by JanBoettcher » Sun Jan 13, 2008 6:11 am
Hi Fidel,
thanks for the praise ;-)
The Rollei 35:
The world of collectors is full of fools ;-) technically speaking the engraving is the only difference. I bet: Nobody, not even Carl Zeiss himself could tell any difference between pics taken with a Tessar 3,5/40 made by Zeiss or Rollei (Singapore) - OK, maybe with the one exception, that Made in Germany cameras below serial number 3082000 don't have the UV-absorbing lens cement and may perform less well when lots of UV is present. But "Made in Germany" is connected to a different "feel" than "Made in Singapore".
The 35 S's Sonnar is half a stop faster and has the much famed HFT coating ... in my personal use (color slides) it just outperforms any other compact 35mm camera in my arsenal (plus a few borrowed cameras).
Compared to most digital cameras (I know) you will love the very short delay betwen pressing the shutter release and hearing it click! The Rollei 35 just fires instantly. OK, film advance, focus and f-stop&shutter adjustment takes more time, but when everything is set, the camera is darn fast. No hesitating "thinking" electronics, no autofocus moving around.
Is it worth owning a Rollei 35? Yes. Just avoid the B, C and LED as your first.
Is it worth owning a digital compact camera (too)? Yes. It is way faster for publishing snaps via the internet - but Grandma & Grandpa will love to get prints!
Rollei 35 buyind advice: Get one with clean optics, good mechanics, working meter and with dented corners, so you don't have to worry so much about the first scratch. The rest "plain", T, TE, S, SE, ... black or chrome is mostly a matter of taste - and as long as you have the 3,5 and the guy next to you the bigger 2,8 you will have the desire to get one too ... so get the "S" with the 2,8 right in the first place ;-)
The SL 66 metering hood:
In case you do a lot of close-ups with long bellows extension, it may be an advantage to use it. Otherwise any good handheld meter should do.
Best,
Jan