On Nov 1, 2006, at 1:29 PM, Jens Bladt wrote: > I just got myself af Rollei XF 35 off ebay. F. 1:2.3 40mm Sonnar lens. > A nice 35 mm rangefinder with program automatics (CdS). It is > supposed to > replace my Minox GL as my "immer dabei" camera (pardon my German)! > Film is better than digital for this purpose, because the battery > consumption is judt a fraction (PX625) of a modern, digital camera > - and > film is available almost anywhere. This means it's alwasy ready! > > This way I always have a quality camera within reach! > > Has anyone used this small, old Rollei?
Yes, Rolleis were a specialty of mine for years. The Rollei XF 35 is documented in Arthur Evans' "Collectors Guide to Rollei Cameras" and in Klaus Prochnow's "Technical Reports". Production dates were 1975 to 1980. Unfortunately, the XF 35 does not have the best lens (a Rollei Sonnar 40mm f/2.3, designed by Zeiss but assembled by Rollei Singapore). It was a somewhat undistinguished, compact 35mm rangefinder camera, having none of the brilliance or quirkiness of the original Rollei 35 and later Rollei 35S. I believe (although I'm not sure of this) that it was based on one of the designs that Rollei inherited when they acquired someone else's designs (was it Voigtländer? I can't remember off hand). The XF 35 can make reasonably good negatives when stopped down, the problem is that there's no way to control exposure on the camera other than by adjusting the ASA setting or switching it into flash mode, which turns off all metering and nets you one shutter speed and aperture control. (Personally, I think your Minox 35GL is a better camera with a better lens. I have a Minox 35GT-E that I am very loathe to part with, it returns superb results.) I don't know about your statement about the battery. The Rollei XF 35 takes a mercury-oxide PX625 battery, which are rapidly becoming extinct worldwide. They last about a year in the camera (presuming the camera is kept in a case or the meter circuit shut off to minimize current draw) and then almost invariably begin to leak, which often destroys the camera. Alkaline PX625s have a different voltage curve which throws off the meter, and changes as the battery ages. (The Rollei 35S uses this same battery; I have a little battery sized voltage regulator that allows fitting a silver-oxide battery instead to preserve meter accuracy, and silver oxide batteries don't leak as often or as severely as mercury-oxides.) Comparing the utility for "immer dabei" use to the Fuji F30 that is my 'immer dabei' camera: One charge on the Fuji's battery will run over 700 exposures. The battery is a Lithium-Ion that will hold a charge for up to a year with less than 15% self discharge. One 1G xD card will store up to 380 full-resolution JPEG photographs. I'll stick to the F30. ;-) Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
