by Steve Pitchford » Wed Jan 21, 2015 11:24 am
In the camera repair business parts are parts. There are other clues that can help determine when or where cameras were made. In the last year plus I have bought and sold a dozen Rollei 35's in search of near mint conditions with low serial numbers. I currently have two excellent condition fully working models, one German , (Honeywell branded), body ser. 3094812 and lens ser. 4742296 Carl Zeiss maker. And a second, a Singapore model ser. 3304065 with a Schneider S-xenar lens, no serial number. The body numbers help to gage a point in time when production moved from Germany to Singapore. Of course that move didn't happen over night and initial production in Singapore was made with parts from Germany and Japan. The use of the Schneider lens vs the Zeiss for production also points to a particular production era that can be tied loosely to serial numbers. Other things I've noticed with my two cameras - the view finders are different as are the film back locks. Other difference are hidden. Soon I will post pictures of the camera, (I also have two B35 models, one German and one Singapore), for further discussion.
Happy trails,
Pitchrock