- fast sharp 2.8 Zeiss Planar Lens
- Strong construction
- Big 6x6 exposure

- You have to remember to put the film through the roller, or you will waste the roll.
- It's a little clunky to shoot with handheld
- Only goes to f/16, but still not too bad
- Automatic shutter speed goes only 1 second, after that there are number indicating the number of second, but you have to time these yourself and hold the shutter open.

Where to begin. The Rolleiflex 2.8F is these best fixed lens TLR camera I've had the honor of using. The particular model I have was purchased in 1969 in Germany. Equipped with a Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 lens this camera is perfectly equipped for any situation you throw it at. Not to mention a conversation piece when out in use.

The 2.8F has a Selenium meter so the camera does not require a battery (one that these days would be a pain to find a replacement) which is still dead on for exposures, even in dark environments such as abandoned buildings. The exposure controls are clean and easy to use, and the meter is a match needle system, making it easy to read.

The one thing you have to remember with this camera is that when loading the film, you need to run it through the rollers, or else the frame counter/transport system will not function and you will end up wasting a roll, I know, I did it, twice before figuring it out after finding an English version of the manual (as the copies I received were in German), this is what makes it different from many other TLRs on the market.

The bottom line, if you love medium format, and are looking to either get into using TLRs or wanting to upgrade, find a Rollei 2.8F, well worth the money, and if you have one that's not working, get it fixed. The value of this camera will only go up as time passes.

Customer Service

- CLA from Camtech in Hamilton to fix the exposure controls which were slipping/sticking.

Similar Products Used:

- Lomo Lubitel 2
- Yashica Mat 124
- Yashica-12

A true classic
Compact and sort of light weight
Inobstrusive and friendly to others
Decent lens
Nice bokeh with a definite personnality to it
Sort of fast lens at f/2.8

Expensive
Prone to flare, even with a hood
No close focusing without a costly add-on
No 220 support except some rare versions

I've owned a eventually sold a 2.8GX, one of the newer Rolleiflexes. From the films I made, I was never blown away by the quality of the lenses, which is supposed to be very good. The most striking problem was the flare, very present on backlit sobjects. These cameras are very pricey, and I eventually that the money would be better spent elsewhere.

Customer Service

Expensive service from unreliable independent workshop.

Similar Products Used:

Yashica TLR
Bronica SLRs
Agfa Isolette 6x6 rangefinder

Planar lens 75/3,5 on F camera is the sharpest lens I have ever had. Prints up to 50x50 cmm are absolutely stunning - sharp, crispy, with space feeling. Out of focus areas are smooth and pleasing. The lens was made more than 40 years ago, and delivers stunning results. Compared to Mamyia RB I have worked a lot with - Mamiya images are muddy, udefined. Rolleiflex is unbeatable for me.

Focusing screen is quite dimm, metering system not very accurate. For good results, I recommend external metering device.

Greatest camera I have ever owned in terms of optical quality. I was grown with Flexaret camera, owned also Yashica 12, Mamyia RB and still have several 35 mm cameras. But Rolleiflex really has something, what can be seen as soon as you print your negatives.

Customer Service

Well... if any, would be great.

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya RB, Flexaret, Yashica 12, Nikons, Leicas..

Light weight, easy to hand hold at slower shutter speeds due to TLR design. Outstanding optics and mechanical reliability.

The only weakness I've found is lack of Polaroid back but hasn't been a real issue for my work.

I have used a Rolleiflex 3.5 F for years. I have the model with the 6 element Zeiss Planar lens and have found it to be one of the finest cameras every made. Beautiful yet simple design allow this camera to become one with the photographer. The image quality I get from my black & white negatives rivals the quality of my 4x5 negatives when viewing 20 x 20 inch prints from about 4 feet. Also the single coated taking lens gives me a tonal quality that is unobtainable with a more modern lens. I also love the reliability that comes from the simple yet elegant design. I've never had the camera fail in years of professional work.

Customer Service

Any and all repairs will be done by Oceanside Camera by Harry Fleenor who has installed bright screens on my cameras which I highly recommend.

Similar Products Used:

Yashica TLR
Mamiya 7
Hasselblad

Great Zeiss lens and workmanship, quiet shutter, unusual look making people in the street come and have a chat with you ("does it shoot with colour films??"), very strong all-metal building, flash-synch up to 1/500, dual-format possibility, magic feeling, its being a ROLLEIFLEX!

maybe its shutter speed setting system is not very covenient, quite heavy, spares hard to find, accessories really expensive

I bought a first Rolleiflex T on Ebay in August 2004. The quality was just amazing, and operations, completely different from my Olympus IS200 automatic SLR. I first had to learn how to use a hand-held lightmeter, then load a 120-film, and finally to focus properly. The first rolls I shot were rather poor, for the lightmeter was not accurate, but once it was correctly tuned, the Tessar finally showed how sharp it was. But the crank finally broke and I sold it for spare, before buying a new 1960- one in July 2005 at Jessop's Classic in London. What to say about this camera? That it is perfect? Well, it would be a bit short. First the lens. Zeiss lens are truly great. The '57 Tessar is one of the sharpest ever. It isn't multicoated, nor computer-calculated, and it's what makes its special rendition. They are obviously hand-grounded. Its resolution is 66 pair of line/mm, which is very high. Even if later Planars and Xenotars offer a higher resolution (between 80 and 110 pl/mm), they are considered as softer as the Tessar. The focusing, using a very large knob on the left side of the camera, is very smooth, and goes from 90cm (3 feet) to Infinite. The shutter, a Synchro-Compur, offers a speed range from 1 sec. to 1/500, and a flash synchronization up to 1/500th. It's quite quiet, though not as quiet as more expensive models such as the 2.8 or 3.5F. I think I should CLA it somedays. The film-advance, using a large crank, is very easy, once one get the move : one round forward, one round backward. Once again, it's not as smooth as on the F models, for it uses cheaper materials (aluminium instead of brass, I think.) The hood and focusing screens are removable, in order to adapt, for instance, a poro-prism, or a new focusing screen. The speed setting is using the EV system. It's not commanded with the wheels normaly found on the Rolleiflexes, but with a small button that is pulled to select the correct EV, indicated by a black arrow. The aperture is set with the same button, but not pulling it. It weights around 1kg (2,2lbs) and thus permits to stand steady for exposures such as 15th or even 8th of a second. It's very heavily built, the first I had once fell from a height of 3 feet and still was still working perfectly. It was designed to stand tropical athomspheres for 50 years, and was thus chosen by the British Royal Navy for a maritime use. (that may explain its gray leatherette.) A device permits to get 16 frames on a 120 roll, it's a mask giving 4.5x5 pictures. It operate a smal lever switching the view-counter to "16" and and the film advance to 4.5cm; and the Rolleikin transforms it into a 135 camera with a portrait lens. Very few "T" could work with 220 films, they were mostly made in the late 70s.

Similar Products Used:

Another Rolleiflex T, Lubitel 2

The results have been outstanding. The lens is incredibly sharp. I've printed to A3+ and they all look good. It is lightweight and easy to carry around. However, the leather case is well known as a 'NeverReady' case. You have to remove it to load and remove film.

I've been just a little disappointed with the results using the Rolleinars. Perhaps I was expecting too much but they've not been quite as sharp as those taken without them.

Decided I wasn't yet ready to commit to Digital so took the opportunity to give medium format a try. Wasn't sure how I would get along with the TLR style but reckoned that, if a bought a Rolleiflex, it would keep its resale value. I bought a 3.5F Planar which was well used but in fairly good shape. I'm absolutely hooked! I've now added Rolleinars, lens hood and had it CLAd [see below] The format, and the waist level viewing, encourages greater care in composition and the 'well off the mark' selenium metering requires the use of a separate meter. This is the camera I take with me 90% of the time.

Customer Service

Sent the camera to be CLAd to Harry Fleenor in California - a specialist Rollei repair centre. It was quite expensive but it came back like a new camera

Similar Products Used:

None

Decades long service, quiet, wonderfull optics. Action photo's are possible through the direct viewfinder.

Not for extreme close up, individual flowers are difficult.

I inherited my Rollie MX_LVS with a F 3.5 Tessor lens from my father, an advanced photographer. I've used this fine camera for over 40 years. The only service has been a little instrument oil on the film rollers bearings to stop squeal. This is a superb photographic instrument for the thinking photographer. Wall size mural prints have been produced from this camera with B&W negative materials, and auditorium size screens filled with vibrant colour transparency projections, using the Rollie projector. Photographers who evolve past the equipment collector and point and shoot stage would do well to consider a Rollieflex for thoughtful composition, fine arts photography. Action photography can be accompliced through the direct view finder.

Customer Service

who knows, never serviced

Similar Products Used:

Mamaya C-330

negative size/sharpness, light weight, relative simplicity, nonautomatic controls forcing knowledge of photography, single lens forces concentration on essentials

not suitable for more extreme photography, i.e. macro, tele

I learned photography in the 60's in school on a Yashica-Mat 124, fell in love with the TLR then. I bought one of the last Rolleicords made (white face)in 1975 in college, still have and use it. I have every model of 'Cord and a 'Flex T'. I had a 2.8F but prefer the Rolleicord for its simplicity, lighter weight and smaller filter size (Bay I, like Yashica). These aren't fast-action cameras anyway! In my slides and prints I see no difference whatsoever between the Xenar on Rolleicords and the Tessar or Planar lenses on the Rolleiflexes. Maybe visible on a loupe in extreme settings, but not on the outdoor photography I do. I have also owned several Yashicas and Mamiyas, but my second favorite is the Minolta Autocord with its helical focusing lever under the taking lens, along with fine Rokkor lenses. Truly, any of these TLR's will give back far more in service and quality than they will ever ask in repairs and maintenance. Buy a good one and it'll be your companion for life!

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Yashica, Mamiya, Minolta, Meopta, Ikoflex

The lens - sharp as a razorblade.

You are restricted to one lens. Or save up for a tele- or wide-angle-Rolleiflex.

After running my own b&w darkroom for a couple of years I wondered if I could gain better image quality by upgrading from 35 mm cameras to medium format. So I tried quite a number of models from Mamiya 645, Pentax 67, Mamiya C3, an old Zeiss Ikoflex TLR amongst others, buying some of them via ebay, borrowing others. None of them really suited me, some were too large and heavy, some too expensive. Then I came across this 1960 model of a Rolleiflex 2,8f, the version with the Schneider Xenotar lens. I think I made a bargain, as I had to pay some 700 Euro. I bought a Rolleinar, some filters and a lens hood for another 150 Euros. As soon as I had my first film developed, I was addicted to this wonderful piece of craftsmanship. The Rolleiflex is quite light, about 1200 g (I think just under 3 lbs) heavy, so I can easily carry it everywhere I go. The lightmeter surprised me, as it is wonderfully accurate. Handling the camera is easy, I can shoot hand-held at 1/15 second. You can hardly hear any sound from the shutter. The parallax is compensated for automatically. The Schneider Xenotar lens (2,8 / 80 mm) is the sharpest I have ever used. The coating is very good, you have to struggle to produce flare.

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya C3, Zeiss Ikoflex, Pentax 67, Mamiya 645

silent, sturdy, will probably still work when i am done - LENS-PERFORMANCE!!!!

built in meter quite useless - either ist dead by now or you dont know exactly what you are metering. get a good exposuremeter

at one day you will be arriving where i am now - at the rolleiflex-level. while working for a newspaper as sportsfotographer i owned various nikons and later as amateur a nikon d1 digital-camera, but when i found my rolleiflex 3,5f - one of the last 1000 made - and held it in my hand i was hooked. and the moment i saw the first prints (kodak cn400) i sold off my remaining gear. i now take mostly pictures of my kids - and the camera is perfect. silent unobtrusive - and on a 20x20 print you could count the eyelids of my daughter. i doubt if there is a 6x6 camera that can outperform the rolleiflex on lens performance. since you are restricted to one lens you have to look carefully before you shoot - not a bad thing. i got a pair of rolleinars for close-ups and i am looking for a chimney-finder. if you have one, PLEEEESE sell it to me. i also got a maxwell hi-luxscreen. the best available, screen looks brighter than the eye. for 125 dollars this will transform your camera

Customer Service

none - but can be repaired by specialists (find them on the web)