![rolleiflex 2.8 3.5 souvenir christmas tree rolleiflex 2.8 3.5 souvenir christmas tree](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Ks4AAOSwqspcoxbV/s-l400.jpg)
- #ROLLEIFLEX 2.8 3.5 SOUVENIR CHRISTMAS TREE SERIAL#
- #ROLLEIFLEX 2.8 3.5 SOUVENIR CHRISTMAS TREE FULL#
After a bit of research, I contacted Paul Ebel, a Rollei repair specialist in Menomonie, WI (just down I-90 from Minneapolis, where I live) who said he could take a look at it, and a mere $140 and two weeks later, I had my camera back! I also found that I tended to get only 10-11 shots per 120 roll, and I had very sketchy results with focusing from about 20 feet in. I was correct that it was in decent overall condition, with the exception of a broken shutter-lock button (the only plastic part on the camera, so, duh!), and a dent on the hinge of the viewing hood that caused one corner to occasionally pop out, but which I managed to fix myself, mostly.
#ROLLEIFLEX 2.8 3.5 SOUVENIR CHRISTMAS TREE SERIAL#
I use the myLightMeter app on my iPhone, and haven’t missed many exposures, with either the Yashica or the Rollei.īased on the serial number, my Rolleiflex 2.8C was built in 1953, and features the Xenotar lens, rather than the more-desirable Planar (though from most things I’ve read online, the Xenotar is every bit the Planar’s equal). I’d learned to meter my own shots from a Yashica-Mat 124G I’d acquired for $50 because of an inoperable meter. God, I love the way this thing feels in my hands: its solidity, the density and resistance of the knobs, the way the huge focusing screen gives you a preview of the shot you’re lining up. The Rolleiflex 2.8C is as old-school as they come: you have the iconic flip-up waist-level finder that shouts “Serious dork hobby shooter!” to the world. The shutter speed dial leaves a lot of room for guesswork I chortled to myself, “I have my Rollei!” and put in the first roll of film. I kept going, and the shutter kept firing, and starting to make exciting buzzing and whirring sounds at the slower shutter speeds that I (correctly, it turns out) attributed to a different mechanism that kicks in below 1/30. I got to the previously-stuck 1/30, and found that it now fired just fine. Upon getting it to the kitchen table, I fired the shutter several times at 1/250 (I hadn’t yet figured out the 1/500 trick with this model-you have to make that choice before cranking the film for the next frame), then worked my way down the dial. It looked to be in good shape, although the shutter wouldn’t fire below 1/30.īut by then I’d been overcome by a fever of acquisition, and the camera seemed in good cosmetic condition, so I gave her six fifty-dollar bills and drove home with my new baby. The next day I found myself in the lobby of her workplace giving the camera a once-over.
#ROLLEIFLEX 2.8 3.5 SOUVENIR CHRISTMAS TREE FULL#
As I wasn’t interested in a box full of mostly junky old equipment, I asked if she’d take $300 cash for the Rollei alone. I messaged the owner of this Facebook Rolleiflex 2.8C asking about the camera’s condition, and she replied she’d never shot it, that it had been given to her by an elderly neighbor who knew that she loved photography, but hadn’t realized that she shot only digital. I’d been on the lookout for a Rollei for some months, based on their esteemed reputation, and on a photo I’d seen on Instagram that had a certain silky sheen to it that stopped me in my tracks, and which turned out to be shot on a Rollei 2.8F, on Portra 400. I got to number seven and said out loud, “Holy s**t, is that a…?!!” It was, indeed, a Rolleiflex 2.8C, with the Xenotar lens. I couldn’t see much detail of the cameras, so I started clicking through the individual photos. On this day, I saw one of those “Used camera lot” posts with a bad group photo of a bunch of old cameras, cases, lenses, flash units, and faded boxes of film, with an asking price of $450 for the bunch. Like many of you, I’m in the habit of scanning Facebook Marketplace for interesting old cameras, with an eye towards a loose list I keep in my head.
![rolleiflex 2.8 3.5 souvenir christmas tree rolleiflex 2.8 3.5 souvenir christmas tree](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/img004-studio-edit-1024x1024.jpg)
This is a tale of how I made friends with a legend: The Rolleiflex 2.8C.