This is one of the last cameras I bought.  I’m not sure why I resisted the Rollei for so long.  Maybe I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype.  Or maybe it was just the high price.  Whatever, I did buy one, and—let me tell you—this thing lives up to the hype.  

I was so floored by the pictures that came out of this camera that I decided to run a test.  I got a Rolleikin for it; that’s a device that allows you to use 35mm film.  I shot a roll of 35mm, then greatly enlarged part of one frame.  The result was, to put it mildly, instructive.  If part of a 35mm negative holds up like that, then a 6x6cm negative from this camera should enlarge just fine to mural size!

I have two uses for the Rollei.  With the Rolleikin, it makes a great street shooter.  You can use it at your waist, turn it sideways, hold it upside down, and people think you are trying to figure out how to use the thing.  They don’t realize you are snapping pictures all along, especially when even you can’t hear the shutter.  You can improve this ploy by keeping an "I don't know nothin' 'bout cam-ras" look on your face.  A pistol grip with cable release makes the camera steadier and stealthier; I recommend one for street use.  But adjust the cable release for a light touch and carry Mace.    

The other use for the Rollei is glamour photography.  The Planar gives the great skin tones (ah, yes) and the rich colors that models want for their portfolios.  I take out the Rolleikin for this kind of stuff and go for the big chromes.  I take off the waist-level finder and put on a prism to ease viewing.   There’s only one problem:  the view on the ground glass is so sharp and bright that you can get lost looking at it.  This makes the model wonder if you have film in the camera.  But she doesn’t worry long:  you have to change film every twelve exposures.

When I go back to doing head shots for actors, I will try the Rollei/Rolleikin combination.  A 75mm lens on 35mm film will give me head and shoulders rather than a tighter framing, but some actors prefer that.  I imagine that the Planar will deliver unique qualities, and--using the waist-level finder--I will avoid head-shot-photographer hunchback.  

I am the second owner of the 3.5F Rollei I now treasure.  The original owner was well-to-do and liked to have a lot of cameras around.  No one camera saw much use, so when he died, his entire collection was in excellent shape.  I bought the camera from his daughter; she was delighted that someone would finally take it out for a walk.     

It is said that Scavullo used two Rolleiflexes to the end of his days.  He’d shoot with one while the other was reloaded.  He found out in the 1960s what a Rollei could do, and he never found a camera to beat it.  I can certainly understand that.  The Planar 3.5 on my Rolleiflex is the best lens I have ever used.  I will never reach the end of its possibilities.

Showing Off

I can't resist showing what the Rollei can do.  First, here's a Rolleikin test.  The first example is cropped from a 35mm film frame; it's about 2/3 of the original image.  The second example is a cropping from that cropping.   Click for larger views.