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Rollei rangefinder with Mmount

I just checked with rollei usa and the price for rollei 35 rf with 40 f/2.8 lens is around 1800 USD. this is what it will be launched first, the 50 and 80 will follow.

They also said that each lens comes with a screwmount adapter which can be used with screw mount leicas..

camera - made according to rollei's standards by cosina in japan.
lens - zeiss design lenses made by rollei germany.

this is some competition for leica..
happy.gif
good for us.
 
I haven't investigated this camera /lens but IF the lens is M mount there is no adapter that I'm aware of to make it adaptable for screw mount Leicas. It only goes the other way : screw mount to M. I'm sure the quality of the lens is quite good but the body is just a reformatted Bessa R2 which is long ways from Leica Quality. Opinion only but as an owner of both its a valid ( maybe flawed) opinion. I think $1800 is excessive - Buy a Bessa R2 for ~$550 leaving $1200 for lenses - can buy a whole Kit of Bessa lenses for $1200.

ernie
 
The camera set up is identical to the Bessa R2: Leica M mount on the body while the lenses use the Leica screw mount. You will need a screw-to- bayonet adapter, similar to the Voigtlander lenses. My guess is Cosina (Voigtlander) is manufacturing both the Rollei body and the Rollei lenses, using (traditional) Zeiss designs.
 
Rollei are manufacturing the lenses themselves. If you look they are specifically Rollei designs.
 
I emailed Rollei yesterday, requesting specific timeline information on the release of the 80mm:

According to the reply from Rollei USA i received this morning:
"The 80mm f2.8 for your rangefinder should be available in the next 30 days. It is using the formula of the TLR lens. We will have more information soon. Please email us in 1-2 weeks for a full update. Thank you for your interest in Rollei products."
 
See that the Rollei 35RF is for sale at B&H for $1899 (including 40/2.8 Sonnar). Is it really that much better than the Bessa R2 from which it is derived????
 
>Better from the standpoint of status symbol. You could buy an R2 and a >Pentax 43/1.9 for half of that.
 
Hi Jeffrey - any idea where I might buy the Pentax 43/1.9? Best regards Joseph Low
 
I recently had a chance to hold one of these 'new' RF camera's from a Rollei sales representative. I have mixed feelings about it, and it makes me wonder why Rollei bothered to market this camera at all. First: the body is exactly the same as the Voigtlander Bessa R2: it's now an all metal construction; the Bessa finished in a matte black, the Rollei in a (quite shiny) silver/aluminium look. The fit and finish of both camera's are of unquestionable high standard. The bottom plate of the body is marked 'Rollei Germany' (in black print) and 'Made in Japan' (in raised letters). The look and feel of the Rollei and Bessa R2 are identical. Surprisingly, the Rollei uses 40, 50 and 80 mm frame settings. What's the practical use? When you look through the viewfinder and change the settings, so will notice only the slightest difference between 40 and 50 mm. Rollei markets a standard set (body + 40mm) which is a perfectly all round combination, but why whould anyone add a 50 mm? And why a 80 mm tele and not a 90 mm as the Voigtlander? A small lens line up of 35, 50 and 90 mm (Voigtlander) seems more logical and practical than a 40, 50 and 80 mm (Rollei). The 40 mm lens is beautifully finished and according to a Dutch photograpy magazine ('Foto') of the highest optical and mechanical standards. The tested both real life and lab lens performance and had nothing but the highest praise. Oh, by the way, the lens is fitted with a Leica M-bayonet and it perfectly matches an M-body, I tried it an checked it for focussing accuracy.
What it comes down to is this: Rollei is asking its customers to hand over around 1.800 (Dollars or Euros, doesn't really matter) for a camera body that has been never been designed as a top of the line, highest quality product, but rather as a low-cost, bottom line product. Remember this is the basic body of the Nikon FM10, Olympus 2000 and various Cosina variations. Not a bad thing, but designed and manufactured to appeal to an entirely different customer than a Leica M camera. This Cosina body has gradually been moved upmarket. First by Cosina (the Voigtlander Bessa L and R), then came the R2 (better materials, higher price) and now the prestigious Rollei brand name (nicer finish at even higher price). Is it worth it? Nobody knows, but at least when you buy a Leica (new or used) you know your buying the highest quality (inside and out), an investment that will last a lifetime and will hold it's value. I'm not suggesting the Cosina/Voigtlander/Rollei camera is a bad camera. It isn't and it produces first class results. But then, so do hundreds of other camera's. The question here is if the high price is justified buy the inherent quality or a result of the perceived brand name image. I have a feeling as if I'm being offered a BMW on Volkswagen Golf underpinnings. Of course it's up to the customer to decide. I still have my reservations.
 
One comment I forgot to mention: just like the Bessa R and R2, the Rollei RF has a curious shortcoming: while the lens focussus down to 70 cm, the rangefinder mechanism stops at 90 cm. This means that the first 20 cm of the focussing range (70-90 cm) is not covered by the rangefinder mechanism in the camera body. As a result, the coinciding viewfinder images do not respond when turning the focus ring for the first 20 cm. I find this not only curious, but acually very annoying. At close-up distances (portraits etc.), exact focussing is essential. Rollei/Voigtlander leave us guesstimating the distance up to 90 cm. Off course I know that the majority of all pictures are taken at distances further than 90 cm, but still, we are talking about expensive, mechanical equipment here. I have no memory of either Leica or Konica offering lenses that focus closer than the camera can actually handle.
 
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