Rolleiflex 3.5F

The Rolleiflex 3.5F is a twin-lens reflex camera for 120 roll film, made by the German firm Franke & Heidecke. It arrived in 1958, according to the collector site Antique Cameras. Each roll gives twelve square pictures, 6 by 6 cm. Two lenses sit one above the other. The top one, a 75 mm f/2.8 Heidosmat, feeds the focusing screen. The bottom one takes the picture through a Synchro-Compur leaf shutter. Buyers had a choice of taking lens: a Carl Zeiss Planar or a Schneider Xenotar, both 75 mm f/3.5. The George Eastman Museum in Rochester holds a 3.5F with the Planar, serial number 2279478. The meter is built in and linked to the controls. Rollei's own manual says it "is directly cross-coupled to the speed and stop settings." You turn the speed and aperture wheels until the needles meet. Serial records compiled by Ferdi Stutterheim on Rolleigraphy divide production into five models. About 20,000 of the first model were made from 1958 to 1960. About 50,000 of the third followed between 1960 and 1965. The fifth, from 1971, has a white-faced front and a flat film pressure plate. The surprising detail is in the glass. In the early 1960s the taking lens of the 3.5F changed from five elements to six. Antique Cameras gives the switch by lens serial number. It notes that late 3.5F cameras are the only Rolleiflex twin-lens reflexes with a six-element normal lens. The end date is less clear. The Rolleigraphy serial list stops at 1976, while TLRgraphy's comparison chart of Rolleiflex models runs production to 1981.

Square pictures, made slowly. The waist-level finder shows the scene on a screen, with a rangefinder wedge at the center for focusing, according to Rollei's manual. A magnifier folds up for fine focus, and a sports finder is built into the hood. Quiet work. The leaf shutter in the lens runs from 1 second to 1/500 and syncs electronic flash at the X setting, per the manual. Film choice. It takes 120 film, and the manual also covers 220 on cameras set up for it. A Rolleikin kit adapts it to 35 mm film. Rolleinar close-up lenses bring the subject to about 12 in (31 cm). Filters use Rollei bayonet size II. Where it falls short: Weight. Kamerastore lists the camera at 1,175 g (2.6 lb), and TLRgraphy gives 1,220 g. One focal length. The 75 mm lens pair is fixed. The meter. It uses a selenium cell, and many no longer read accurately. Owners on Photrio describe cells weakened by sunlight and moisture. Plan on a handheld meter or a phone app.

The film is probably threaded over the rollers instead of under them. Owners on Photrio explain that the film must pass under the first roller, between it and a second roller below. Those rollers feel the thickness of film and backing paper and set the camera to frame 1. Over the top, the roll winds straight through.

Rollei's manual says the crank must go forward to its stop and then back to its stop. Only then is the camera ready. A half return leaves the shutter uncocked, owners report. Also look at the release guard on the front, which locks the shutter button.

Fire the shutter at 1 second, 1/2 and 1/4. The buying guide from Ausgeknipst calls a gummy escapement that runs slow or sticks the classic fault. Ferdi Stutterheim of Rolleigraphy describes a good 1-second exposure: a snap open, then an even buzz for about one second.

Set the film speed on the dial, then point the camera at a bright scene. A needle that sits still or barely moves means a weak selenium cell or a broken connection. Ausgeknipst advises against paying extra for a working meter, since replacement cells are not made.

Shine a flashlight through the taking lens from behind. Ausgeknipst says haze and dust are usually cleanable, etched fungus is permanent, and separation is a reason to walk away. Stutterheim warns that the acid fungi produce damages the glass surface for good, and that "cleaning marks" are scratches.

The knob should turn smoothly and evenly, with a solid feel, according to Ausgeknipst. Roughness or tight spots point to dried grease in the focusing mechanism.

Stutterheim names this the most common problem on Rolleiflex twin-lens reflexes. Dried grease turns gummy and the slow speeds lag or stop. The fix is a full shutter cleaning, adjustment and test. Stutterheim recommends sending the camera to someone with long experience of Rolleiflex service, because the cameras are complex. Workshop work.

Owners on Photrio report two causes. Sunlight and moisture break down the cell's protective coating, and the selenium corrodes. Green oxidation on the wires to the meter movement can also cut the circuit. Bad wiring can be resoldered and the meter recalibrated. A new selenium cell is rarely found. This is a job for a meter specialist, and many owners simply carry a handheld meter.

The film is running over the sensing rollers. Unload in subdued light, rethread it under the first roller and start again. Rollei's manual says never to change film in direct sunlight. Use at least the shade of your own body. A do-it-yourself fix.

Owners on Photrio trace most cases to a crank that was not returned firmly to its stop. Some also mention film with thin backing paper confusing the sensing rollers. The manual describes a double exposure prevention that can be switched off for multiple exposures. Owners report doing this by accident while loading. If the fault stays, the counter mechanism needs a technician.

Haze can usually be cleaned by a technician who opens the lens. Etched fungus and separated elements cannot be undone by cleaning, according to Ausgeknipst. On a fixed-lens camera, that makes the lens condition the deciding factor.