Rolleiflex
This a very common place sentence, I know. We
all say that, but rarely change our views on something. Well, this not a mea culpa, just an act of justice
towards the Rolleiflex TLR. I never liked the TLR formula. Always thought that
they were too big for the 6x6 format and not true reflexes. However, my main problem with the TLR was the
Rolleilex name. I hate cameras that have become the playground of the rich and
“knowledgeable” elite. I am weird, but I believe that there are no bad cameras,
just bad photographers.
Well, I tried the impossible not to have any
TLRs cameras in my collection. However, it was an impossible mission, old
cameras have their ways to sneak into my house. So, a Meopta Flexaret arrived
and stayed in the closet, it really didn’t attract the slightest reaction from
me. Then, a Yashica mat arrived, but my heart continued to beat at the same
slow rate. TLR’s weren’t just for me.
One day, I passed a store that was hard to
define, it had all sorts of new things, like TV sets, radios, work gloves,
tools, but everything was almost twenty years old, albeit never used. Out of curiosity I entered the store, had a
look around and asked the proverbial question “Do you have old cameras?”. The
lady said no and I left. Just when I was turning around the corner, I heard a
man’s voice yelling “Sir! Excuse me Sir, can I talk to you for a second?” There
was a man at the door of the store waving at me. I returned to the store to
speak to the guy. He said that his wife had told him that I was looking for old
cameras and he might have one for sale. I asked what camera was and he said
that he didn’t know, because it was stored away some place. We agreed that the
following week I would come back to see the camera.
The week that followed I was religiously at the
store to check the famous camera, but with no luck, the man had forgotten all
about it. To make the story shorter, this happened for the next five weeks or
so. I was starting to think that this guy had a serious mental issue. Still, while some people visit a church to experience
some kind of revelation, I visited the store in hope for a camera to reveal
itself. I was about to give up on this
heretic practice, when one day the gentleman said “ I brought it today!”
I looked at the guy with a certain
indifference, with my luck, I was going to see a Kodak Brownie or something
like that. He disappeared behind the counter and came with a brown leather case
that read Rolleiflex. Oh dear, I thought to myself, a Rolleiflex, so much
trouble for so little. Still, he handed me the camera and I opened the case. At
that time I knew nothing about Rolleiflexes,
but I knew that the vast majority had Zeiss Tessar lenses, but this one
didn’t. Interesting I thought, the model
name was engraved at the top, 3.5 F and the lens was a Xenotar. The camera was
in mint condition, the selenium meter worked and the waist level finder was a
revelation, bright, with split image. What I can´t describe is the feeling of
having it in my hands, the finish, the weight, whatever, it took me by storm. The vendor asked for a very reasonable price,
so I thought I would make a nice profit on it because I would never buy and
keep a Rolleiflex, right?
When I arrived at his house he was expecting me
with a wicked smile on his face. I handed the Rolleiflex to him and explained
the malfunction. Is it serious, I asked? His answer was quick and stroke me as bullet. “Of all the idiots that I know,
I never thought that you would be one of them! “ What did I do? He laughed and
sad, you just fell in to the most famous Rolleiflex trick, the loading! These cameras
aren’t loaded just like any other camera, moron! Let me show how it is done
properly. Ah the feeler roller! I felt so stupid, so insignificant, I think
that even my teeth went red with shame. Needless to say, the Rolleiflex was
working perfectly.
After this
bumpy start, me and the Rolleiflex have
become as one. When I think of shooting 120 film it is the first camera that
comes to my mind. As much as I hate to say it, there is nothing like it, it
might sound snobbish, but this is the
real thing, just perfect. Ah, I still don’t like TLR’s, except my Rolleiflex!