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[Rollei] My new Rolleiflex (3.5E3 Planar)



Dear Rollei folks!

Yesterday I stumbled upon a Rolleiflex 3.5E3 on a flea market in Belgrade
for $200 and bought it. This is my first Rolleiflex, and I'm glad I finally
got myself one.

It is a user camera in a fairly good shape. The taking lens (Planar 3.5/75)
is in excellent condition, and there is only a small amount of dust on the
inner lens surfaces (facing the shutter). The viewing lens shows minor
scratches (only visible under magnifier, and even then there aren't many of
them), but (fortunately) this is not critical. Even the mirror is clean and
doesn't show any signs of tarnishing (I don't know if it is aluminum-plated
or silver-plated, the latter would probably have tarnished a bit by now).

The external appearance is good, though not perfect. The lacquer is a little
worn on some edges of the focusing hood, and there is slight brassing on the
bottom of the Franke & Heidecke logo below the taking lens. One of four
"legs" on which the camera rests is slanted a bit ant the metal around it is
dented slightly.

The shutter doesn't stick at any speed. Camera internals are also in a very
good condition. The self-timer doesn't engage (the lever moves freely), and
I plan to have it taken care of if possible here in Belgrade (there are some
servicepeople who might even have wrecked Rolleiflexes as spare parts
source).

The parallax-correction frame has been tampered with by the previous owner
or by some non-skilled serviceperson, and the tab that engages the parallax
correction lever is bent, together with the lever itself which is slightly
bent and broken on one side of the pivot. This is functional, but probably
doesn't show the correct cropping due to the bent parts. It also makes
slight noise when going away from infinity focus. The pivot support for the
right hood lock is broken, but the lock button itself is still holding. The
metal frame below the hood will have to be replaced, but it is more a
cosmetic than a functional repair. One more thing: the EVS lock seems to
have been either disengaged or something is broken inside, since the lock
button seems to do nothing when pressed (both wheels move independently). Or
this function was removed from the E3 mmodel? The lock around the PC socket
is also missing.

The camera doesn't have a light meter, but one rivet has been broken off and
replaced with a screw (I gather someone didn't know how to open something
and broke it in the process).

The ground glass is not particularly dim (there are darker ones on the E
Rolleiflexes, I suppose) and it has the split-image circle in the center. In
fact, the ground glass and Fresnel rings seem to be identical to the ones
found on the SL66 screens. It is made of plastic and shows a number of
scratches, especially on the top side. The alignment seems to be perfect.

I have finished the first film (Kodak E100SW), but I haven't had it
processed yet, so I don't know the exact condition of the optics, shutter,
and the alignment, but everything seems to confirm that the camera was a
good buy indeed. Looks like I'll have a tremendous time using it. One of
these days I will get a Bay 2 lens hood (there seem to be some around for
approx. $15).

I just sold Nikon F2/DP-1 and Nikkors 1.4/50 and 2.5/105--didn't like the
overall look of the images, especially hated the bokeh of the 1.4/50.
Experience with Yashica T4super and the general opinion of people on Rollei
and Leica lists strongly support the superiority of Zeiss and Leica optics
in terms of overall image quality, so I decided to switch systems. Later,
when I save enough money, I will probably buy Leica M4-2 that has been
offered to me for approx. $550 (body) and Summicron 2/35 (I think the second
model) for another $550. Hope it happens soon!

Marc, for the record, here are the serial numbers:

Camera: Rolleiflex 3,5E3 Nr 2384416
Taking lens: Carl Zeiss Planar 1:3,5 f=75mm Nr 3784067
Viewing lens: Heidosmat 1:2,8/75 Nr 3789090

If I understand correctly, the camera was made between 1961 and 1965. When
exactly?

Thanks for your attention!
Greetings from somewhat sunny, somewhat cloudy Belgrade.

Vladan Dugaric
Department of Computer Engineering
School of Electrical Engineering
University of Belgrade
Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia

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