by DPurdy » Mon Aug 11, 2014 12:15 pm
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.