Rolleiflex ( Rus . Rolleiflex) is a trademark of the Rollei company under which several lines of high-quality, mainly professional photographic equipment have been and are being produced. The most famous medium format dual lens reflex and single lens reflex cameras Rolleiflex.
Content
Camera History
Camera designer Reynold Heidecke (January 2, 1881 - February 26, 1960). The Rolleiflex prototype was created in 1928 . Rolleiflex was developed for 6x6 cm film . Heidecka managed to make a compact camera, optimally using the internal space. As a result, two lenses (shooting lens and viewfinder lens) were close to each other. The minimum focusing distance was reduced to one meter. Production of the new 6 × 6 Rolleiflex began in 1929 .
Heidecke's wife suggested releasing a smaller version of Rolleiflex for women. A 4x4 cm film format Rolleiflex was exported under the name Babyflex. The camera was produced intermittently from 1931 to 1968 .
In June 1937, a new version of the Rolleiflex camera, the Rolleiflex Automat, was introduced. A mechanism appeared in it that allowed rewinding the film to a new frame, without following the numbers on the red window. This accelerated the work of the photographer and prevented accidental double exposure on a single frame.
After World War II , around 500 copies of Rolleiflex appeared worldwide, of which more than half were produced in Japan [1] . In 1956, the Mamiya C-Series camera appeared. The camera had three interchangeable lenses: normal , telephoto, and wide-angle . Later there were six lenses - they covered the range of focal lengths from 55 mm to 250 mm. Rolleiflex was sold with a non-replaceable lens. Only in 1959 did Tele-Rolleiflex with a Zeiss Sonnar f / 4, 135 mm telephoto lens appear. Tele-Rolleiflex was intended for portraiture. In 1961, a version of Rolleiflex with a wide-angle f / 4, 55 mm lens appeared.
Rolleiflex Cameras
| Model | Years of production | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Prototype (Model 610) | 1928 | According to various sources produced 10 or 14 copies in 1928 |
| Rolleiflex 1 / 4,5 | 1929-1932 | First Rolleiflex Model |
| Rolleiflex Standard 620/621 | 1932-1935 / 1938 | Serial numbers from 200,000 to 567,000. Could use 35 mm film |
| Rolleiflex Automat | 1937-1945 | Grand Prix of the World Exhibition in Paris 1937 |
| Rolleiflex 3.5 | 1949-1951 | Serial numbers from 1,100,000 to 1,168,000 |
| Rolleiflex 3.5 A | 1951-1954 | Serial numbers from 1200001 to 1474999 |
| Rolleiflex 3.5 B | 1954-1956 | Serial numbers from 1428001 to 1739999 |
| Rolleiflex 3.5 ° C | 1956-1959 | The first model with a light meter. 26 thousand copies were produced. |
| Rolleiflex 3.5 ° F 1. Mod. | 1958-1960 | With exposure meter. Produced 20 thousand copies. |
| Rolleiflex 3.5 ° F 2. Mod. | February 1960 - November 1960 | With exposure meter. 11.5 thousand copies were produced. Could use 35mm film |
| Rolleiflex 3.5 ° F 3. Mod. | 1960-1976 | With exposure meter. |
| Rolleiflex 3.5 E2 1. Mod. | 1959-1960 | Sold only in the USA and the UK. Could use 35mm film |
| Rolleiflex 3.5 E2 2. Mod. | 1961-1962 | Sold only in the USA and the UK. Could use 35mm film |
| Rolleiflex 3.5 E3 | 1961-1965 | Sold only in the USA and the UK. Could use 35mm film |
| Rolleiflex T 1. Mod. | 1958-1961 | It differed from other models in slightly different exposure controls. It had an expocouple locking system, thanks to which you can quickly change the shutter speed, while the diaphragm will also change simultaneously. Thus, the amount of light entering the photographic material remains unchanged. There is a variant with gray pasting. The exposure meter was optional and manufactured by the famous company Gossen. |
| Rolleiflex T 2. Mod. | 1961-1966 | Could have a light meter. |
| Rolleiflex T 3. Mod. | 1966-1976 | Could have a light meter. |
| Rolleimagic | 1960-1962 | Created based on Rolleicord . Had automatic exposure, shutter Prontormatic with shutter speeds from 1/30 to 1/300 sec. Could use a film of 6 × 4.5 cm. 25 thousand pieces were produced. |
| Rolleimagic II | 1962-1968 | Had automatic exposure, shutter Prontormatic with shutter speeds from 1/30 to 1/500 sec. |
| Model | Years of production | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rolleiflex 2.8 A | 1949-1951 | The first model with a 2.8 / 80 lens. As such, Tessar, manufactured by Carl Zeiss, was used. Sold only in the USA. About 8,000 units were produced. |
| Rolleiflex 2.8 B | 1952-1953 | This model with a Biometar 2.8 / 80 lens replaced the device with Tessar. However, Biometar did not live up to Rollei's expectations. 1250 copies were produced and this model was replaced by a new 2.8 C. It was sold only in the USA. |
| Rolleiflex 2.8 ° C | 1952-1955 | This is the first successful model in the series. It was equipped with very sharp Schneider Xenotar lenses or the famous Carl Zeiss Planar even on a completely open aperture. |
| Rolleiflex 2.8 D | 1955-1956 | Starting from this model, the number of blades in the diaphragm was reduced from 10 to 5, which increased the reliability of this unit and made it easier to operate due to less friction. |
| Rolleiflex 2.8 E | 1959-1960 | The first model with a built-in exposure meter. The exposure meter was optional and manufactured by the famous company Gossen. |
| Rolleiflex 2.8 E2 | mid 1950s | Prototype with interchangeable lenses Zeiss Distagon 5.6 / 60 mm and Zeiss Sonnar 4/135 mm. Not for sale. |
| Rolleiflex 2.8 E3 | 1962-1965 | |
| Rolleiflex 2.8 ° F | 1960-1981 | |
| Rolleiflex 2.8F Aurum | 1982/83 | Special gilded version. In 1982, 1 copy was produced. In 1983, 1,500 copies. Could use type 220 film. |
| Rolleiflex 2.8F Platin Edition 1984 | 1984/85 1989/1990 Platin Gold Japan Edition | Special version with platinum. Could use type 220 film. |
| Rolleiflex 2.8GX | 1987-2002 | First Rolleiflex with TTL exposure meter and flash |
| Rolleiflex 2.8GX Edition | 1989-1990 | 10,200 copies produced. Built - in TTL exposure meter . |
| Rolleiflex 2.8GX "80 Jahre Rollei" | 2000 | Special Edition for the 80th anniversary of Rolleiflex |
| Rolleiflex 2.8GX Helmut Newton | Special version for the photographer Helmut Newton. | |
| Rolleiflex 2.8FX | since March 2002 |
| Model | Years of production | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tele-Rolleiflex | 1959-1975 | Version with a telephoto lens Carl-Zeiss Sonnar 4/135 mm |
| Weitwinkel-rollleiflex | 1961-1967 | Carl / Zeiss Distagon 4/55 mm wide-angle version |
| Rolleiflex 4.0 FW | 2002- | 4/50 mm version with wide-angle Super-Angulon lens |
| Rolleiflex 4.0 FT | 2007- | Schneider Tele-Xenar 4/135 mm version |
| Rolleiflex 6008 AF | 2001- | Rolleiflex 6008 AF uses a digital db20p backdrop of its own design, with a matrix size of 36.9 × 36.9 mm and a resolution of 16 megapixels, each of which has a size of 9 × 9 microns. and color depth 16 bits (per channel). [2] |
Interesting Facts
- “Rolleiflex” is mentioned in the famous song by Antonio Jobim in the style of bossa nova - “ Desafinado ” (from the port. - “Slightly out of tune”). [3]
Notes
- ↑ Photocourier, 2008 , p. sixteen.
- ↑ Dear photograph. 2005. Sergey Lopatin
- ↑ Desafinado
Literature
- B. Bakst. Unusual dual-lens DSLRs (Russian) // “Photocourier”: magazine. - 2008. - No. 2/134 . - S. 15-26 .