After a dive into our prodigious mailbag, bulging with talk of the newly reissued Leica M6, we essay a sweeping survey of the mighty marque known as Rollei. Gabe has nine Rolleiflex TLRs; Jeff has a Rollei 35 and a Rolleiflex SL350. Tune in — it's a gas, gas, gas!
we skipped Episode № 43, deal with it
quite a prodigious mailbag! featuring:
much talk of the newly reissued 2022 Leica M6, which is NOT a limited edition - worth noting: there’s a center dot between the two LED arrows in the viewfinder (à la the M6 TTL); no plastic shields under the strap lugs (‘cause the paint is hardier); the red dot says "Leitz" not "Leica"; it doesn't come in chrome; the only available finder is the .72; and the cost is $5,700. Who is this for?
how ‘bout those high-end metal cassettes for bulk loading (e.g. FILCA and IXMOO, Shirley-Wellard, etc.) - are they any good?
Jim Melcher made a video about stainless-steel reels
Gabe’s Leica assignment / adventure, courtesy of the Leica Store Los Angeles
Our Rollei show! Gabe has a slew of Rollei TLRs:
1938 Rolleicord 2b with Zeiss 3.5 lens
1939 Rolleicord 2c with Zeiss Triotar lens
1945 Rolleiflex Automat Model 2 which used to belong to renowned photographer Phil Stern
1954 Rolleicord 5 with Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 3.5
1958 Rolleiflex 3.5C Planar
1958 Rolleiflex 3.5F Planar (his favorite)
1959 Rolleiflex 2.8E2 with Zeiss Triotar lens (his other favorite)
... Jeff has a 1959 Rolleiflex 3.5E … and Gabe also has:
1959 Rolleiflex 3.5C
1960 Rolleiflex 2.8F
…and they all have different personalities! - they handle differently, and the hand-ground lenses render differently
how TLRs change your relationship to the subject when shooting portraits
next! in non-TLR news, Jeff loves his little Rollei 35 SE
worth checking out: Zeno Felkl's Rollei 35 Project book
and the mighty (and mighty hard to find) Rolleiflex SL350 is one of Jeff's favorite SLRs - the 50mm Planar is sublime
The other Jeff Greenstein stole a quarter billion in a tax fraud scheme, so we will henceforth refer to him as "tax fraud felon"