A Sonnet in Praise of Rolleiflex

[Eddie Vaughan]

Persephone and great Oedipus Rex
Are classic names, but so hard to utter
Compared with just as classic Rolleiflex
With its silky Synchro-Compur shutter.
I ask you, what exists beneath the stars,
Among the inventions that now abound,
To rival Tessars, Planars, Xenotars
Or that sharp square image the wrong way round?
Ask an old Braunschweig worker where he sat:
A Rolleiflex or a DSLR?
He'd say, " Gib mir bitte die Automat!
Which might sound crazy, but there you are --
After all is said, after all is done,
The old Rolleiflex is still much more fun.

Eddie Vaughan

[DPurdy]

Roses are red and violets are blue
I love the Rollei so much I bought two.
The Planar FX and the F Xenotar,
it boggles my mind how nice they both are.
I used all my film and tried every test
over and over to find which was best.
I finally gave up and thought it's ok
to just own two Rolleis and keep it that way.
Now they are siblings and both have a home,
both have their lens shades and bags all their own.
Now when it comes time to go out and play,
one gets to go and one has to stay.
Still both are happy and treated just fine,
and I am most grateful that they both are mine.

[Eddie Vaughan]

Which one should I pick to take on the road?
I'm not sure about the Rolleiflex T,
Its slow speeds stick when it gets a bit cold
And those pics last time just don't look like me.

But then again, it is not a good time
To dust off the D and give it its head,
Because, now alas, its far past its prime;
Its flash won't work, its self-timer is dead.

It might be best, after thinking it through,
To cover their faults by taking the two.
I shall tell my wife to watch both birdies,
While wishing they worked just like D Purdy's


Eddie Vaughan

[2515Michaelf]

Just like to congratulate both poets, great......

[Milos]

You guys are amazing!