jueves, diciembre 30, 2010

Rollei Tele PLANAR Diagrams

The short tele Carl Zeiss Planar f2/120mm HFT for the Rolleiflex SL66 (above) was included in the HFT lenses program about 1972/1973 and appeared in brochures and SL66 instruction manuals at the time, it also was described by L.A. Mannheim in his book "The Rolleiflex SL66 and SLX way" written and published at the time too, however it seems this lens  was never manufactured for the market, something happened that only a prototype is known today and brochures and description are based on this prototype very probably. Facts are that this lens is not mentioned in the lenses program for the SL66 E, SL66 SE and SL66 X, cameras made from 1982 and 1986. Several new or improved lenses were introduced for the SL66 along the years during the SL 66 decades of production, however something was wrong for the CZ Planar f2/120mm HFT; it had 7 elements, 5 groups, 36º image angle diagonally, f stops from 2 to 16, 86mm screw -in filters and the weight was 810 grams, it was thought for sports, stage and theatre, etc. 
THE PLANAR f2/110mm
                                     
                                                  
The CZ Planar HFT 2/110 short tele made for the Rolleiflex 6000 diagram looks almost identical regarding the SL66  2/120 lens, the 110 has the 5th and 6th elements separated while they are cemented for the 120. This was a successful lens for the 6000 cameras and was/is made in different versions, O, PQ,PQS, MO, it weighs about 1295 gr (it's heavier because uses the Rollei motor shutter).

viernes, diciembre 24, 2010

CHRISTMAS GIFT

Unused and used films for my Christmas tree taken with a P&S digital Pentax lens camera... Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! (click on thumbnail)

viernes, septiembre 03, 2010

A camera to restore


This great camera knew better times, I'll try to restore it or it will be a spare parts source for my other Contax II that works fine and looks very good. The interesting point for the camera above is the lens, it is an immediate post-war (March 1947) Sonnar 2/5 cm showing the Zeiss "T" coating developed by Smakula and patented for CZ in 1935, it was the first lens coating process suitable for regular industrial use and stated top secret up to about 1940 when the USA developed a similar hard lens coating process and then CZ was authorized to apply the coating for commercial lenses, it means the lens above is among the early lenses with the process, the story behind the camera and lens makes almost impossible it could be an uncoated lens originally and coated after the war (click on thumbnail).

viernes, agosto 13, 2010

Rolleiflex Stereo photograph

Stereo photograph taken about 1953 by a Rollei 's engineer with a new Rolleiflex Stereo prototype in the Alps (Bavaria, Germany). The young engineer Hans Logé appears in the window, he worked for F&H integrating the Richard Weiss (technical head) team that developed the Stereo Rolleiflex on the basis of two Rolleiflex Automat bodies during 1953, Hans Logé was one of the main designer and for this camera underawater housing "Rolleimarin" too. He was the "Rolleimeter" designer, a telemeter for some Rolleiflex TLR cameras (click on thumbnail,1615x778 image).


sábado, julio 24, 2010

Rolleinar 3...1

(Click on the thumbnail above)
I bought a Rolleinar 3 BIII some weeks ago (http://dobleobjetivo.blogspot.com/2010/04/rolleinar-3-biii.html), I took images using the set , they were out of focus where they looked in focus through the viewfinder ground glass and they were in focus where they looked out of focus through the viewfinder ground glass. After some tests, I found a big difference focusing identical subject from identical distance according I used the Heidosmat Rolleinar (viewing lens) and the Rolleinar 3 lens (for the camera taking lens) on the camera viewing lens, this difference couldn't exist for a regular Rolleinar TLR set, the focusing must be identical for both auxiliries lenses.


I verified that the focusing range for the Rolleinar Heidosmat auxiliary lens for the camera viewing lens was within the Rolleinar 3 range, 24 to 32 cm (9.45" to 12.60"), but the Rolleinar 3 auxiliary lens (for the camera taking lens) focusing range was within the Rolleinar 1 focusing range, 45 to 100 cm (17.70" to 39.37") !!. I discovered I have a true Heidosmat Rolleinar 3, but a Rolleinar 1 taking lens glass with a ring engraved "Rolleinar 3" !!.


I couldn't find a detail to say someone inserted a Rolleinar 1 glass in a Rolleinar 3 ring, perhaps I could be wrong about it, or perhaps someone made an error at factory (this is my main guessing), but I don't know really. The image above shows the Rolleinar set, click on the thumbnail, it was taken with a little P&S digital camera, a Benq with Pentax digital zoom.

lunes, julio 12, 2010

Polarizing effect via software

The photograph was taken with the Rolleiflex 3.5F, Planar 3.5/75, Agfachrome RSX 100. The first image (below) is the original scanned image. The second image received an edition software manipulation to simulate a polarizing filter effect, the effect is not so good like using a true polarizing filter but it could be useful for analog and compact digital cameras that couldn't use a filter for some reason (click on thumbnail for a bigger image).


martes, junio 08, 2010

ROLLEIFLEX SL66

This is my "new" Rolleiflex SL66 (click on thumbnail) with the Distagon 4/80 standard lens provided with an additional Compur shutter, it's a great MF camera manufactured from 1966 to about 1993, the built-in bellows and focusing mechanism allow focusing up to 16cm from the subject with 80mm standard lenses, image magnification can be increased via the reverse lens mounting without accesories. A complete Carl Zeiss and others manufacturers lenses range is available and a lot of professional accesories, film magazines, focusing viewfinders and focusing screens too; the bellows can move up/down up to 8º allowing a limited "Scheimpflug" effect. Most camera's mechanical parts were designed by Richard Weiss and Claus Prochnow, Rollei's engineers, while Ernst Moeckl from Stuttgart was in charge of the camera general aesthetic design. The SL66 was a successful camera, this page is plenty of info about it:
http://www.sl66.com/

domingo, abril 25, 2010

220 film with Rolleiflex

I had published a comment about to use 220 film with a Rolleicord IV: http://itarphotos.blogspot.com/2009/04/220-film-with-rolleicord-iv.html
Now I tried 220 film with a Rolleiflex 2.8C Xenotar 2.8/80 without the special mechanism to use it regularly; the difference with a Rolleicord and others Rollei TLR cameras is that the C and most Rolleiflexes from the Automat model have the rollers to "feel" the film when it starts, to advance the film counter up to the number 1, using 220 film you need to do it again after to shoot the frame 12: before to advance the film I open the the camera back in the darkness adding a tape to the film beside the film feeler rollers, I close the camera back, advance the film and the tape activates again the frames counter mechanism and I obtain another 12 frames, completing 24 (see photograph, click on thumbnail, note the tape at the middle of the roll). It was commented to me other method looking even simpler, I'll try it for the next time

viernes, abril 09, 2010

Rolleimot

The Rolleimot was an accesory intended to provide automatic film advance mechanism and shutter release for the Rolleiflex and Rolleimagic TLR cameras (Rolleimot 1 and 2) and Rollei SL 66 camera (Rolleimot 3). It can be handled with a wire remote control from 3m(10 feet) to 200m (650 feet), the 6v motor needed four D size batteries to work, it was manufactured from 1963 to 1969 (click on thumbnails).


Rolleimot 1 and 3 size is 100x180x180mm, the Rolleimot 2 shown above (diagram) size is 100x220x180mm, it was taller to compensate the camera height with the special 150 frames magazine, only 10 Rolleimot 2 were made.

miércoles, marzo 24, 2010

ROLLEI P-11 PROJECTOR

The Rollei P-11 projector (images below) was manufactured from September 1960 to the ending of 1978 in Braunschweig, Germany, by F&H, it had a few minor changes during the production, about 76200 units were made. It can project 24x36mm, 4x4cm and 6x6cm slides, it is provided with a remote control for the slides change and lens focusing. The P-11 can use several lenses manufactured for the 74 Tube, including those made for newer Rollei MF projectors; the P-11 in the images is provided with a Vario- Heidosmat 3,5/110mm-160mm made by Isco, it allows to vary the projected image size without to move the projector. It uses G17 q 4 feet base lamps, 300 watts for normal projection and 500 watts for large rooms projections (it requires an additional heat filter included in the P-11 case) . Halogen lamps could only be used via a conversion work, during lasts years of P-11 manufacture there was a dedicated 400 watts halogen lamp, but they are no longer available, it's more easy to find a new old stock lamp (images taken with a digital P&S camera, click on thumbnails).










sábado, marzo 13, 2010

Rollei Large Format Camera

The Rollei LFC camera was designed and built by Dr. Wester-Ebbinghaus (photogrammetric parameters) and engineer Claus Prochnow (mechanical and electronic construction) from Rollei.
This camera was a terrestrial photogrammetric camera dedicated to the Airbus aircrafts industry, they needed exact images about the airplane fuselage parts to preview the way they would match because these parts were manufactured in different countries. The viewfinder was a modified Rollei 3003 camera QBM mount with parallax compensation (you can get an idea about the camera size comparing them). It used interchangeable Schneider Super Symmar 5,6/165mm and 5,6/210 lenses, the format was 230mm x 230mm (9"x 9"), it was provided with a 290 frames film magazin, it had an incorporated ring flash and central shutter with motor (1/125 to 4 sec shutter speeds). A microprocessor controlled the camera functions via several motors, the reseau had 12996 crosses. The camera was built from 1989 to 1995 and 10 units were made only.
(c) Carlos Manuel Freaza 2010 (technical info and image from Rollei Fototechnik leaflet and Claus Prochnow's Rollei Report V book and others Web resources).

viernes, febrero 26, 2010

PX 125/Microdol X full strength sharpness

Please click on thumbnail (Rolleicord IV, Xenar 3.5/75 at f/4 camera handheld)

domingo, enero 03, 2010

Rolleiflex SL 35M Rolleinars


Rolleiflex SL 35 cameras models: SL 35; SL35M; SL35ME; SL 35 E (electronic shutter and smaller than the previous models) were cameras with excellent Carl Zeiss and Schneider optics, however the cheaper Rolleinar lenses line were excellent too, they were provided with modern Japanese design by computer software (Mamiya and Tokina and Kiron and Sigma mainly) and offering zoom lenses no available for the German lenses line initially. You can see in the photograph a Rolleiflex SL 35M camera made in Singapore with a Rolleinar MC f4/80-200mm zoom and a Rolleinar f3,5/200mm prime lens to the left (click on thumbnail, taken with a digital P&S)).