Oops, I did it again -- bought yet another fixed lens RF, the Rollei XF35

Dr. Strangelove · 08-10-2007

Well, I could not resist the urge to get a Rollei XF35, despite the fact that this camera has a rather mixed reputation. My example seems to have its rangefinder still calibrated correctly. Cosmetically OK and light meter seems to work as well as the shutter. Made in Singapore. The f/2.3 Sonnar lens is obviously the best feature of this camera as most other cameras in this class had only f/2.8 four element Tessar type lenses.

This could be a great little camera if Rollei had given it longer exposure times. I can shoot at 1/8 second with only slight motion blur in most shots with a 50 mm or shorter lens. I know people who can do the same with 1/4 sec exposure. 1/30 as the longest exposure time (barring B) kind of defeats the advantage of the fast lens, although of copurse the other advantages of a higher quality lens still remain. Bokeh is also much more pleasent with Sonnars than Tessars.

shadowfox · 08-10-2007

This one has the rangefinder, so it may actually better than mine. I have a 35 S with a sonnar, but because it's a scale focus, it makes it even more pain in the neck to use. If it wasn't because it's so pretty, I would have gotten rid of it long time ago.

Btw, yours only comes in black, yes? Pictures from or of the camera, please

Dr. Strangelove · 08-13-2007

OK, here's a pic. It's definitely black

fuwen · 09-08-2007

XF 35 is always in black.

The corresponding Voigtlander VF135 model is in chrome.

douwe · 09-10-2007

If you do want to adjust the rangefinder, you have to remove the leatherette below the rangefinder. I did thid myself just after I bought a xf. It isn't well ducumented on the internet, and I found out that it works in a peculiar way.
If you take of the leatherette, you first find a tiny adjusment screw quite close to the viewfinder. This screw is for horizontal adjustment. The one for vertical adjustment is located much further down the front face of the body, closer to the bottom plate thant the top plate. This one is much bigger too.
The xf has quite a unique ragefinder system, it is actually the front lens element in the viewfinder that moves from left to right!

Didier · 09-10-2007

I have the 35XF, too, and had let it CLA by a former Rollei Braunschweig technician which also adapted it for standard 1.5V non mercury batteries. Very nice Sonnar lens, auto exposure ok for point&shoot style. What I dislike is the fact there's no aperture priority mode, and the small range of speeds. The automatic exposure couples aperture and speed together in a strange way. "Slow" speeds (if you consider 1/30 as slow) are with low aperture (min. f2.3-1/30), "fast" speeds with high apertures (max. f16-1/650). No way to shoot something wide open with fast speed, or stopped down with low speeds. This limitations made my XF35 catch quite some dust. It might appear in the classifieds, here, soon.

Here some samples, I believe they were shot wide open:

Didier

fuwen · 09-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by douwe

If you do want to adjust the rangefinder, you have to remove the leatherette below the rangefinder. I did thid myself just after I bought a xf. It isn't well ducumented on the internet, and I found out that it works in a peculiar way.
If you take of the leatherette, you first find a tiny adjusment screw quite close to the viewfinder. This screw is for horizontal adjustment. The one for vertical adjustment is located much further down the front face of the body, closer to the bottom plate thant the top plate. This one is much bigger too.
The xf has quite a unique ragefinder system, it is actually the front lens element in the viewfinder that moves from left to right!

Ha! I found the answers at last. Was trying to do adjustments sometime back but could only find only one screw. So the other one was right below ............

Dr. Strangelove · 09-11-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Didier

I have the 35XF, too, and had let it CLA by a former Rollei Braunschweig technician which also adapted it for standard 1.5V non mercury batteries. Very nice Sonnar lens, auto exposure ok for point&shoot style. What I dislike is the fact there's no aperture priority mode, and the small range of speeds. The automatic exposure couples aperture and speed together in a strange way. "Slow" speeds (if you consider 1/30 as slow) are with low aperture (min. f2.3-1/30), "fast" speeds with high apertures (max. f16-1/650). No way to shoot something wide open with fast speed, or stopped down with low speeds. This limitations made my XF35 catch quite some dust. It might appear in the classifieds, here, soon.
Didier

About the autoexposure: that is the way it works in most late 1960s and 1970s full program AE rangefinders. They do not have a separate diaphragm, but a combined shutter/diaphragm. The auto exposure is not really "programmed", since the shutter is fully mechanical. The speed of the shutter/diaphragm blades is fixed and the AE system only controls how far the shutter/diaphragm is opened during exposure. Therefore small apertures are always coupled with fast shutter speeds and slow shutters with large apertures. This system was used in many low cost compact cameras at the time, such as the Konica C35 (and lookalikes like Chinon 35EE), Canon Canonet 28 (both versions) and A35F and probably many others, including zone and scale focusing compacts like the Olympus Trip 35.

More sophisticated aperture controls with a combined shutter/diaphragm are possible, but they require an electronically operated shutter. The Yashica Electro 35CC is an example of an early one. Most 1980s and 1990s point'n'shoot cameras also had a combined shutter/diaphragm, although electronic control made it possible to decouple aperture from the shutter speed.

Didier · 09-12-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Strangelove

About the autoexposure: that is the way it works in most late 1960s and 1970s full program AE rangefinders. They do not have a separate diaphragm, but a combined shutter/diaphragm.

Thanks, useful to know!
Didier

alcaraban · 09-12-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Strangelove

Well, I could not resist the urge to get a ...

Me too

. I'm looking for a f/1.7 or f/1.4 rangefinder. At least, this is not the worst GAS variation.

zuikologist · 09-12-2007

Didier - nice photos, especially the second one. I have the Voigtlander VF135 (silver body), the same camera afaik. The rangefinder spot is quite good. I should use it more.

Didier · 09-12-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by alcaraban

...I'm looking for a ... f/1.4 rangefinder...

A clear case for a Yashica LYNX-14!

alcaraban · 09-12-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Didier

A clear case for a Yashica LYNX-14!

are you propositioning me?

Dr. Strangelove · 09-12-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Didier

A clear case for a Yashica LYNX-14!

It's easier to find a Yashica Lynx 5000(e) or 35 Electro series camera. The Lynx 5000 has "only" an f/1.8 lens though

There are other Yashica models with an f/1.7 lens as well, but they are much rarer items. Then of course there are the various Canonet 17 models.

I already have an Electro 35 GSN, so a Lynx 14 would be nice