Last Updated on 06/11/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
Check out this mint Rolleiflex if your camera collection has some room for a beautiful, wide angle TLR camera.
Rolleiflex TLR cameras are always on top of every photographer and camera collector’s must-have list. Whether you’re looking to add one more to your growing collection or yet to have your first elegant Rolleiflex, you might want to check out our latest ebay find: a wide angle Rolleiflex in mint condition. It doesn’t come for cheap, however, at a whopping $5,200.
According to New Mexico-based seller arthurwg5510, this vintage gem is a “true survivor in MINT condition” and has “virtually no signs of use.” This Rolleiflex model with serial number W2491703 was made between April 1961 and mid-1965, fitted with a wide angle Zeiss Distagon f4 55mm lens. Shutter speeds are from 1 second to 1/500, but the seller also notes that the shutter speeds are not guaranteed. It also doesn’t have a working exposure meter. It comes with the original optical focusing hood and the original removable flat glass panel at the film gate that helps maximize the film registration. The camera is also equipped with a bright custom Maxwell split image ground glass focusing screen.
A wide angle Rolleiflex — how unusual, right? That’s the main reason why this camera is fetching such a high price compared to the usual Rolleiflex TLR we find (which aren’t really cheap as is). According to Camera-Wiki, the Wide-Angle Rolleiflex was Rollei’s response to the growing demand for a Rolleiflex TLR with a wide-angle lens, the need further pushed by the Mamiya C TLR series with interchangeable lenses. While the company developed a prototype with 3 interchangeable lenses, they later realized that it required extra mechanisms that impaired the handling capacities. As a result, the company came up with a Wide Angle Rolleiflex instead, using the Rolleiflex E as a base.
Two models were actually made: Model 1 is the one listed here, made from 1961 to 1965; and Model 2, which accommodated both 120 and 220 films. In 2003, 35 years after production for the Wide-Angle Rolleiflex was stopped, Rollei released a follow-up in the form of the Rolleiflex 4.0 FW based on the Rolleiflex 2,8 FX.
If you’ve decided to grab this vintage beauty, go ahead and check out the ebay listing to buy it now for $5,200 or make your best offer.
All images from the Ebay listing by arthurwg5510