-40%

Rolleiflex 3.5F camera (Zeiss Planar lens), with case & lens cap, used, CLA-ed

$ 791.47

Availability: 29 in stock
  • Custom Bundle: No
  • Brand: Rolleiflex
  • Modification Description: Cleaning, Lubrication, Adjustment; Maxwell #2 Hi-Lux viewing ground glass
  • Modified Item: Yes
  • Model: 3.5F Planar
  • Film Format: 120
  • Color: Black
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: Germany

    Description

    Item Description
    This vintage Rolleiflex 3.5F twin-lens reflex camera (serial #2815937; manufactured ~1964) has a 6-element Zeiss Planar lens (serial #4354492) & a Heidosmat viewing lens (serial #3090417). Because such vintage cameras are completely mechanical & their lubricants dry out over decades, this camera received a "CLA" (cleaning, lubrication, & adjustment) in 2018, including a shutter overhaul, shutter-release repair, & shutter adjustment; film transport overhaul; magnifier adjustment; & replacement of its ground-glass viewing screen with a far brighter Maxwell #2 Hi-Lux screen. The service was performed by Harry M. Fleenor, who had worked 15 years in a Rollei factory service center (1966-82) & subsequently (after Rollei went bankrupt in the mid-1980s) bought the service center's spare parts & opened his own service site specializing in Rollei cameras. The camera has been used since the CLA.
    Item Condition
    Used, fully functional after CLA & installation of a Maxwell #2 Hi-Lux viewing screen (ALL service by Harry M. Fleenor, Oceanside Camera Repair, Manhattan Beach, CA; completion Summer 2018); shutter speeds are accurate, & film transport & focusing are normal. All optics are clear, with no evident scratches, dust, or fungus. The original, built-in Gossen light meter is intact & functions normally. Furnished with original satin chrome dual-lens cap (excellent condition), original leather case (with leather cover to protect meter-focusing knob) (both intact in good condition), plastic diffusor (fits over light meter cells under nameplate), a cloth 3rd-party neck strap with connectors for camera body, & a copy of Mr. Fleenor's service invoice.
    The former owner's initials are etched into the camera case's front nameplate, as is his ? Social Security ? number into the rear upper edge of the camera body (see photos). Because I am a photographer who wanted to use a vintage TLR camera (& not a collector), these imperfections made no difference to me, as they have no effect on camera function. I have had my fun & now offer this wonderful film camera so that others may have a similar experience.
    A Final Note to Those Interested in Vintage Cameras
    Unless such cameras have undergone a 'CLA' -- whose cost is in the range 0-750, depending on the specific camera's needs & the quality of the service -- shutter speeds, particularly the low end (eg, 1/30 to 1 sec), are likely to be unreliable, if the shutter even works. When comparing this Rolleiflex 3.5F with seemingly similar cameras in other listings, remember that this camera has had the costly renovation that most other cameras lack & this camera is now fully functional.