Rollei
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
manufacturer of optical goods founded in 1920 by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke in Braunschweig
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex
Rolleiflex
Rolleiflex is the name of a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-Werk. The "Rolleiflex" name is most commonly used to refer to Rollei's premier line of medium format twin lens reflex cameras...
and Rolleicord
Rolleicord
The Rolleicord was a popular medium-format twin lens reflex camera made by Franke & Heidecke between 1933 and 1976. It was a simpler, less expensive version of the high-end Rolleiflex TLR, aimed at amateur photographers who wanted a high-quality camera but could not afford the expensive Rolleiflex...
series of cameras. Current products also include specialty and nostalgic type films for the photo hobbyist market.
After being purchased in 1995 by Samsung Techwin
Samsung Techwin
Samsung Techwin is a surveillance, aeronautics, optoelectronics, automations and defense company. It is a subsidiary of Samsung Group. The company employs 4720 employees and is headquartered in South Korea. Its totals sales in 2010 was 3,198 billion won....
, part of the South Korean Samsung Group
Samsung Group
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, it was sold back to its internal management in 1999. In 2002 it was bought by a Danish investment group, and in 2005 was split into two different companies: "Rollei GmbH" in Berlin, owner of the Rollei brand and selling various OEM
OEM
OEM means the original manufacturer of a component for a product, which may be resold by another company.OEM may also refer to:-Computing:* OEM font, or OEM-US, the original character set of the IBM PC, circa 1981...
equipment, and "Franke & Heidecke GmbH, Feinmechanik und Optik" in Brunswick, an equipment factory.
In early 2009, Franke & Heidecke GmbH, Feinmechanik und Optik declared itself insolvent.
Currently Rolleiflex medium format cameras and Rollei 35 are being produced by DHW Fototechnik - a company founded by former Franke & Heidecke employees.
Rollei cameras typically use Carl Zeiss or Schneider Kreuznach
Schneider Kreuznach
Schneider Kreuznach is the abbreviated name of the company Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH, which is sometimes also simply referred to as Schneider. They are a manufacturer of industrial and photographic optics....
lenses, as well as lenses manufactured by Rollei based on designs by Zeiss, and occasionally lenses made by Japanese manufacturers.
Classic examples — medium format
- Rolleiflex 3.5F TLR with 75 mm f/3.5 Planar — as used by David Bailey and Diane ArbusDiane ArbusDiane Arbus March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971) was an American photographer and writer noted for black-and-white square photographs of "deviant and marginal people or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal." A friend said that Arbus said that she was "afraid.....
. - Rolleiflex SL66Rolleiflex SL66The Rolleiflex SL66 is a single lens reflex camera made by Rollei, in regular production from 1966-82. The SL66 represented a change in direction for Rollei, which until that time had focussed almost exclusively on its popular twin lens reflex cameras, the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord.- History :In...
and SL66E SLR with rise and fall lens plane and exceptional close-up abilities — as used by Brett WestonBrett WestonBrett Weston was an American photographer and grew up in LA. He was the second son of photographer Edward Weston. Van Deren Coke, former curator of the San Francisco Museum of Art referred to Brett Weston as the "child genius of American photography." Brett began taking photographs in 1925 and...
. - Rolleicord Vb — A medium format twin-lens reflex cameraTwin-lens reflex cameraA twin-lens reflex camera is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens" , while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level...
designed for non-professional users, like the rest of the RolleicordRolleicordThe Rolleicord was a popular medium-format twin lens reflex camera made by Franke & Heidecke between 1933 and 1976. It was a simpler, less expensive version of the high-end Rolleiflex TLR, aimed at amateur photographers who wanted a high-quality camera but could not afford the expensive Rolleiflex...
line. - Rolleiflex 2.8GX as used by Helmut NewtonHelmut NewtonHelmut Newton, born Helmut Neustädter was a German-Australian photographer. He was a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-and-white photos were a mainstay of Vogue and other publications."-Early life:Newton was born in Berlin, the son of Klara...
Classic examples — 35 mm
- Rollei 35Rollei 35The Rollei 35 is a 35mm miniature viewfinder camera built by Rollei. The original Rollei 35, when introduced at Photokina in 1966, was the smallest existing 135 film camera. Still today, the Rollei 35 series remain the second smallest 35 mm camera after the Minox 35...
compact original viewfinder (Germany) with 40 mm f/3.5 Carl Zeiss TessarTessarThe Tessar is a famous photographic lens design conceived by physicist Paul Rudolph in 1902 while he worked at the Zeiss optical company and patented by Zeiss; the lens type is usually known as the Zeiss Tessar....
. - Rollei 35SRollei 35SThe Rollei 35S is a compact 35 mm film camera designed by Heinz Waaske and made by the German camera maker Rollei, in their Singapore factory plant. It uses a Zeiss-licensed f2,8/40mm Sonnar lens...
compact camera (Singapore) with 40 mm f/2.8 Zeiss Sonnar made by Rollei. - Rolleimatic compact camera with unique film transport mechanism.
- Rolleiflex SL2000 (or 3003) SLR — a 35 mm SLR with interchangeable magazinesCamera magazineA camera magazine is a light-tight chamber or pair of chambers designed to hold and move motion picture film stock before and after it has been exposed in the camera...
— not the first, but now unique for a modern 35 mm SLR. - Rolleiflex SL35Rolleiflex SL35The Rolleiflex SL35 is a range of SLR cameras from the German camera maker, Rollei. This range of camera uses 35mm film. The camera bodies were initially made in Germany, and later, Singapore.-History:...
range — 35 mm SLRs produced from 1970 until the late 1980s, using Carl Zeiss optics. Other lenses, like the SchneiderSchneider KreuznachSchneider Kreuznach is the abbreviated name of the company Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH, which is sometimes also simply referred to as Schneider. They are a manufacturer of industrial and photographic optics....
, and the Rolleinar (manufactured for Rollei mainly by MamiyaMamiyais a Japanese company that today manufactures high-end cameras and other related photographic and optical equipment. With headquarters in Tokyo, it has two manufacturing plants and a workforce of over 200 people...
) were also available.
Modern examples — medium format
- Rollei 6008 integral — advanced SLR with fast handling.
- Rollei 4.0 FW TLR with 50 mm f/4 Super-Angulon — classic reissue.
- HY6 — in conjunction with Leaf and SinarSinarSinar AG is a Swiss company producing medium format and large format cameras.The name SINAR is explained as an acronym for "Studio, Industrie, Natur, Architektur, Reproduktion", though in , the acronym is explained as "Sach-, Industrie-, Natur-, undArchitekturfotografie sowie Reproduktion"...
| camera model | period of production | description |
|---|---|---|
| SLX | 1976–1979 | prequel of the series 6000 |
| SLX 2 | 1978–1985 | improved electronics |
| 6006 | 1984–1989 | interchangeable magazin, TTL-measurement |
| 6002 | 1986–1990 | without interchangeable magazin, TTL-measurement |
| 6008 Professional | 1988–1992 | |
| 6006 II | 1989–1993 | multiple exposures |
| 6008 Professional SRC 1000 | 1992–1995 | with PQS lenses up to 1/1000 s |
| 6003 SRC 1000 | 1994–1996 | like 6008 without interchangeable magazin |
| 6008 Integral | 1995–2002 | Master Control |
| 6003 Professional | 1996–2003 | improved electronics, faster transport |
| 6001 professional | since 1998 | no exposure meter |
| 6008AF | since 2002 | autofocus |
| 6008 Integral2 | since 2003 | electronics from 6008AF without autofocus |
| Rolleiflex Hy6 | since 2007 | "hybrid" for digital and analogue |
| X-Act1 | since 1999 | view camera View camera The view camera is a type of camera first developed in the era of the Daguerreotype and still in use today, though with many refinements. It comprises a flexible bellows which forms a light-tight seal between two adjustable standards, one of which holds a lens, and the other a viewfinder or a... , with wide angle bellows |
| X-Act2 | since 1998 | view camera |
Modern examples — digital
- Rollei Mini Digi — digital camera styled like a miniature Rolleiflex TLR.
- Rollei Prego series — a line of 18 consumer digital cameras with resolutions up to 10.1 megapixels (as of September 2007).
Accessories — TLR
Some accessories manufactured for Rollei TLRs:- Rolleinar: A set of close-up lenses, in three magnifications (Rolleinar 1, Rolleinar 2, and Rolleinar 3). A pair of Rolleinar lenses are placed on both the viewing and taking lenses.
- Rolleisoft: A soft focus lens for the taking lens only available in two grades, "0" and "1", which softens the definition and produce striking halo effects, particularly when used with back lighting. The Rolleisoft lens has concentric circles ground in groves and is used principally for portraiture.
- Rolleifix: Instead of screwing the camera body to a tripod, this tripod head clamps down on the TLR.
- Rolleipol: Rollei's polarizing filter.
- Rolleikin: Allows the use of 35 mm film.
- Rollei panorama head: Attaches the camera to a tripod, and enables the photographer to take a series of aligned pictures to create a panoramic photo in an arc up to 360°.
- Rollei Pistol Grip
- Rolleimarin: underwater housing.
External links
- ROLLEI GmbH (Corporate website in German and English)
- Rollei Professional Line in China / Hong Kong (Sole distributor of Rollei Professional Line in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore, website in English and Chinese)
- Rolleiflex TLR Price & Information Guide
- Rollei History (History timeline of Rollei GmbH)
- International Rollei Club (Largest Rollei website with details of all Rolleiflex equipment ever made)
- Information about all Rolleiflex SL66 camera models, lenses and accessories
- Franke & Heidecke (Manufacturer of the modern medium format Rolleiflex cameras)
- Rollei.jp (The English language version of the Japanese Rollei site with information about some modern Rolleiflex products)
- Rollei Cameras Price Guide (Completed auction prices)
- Pascal's Rolleiflex Pages (information about the Rolleiflex 6008AF and Hy6 systems)
- Rollei / Rolleiflex film camera instruction manuals English