FLEXFAN

Rolleiflex and Rolleicord TLRs, DIY camera repairs, TLRs for sale....................................Questions and Comments:[email protected]

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The finest 3.5 F

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Original Rollei factory markings for the focal length of both optics

This is from the second to last vb rolleicord model. These marks were made in pencil at the factory, I'm told. Earlier models usually have the numbers wiped off from prior repairs. I always assumed that the focal length would be a closer match between taking and viewing lens but there is almost 5mm difference. It's rare to find these marking on earlier models, but when I do find them they were closer to a match and possibly built to tighter tolerances.

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Gauge stand and arbor mounts for Rolleiflex 2.8 and 3.5 cameras. A special thanks to Rollei guru, Jimmy Koh, for letting me buy his original factory equipment at a very reasonable price.

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Here’s an image of the Rollei factory comparator stand with lens mount to test TLRs for parallelism. The tolerances of the lens mount (in yellow) to film back bars are .002″, I’m trying to recreate this set up with the help of local machinists. The dial stand and indicator are pretty easy to source, but the lens mounts will have to be a custom fabricated.

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$349.50 in 1967 had the same buying power as $2,475.70 in 2014.

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$449.50 in 1967 had the same buying power as $3,184.06 in 2014.

Still, $3184.06 for a brand new 2.8 F sounds good to me.

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My Rolleiflex 2.8 F model with a custom 5x bronica chimney finder.  As you guys may know the Rollei chimney finder is extremely rare for TLRs.

I love the waist level finder. It's light weight and the 3.5X magnification let's one see the complete image area. I need a 1.5+ diopters for the waist level and before Rolleiflex.us, diopters were impossible to find.  All of the chimney finders seem to have adjustable diopter strengths built in.

On the downside, the Bronica Chimney is a bit heavy, but it's much better quality( build and optics) than any of the Hasselblad chimneys I've  used. Believe it or not, Bronica made very good gear!

I used the bottom of an old Rolleiflex prism that was badly separated for the adapter. The bronica 5x chimey sits in there perfectly, but because of this strong magnification crops into the top of the image. I don't know exactly how much, but at it's closest focus distance it's about the same as the paralax compensation markers under the screen.  

This finder and my Hasselbald with baierfoto adapter are going on ebay this week because I've since been able to find the exact diopters I need.

One of the great things about the chimneys is that they flag more light when using the on a sunny day and it's helps keep dust off your expensive Maxwell focus screen.

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Rolleicord Va transport, counter removed

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So you are looking for good  replacement leather for your Rollei? Don't order microtools.com morocco leather. This is what they sent-- Cheap scraps from an upholstery project. The total was $28! It's too fine grained to match any Rollei. There is a nickle in center for size. The shipping and customer service were excellent, but this leather is crap. 

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Rolleiflex focus cam and axle exchange.

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plastic mallet and orangewood stick

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The controls were completely locked up, and the damage was severe.  It took hours to pound out the panel with a small plastic mallet and an orangewood stick. All the hardware was removed beforehand. It's not pretty, but it works fine. I have a new bare F panel coming in and I may install this at a later date.

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The long axle on the gx with T panel. I had to redrill and shape panel to fit. (Photo before drilling) I did make a knob cover that fit the spanner bit, but one of the cams was hitting the side rails so I needed to take the whole thing apart anyway.

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Inside the Gx model.

 Replacement parts for this camera are nearly impossible to source. This camera had severe impact damage so I had to completely dissemble it. One of the cams was hitting the side of the focus rail and this prevented full movements. I still needed a new focus knob and the one on the GX is really long so that it can accommodate the battery

After waiting weeks to hear back from my parts guys and Rollei DHW/ US Rollei, I decided to install a smaller axle and focus cams from an F model (LOTS OF WORK, BUT IT FITS!!). I used the focus panel/ knob and parts from a Rolleiflex T. The T has built in infinity stops that the other models with the DOF indicator lacked. The smaller axle was compatible with the T's lower profile knob and parts. The new focus knob works perfectly. In my opinion, it looks much better the the longer plastic knob that the GX comes with. I'll post more photos of the modifications in the coming weeks.

The camera was missing the circuit board for the meter so I removed all of the remaining electronics. I still kept the hot shoe and pc connections intact.

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naked rollei

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It looks like someone actually used this white face model to take photos! 

Bert Stern’s Rollei: http://www.nytimes.com/news/the-lives-they-lived/2013/12/21/bert-stern/

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Cord 3 kit, very clean.