Rolleiflex E3 and F comparable?

[Ron Netherlands]

Read somewhere on the net that the 3.5 and 2.8 E3 are virtually the same as the F models. Are they indeed comparable - apart from the EV feature in the E3-models - i.e. does the E3 when installed, have a coupled lightmeter just as the F has?

[DPurdy]

Rollei lore is foggy but as I understand it the E2 and E3 were produced concurrently with the F for a short time. The E2 continued on because of the EV metering system that some photographers were loath to give up and the E3 was without a meter at all. So it is hard to say if you bought an E3 at the time and asked to have a meter installed if it would have the newer F style or the older E style. The real question surrounding the transition from the older to the newer is with the 3.5 Xenotars and Planars. They changed the lens design slightly from 5 element to 6 element. Most think the 6th element was merely a UV control as people were more and more shooting color film. It is generally believed that the Planar became 6 elements some short time before the Xenotar did. In any case, none of that makes any difference at all.

[JanBoettcher]

To my knowledge no 2,8E3 or 3,5E3 has a coupled meter.

They just share more parts (location of self timer lever and internal mechanism) with the F models than the E2 models.