You can see a lot of reviews about this camera but I will make my own about how I feel about this camera. What I love about this camera is its single focal lenght. The 80mm f2.8 lens lets you concentrate on the picture. You do not need to change lenses to see if you need a wide angle or a telephoto lens, pretty much you are stuck with one lens. This has an advantage of letting you look more into the quality of the light you have and the composition of the picture.
Caption: I use this camera occasionaly for street photography, Here is my setup minus the camera bag
Another advantage of this camera is the use of 120 film. Now you can have a Rolleiflex 2.8f shoot 220 film but my version shoots 120 film. The reason why I love to shoot 120 film is because of the size of the negative. It beats a digital full frame sensor anytime because of the shear size of the 120 negative. Also the 6x6 frame is very pleasing to the eye and is perfect for fine art pictures and portraitures.
Honestly, I really don't like the weight and carrying my Rolleiflex 2.8f around for street photography. It is just too nice for me to be carrying a nice camera to be honest I do not really want to drop a camera older than me. But I still do since I love how and currently studying Vivian Maier's pictures and body of work.
Now you ask "where can I buy this camera?" There are plenty of stores that offer this camera at a fair price. One of them is KEH What I like about KEH is that you can return the camera if you are not satisfied with it. So if you are new to Twin Reflex Cameras you can test drive the camera and see for yourself if you like it. Another place is eBay. These cameras on eBay costs around $1,000-$3,000 depending on the quality of the camera. A fairly used one would cost around $1,000 while a mint version would cost above $3,000.
Here are pictures of the camera with the leather case.
Here are sample images that I took:
The film that was used was Kodak Tri-X and Kodak 320TXP
PhotoStudious
Someone asked me if the Rolleiflex 2.8 F can be converted for a wider lens. The answer is no, there is a Rolleiflex Wide version. It would be very expensive to convert a Rolleiflex 2.8 F to a Wider Version and also would destroy a very nice camera already.
PhotoStudious
Correction, there is a way to make your Rolleiflex 2.8f have a wider angle. This is by attaching a Rollei Mutar 0.7x. Here is a link of this review: Link . I still don't know the exact price of the attachment but one of the readers pointed out that it rarely shows up on eBay and is quite expensive.
PhotoStudious
I added some sample picture so that you can see how sharp and how nice the depth of field and contrast renders. Please look above
PhotoStudious
I always get asked, "Where do I send my Rolleiflex 2.8F for repairs?" I highly suggest sending any Rolleiflex cameras to Harry Fleenor. He does different things like changing the viewing screen to either a Maxwell Screen with a grid, split image and a micro prism ring or a Maxwell plain Hi-Lux screen with a grid. He also does shutter and transport overhauls along with a Clean Lubricate and Adjust.
Harry Fleenor has a reputation in the forums for repairing Rolleiflex cameras well.
If you have any suggestions or have good experience with another camera repairman, kindly comment below.
Also, if you have problems on the lens ie. fungus, cleaning marks etc. I sent my Rolleiflex to Focal Point Lens. I highly recommend them since they took care of a small dot of fungus on my Rolleiflex's Planar taking lens.
Reader Comments (2)
I have a 1962 2.8F bought from a fellow Camera Club member and have done a lot of weddings with it -- yours seems to be in MINT CONDITION as it just came out of the box from NEW -- even the underside of the strap is clean !! How do you get such MINT Cameras as I believe you are in Manila -- I go to CEBU quite often and visit Cebu Images Camera Club.
Hi Peter!
Having the Rolleiflex 2.8F has been a challenge for me doing Street Photography but I never really thought about using it for a wedding. Seems like it is a good idea!
I would not say my camera is in Mint Condition. I have been using this camera for about 6 months now and I do take care of it. Notice the small paint chip on the side of the camera, maybe I would rate it at excellent plus condition.
I highly suggest to use the leather case whenever you use the camera out in the street. This prevents it from getting paint chips at the side of the film advance. I use another leather strap so that is why the brown leather strap in the photograph looks fairly new. I just happen to get it at a great price from a seller from a camera show.
I used to live in Manila but I am in Texas now. I do visit from time to time. I bought this camera online but I do a couple of test before I fully accept the camera. I'll probably talk about it in the future post = )
Best,
Wilfredo