links and follow instructions.
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| Photograph of Wide-Angle Rolleiflex Photo © Ferdi Stutterheim. |
For classic Rolleiflex TLR manuals check the following links to private sites:
Orphan Cameras
by Michael Butkus. Choose "R" for Rolleiflex, that will take you to
"Ricoh". Now scroll down to Rolleiflex.
Richard Urmonas
Commercial sources of copied manuals include:
Craig Camera
H.Lindemanns Buchhandlung, P.O.Box 103051, D 70026 Stuttgart, Germany.
Fax: +49 711 236 9672.
Bayonet I, II, III and VI filters are available new from
B+W Filter (Schneider Kreuznach) and
Heliopan
These filters themselves are excellent quality however the modern mounts are not as good looking as the classic chrome Rollei filters. Classic Rollei Bay I and III filters are readily available used but Bay II filters are hard to get.
Some people prefer to use their thread mount filters. Adaptor rings for using threaded filters on a Rolleiflex are available from
Camera Depot and
Harrison and Harrison
1835 Thunderbolt Drive, Unit E
Porterville, CA 93257
U.S.A.
Telephone 559-782-0121
e-mail: Harrison
Rolleinars are simple close-up lenses mounted in front of both TLR lenses for close focuring. In Europe Rolleinars can easily be found on camera fairs. They come in pairs as Rolleinar 1, Rolleinar 2 and Rolleinar 3 for Rollei bayonet sizes I, II, and III in neat leather pouches. The Rolleinar for the viewing lens includes a prism to correct for parallax error and shows a red dot for mounting. An earlier model had the prism as a separate part, so a complete set of this model would consist of three parts. When buying, make shure you get all the parts you need.
It is not uncommon for the data sheets of the Rolleinars to be lost. You will find the information below.
Object distances when using Rolleinars on a Rolleiflex TLR
Depth of field table Rolleiflex TLR 3.5/75 mm
Depth of field table Rolleiflex TLR 2.8/80 mm
Depth of field table Tele-Rolleiflex
Depth of field table Wide-angleRolleiflex
Depth of field table Baby Rolleiflex TLR 4x4
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| Photograph of Tele-Rolleiflex in Ever Ready Case. Notice narrower gap Sports Finder. Photo © Ferdi Stutterheim. |
The Rolleiflex TLRs do not require batteries. The lightmeters have Selenium cells. When exposed to light Selenium generates a very small current that is measured by a sensitive Galvanometer.
The Cadmium Sulphide lightmeter of the Rollei 35 does. It takes the PX625 type cell. It contains Mercury and is not available anymore in most countries. It was "replaced" by the PX625A (alkaline) cell. Not an acceptable replacement. First the 625A supplies 1.5 Volt instead of 1.35 Volt for the Mercury cell. A more serious difference is the discharging curve. Mercury cells keep a steady voltage of 1.35 V until they die. Alkaline cells suffer from a gradually decreasing voltage. There is no way the light meter can be properly recalibrated for this ever falling voltage.
There seem to be two acceptable replacements: the Weincell and the CRIS MR9-adaptor. The Weincell has a discharging curve similar to a Mercury cell. The only draw-back is it will last only about six months. Your old Mercury cell would have lasted six years. The CRIS MR9-adaptor has about the same size as a PX625. I contains electronic circuitry and takes a standard Silver Oxide cell.
The MR-9 appears to be 0.010" higher than the PX625. The battery cover may not screw in completely when using a MR-9. The device is reusable and has to be bought just once.
Last time I took chemistry classes Silver was a heavy metal too just like Mercury. Politicians will be able to explain why we are still allowed to have Silver Oxide cells and no Mercury cells.
The old web-site of the Rollei Club of the Netherlands announced a DIY kit for building your own adaptor. It involves in the demolition of a PX625A alkaline cell to get a proper housing. After that comes some cutting and soldering. A neat job for a rainy Sunday afternoon. The instructions are available as an English language PDF-file from the Download Page now. Those of you with two left hands can buy a complete adaptor from the designer Mr. F. de Gruijter, battery.adapter (at) orange (dot) nl, at EUR 15.00. Please find particulars near the end of the PDF-file.
The SLX and the 6000 series use NiCad battery packs. Eventually they will die. Apart from buying a new pack you can have them rebuilt at places like
At the time of writing this line they charged US$ 45 plus shipping.
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| Photograph of Rolleiflex 2.8 F Photo © Emmanuel Bigler. Photo used with permission. |
The Rolleiflex TLR lightmeter is a vulnerable part after so many decades. If it is not working at all leads may have become unconnected or corroded or the very delicate needle cannot move freely. This should be repairable. A common problem is the meter becoming non-lineair after so many years. Over part of the range it is "under", at one point it will be correct and the rest of the range it is "over". This cannot be mended except for replacing the Selenium cell. Gossen stopped producing the cells decades ago so new ones are not available. Now and then a new old cell surfaces. There is a good chance it is just as old as your faulty one. A solution would be to cut a new cell from the basic Selenium material. The best chance for reviving a Selenium cell is QLM. They restore Weston Selenium lightmeters. I am not in contact with them and do not know what if anything they can do about Rolleiflex Selenium meters. Never the less the name of the firm pops up regularly as a first class place for solving Selenium meter problems. No web-site, no e-mail address. I have been given several addresses along Hollywood Blvd. Please, check for the right address carefully by phone. Once you have found the place their service is ranked very highly. The owner and chief repairman is Mr. George Milton.
Quality Light Metric Co.
7095 Hollywood Blvd Ste 550
Los Angeles, CA 90028
U.S.A.
Phone: (323) 467-2265
Most classic TLRs have rather dim focusing screens. Modern screens by Maxwell or Beattie are much brighter than the original ones. As the screen size is different, present original Rollei screens don't fit in the classic TLRs. That's no problem at all! Mr Bill Maxwell and Beattie Screens produce wonderful screens for all classic Rollei TLRs. Choosing a screen is rather personal. A brighter screen is not necessarily easier to focus. In general terms they lack snapping into focus. On the other hand you can see whatever you are focusing on.
For those on a tight budget cutting up a RB67 screen may be an alternative solution.
The 120 size (or 220 for some models) film for the standard Rolleiflex and Rolleicord TLR is readily available from pro-shops and good amateur photo shops. Writing this sentence was the easy part. Now you will have to find a good amateur photo shop or a pro-shop!.
The Rolleiflex 4 x 4 needs 127 size film. Since Kodak discontinued Kodacolor 200 ASA in 127 size, film is a bit difficult to obtain. Your best bet is EFKE film. I have compiled a list of suppliers of 127 size film.
With the introduction of the SL 66 E Rollei started to use coded serial numbers instead of a sequential numbering system. The coded serial number has 9 digits, #004230028 for instance. The first digit plus "5" (the key) represents the year of manufacture, in this example 0+5=5. One has to guess the decade and the century! Knowing that this number belongs to an SL 66 E manufactured between 1982 and 1986, the year of production is 1985. The digits placed in the second and third place, (in our example "0" and "4") are for factory internal use and represent the engineering level. They are called the Index.
The digits in 4th and 5th place minus "20" give the calendar week in the year of production. In our example the digits 4 and 5 are "23". 23 minus 20 is 3, so the camera was manufactured in the third week of 1985. The digits 6 to 9 stand for the sequential number of a camera built in that week. In our example "0028" means that the camera was the number 28 manufactured in the third week of 1985 with an engineering level of 04.
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| Photograph of Rolleiflex 2.8 F in case. Photo © Emmanuel Bigler. Photo used with permission. |
Pictures on these pages show the original brown Rolleiflex TLR cases, affectionally called "never-ready cases". I feel readyness is not a real problem. Changing film is quite a hassle especially when using a 2,8 GX. Before removing the case, you will have to take off the strap first. I am using a Lowepro Nova Micro bag now. It will take a TLR, some film, a few filters and a lens shade.
You will find instructions for re-stitching an original brown case here.
A high quality leather belt pouch for the Rollei 35 is made by Kameraleder in Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Publish your Rolleigraphs at Flickr in the RUG/Rollei Gallery pool: Rollei Users Group/Rollei Gallery.
The basic design of most of the Rolleiflexes dates back to the Automat model of 1937. Later refinements date from the Fifties and Sixties. It is a 100% mechanical camera and it will need service now and then. In those days sending in a camera for service was quite common. Many cameras, including the Rolleis, were not exactly designed with easy access for service in mind. The cost of labour was not of great concern and Rolleis, Leicas, Contaxes, etc. were owned by the rich anyway.
Today, things are slightly different. You do not have to be rich to own a classic Rollei, and the cost of labour is of some concern. Getting a Rollei serviced will cost you money! Some major disassembling has to be done to provide access to the usual problems. It will take a few hours to put things back together again and these hours have to be paid for. Everyone who has bought a Rolleiflex TLR camera should be prepared to have it serviced sooner or later. After this has been done thoroughly, you can expect to be out of the woods for the next 10 odd years. Mechanical Rolleis were professional cameras built to last, hardly ever ware out, but need a service once in a while.
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| Photograph of new Rolleiflex 2.8 E with factory seal. Photo © Karl Keung. Photo used with permission. |
The most common problem is a sticky shutter caused by dried out lubricant. This will happen when the shutter is not fired regularly for a very long time. Your newly discovered mint Rolleiflex 2,8A from 1949 will probably suffer from this fault unless previous owners were kind enough to fire the shutter once a month. The long shutter times are going to be affected first. The fault can easily be detected. Select the shutter time of 1 sec. and fire the shutter. It should snap open, followed by a nice even buzz of the timer. After 1 sec. the shutter should close with a snap. If the buzzing sounds uneven, more or less hesitating, and lasts longer than 1 sec. a service should be planned in the near future. Usually the faster times will still be correct, but the fault will get worse in time. No buzz at all, while shutter stays open, means that you will have to send the camera in right away. The timing device for long shutter times is completely gummed up.
Now please take a moment to admire the 2.8 E left of this text. It shows the original factory seal and ribbon. Mr. Keung was lucky enough to buy this camera only recently. I have never seen this before. If someone offers you a classic Rolleiflex in condition "new" you know what to look for. :-) Any other state is called "used".
A nasty problem is lens surface damage by scratches (persistently called "cleaning marks" by sellers) or fungus. If the damage is not too bad it is possible to have your lens surface polished and recoated but it will cost you dear. Contact John van Stelten at
He takes care of lens separation problems too.
Loose leather(ette) can be fixed with Pattex Classic made by Henkel. It is the original factory adhesive. A similar product by Uhu is the Uhu Kraft Powerblock. It is a stick rather than a liquid and therefore less messy to handle. A first class supplier of ready-to-use camera leather(ette) replacement kits is
They offer lots of options to choose from like the posh Rollei Black in shiny or dull appearance. The dull option is said to look better on older cameras with gracefully aged paint.
A standard PC sync cord will connect a flash unit to your Rolleiflex TLR, however, if you prefer the "Rollei locking" tip at the camera end, look for a Paramount cord. Scroll down to #3 at:
The Rollei-Werke Franke and Heidecke went into bankruptcy in 1981. The Rollei Fototechnic and to following Franke & Heidecke company did not service any cameras made before 1981, neither do DHW I presume but Germany has a network of Factory Approved Service Stations that will service these classic Rolleis. The same goes for some (former) Official Rolleiflex Service Companies abroad.
Over the years a number of independent repairers have specialised in servicing Rolleiflexes. Some of them have many years of experience as a former official Rollei repairman. I have made a list that is updated on a regular basis.
From various sources I have acquired a number of files that may be useful to others. You will find them on this Download Page.
This page was last updated by Webmaster on 11 February 2012.