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What do YOU think?
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Hi all, Im just about to buy two cameras on sunday, but hope someone can say a nice or bad thing about the cameras.
Is Rolleiflex Tessar 3.5 a good one to buy?
Which is better Nikon F2 body or Nikon F3 body? (Will get a Nikkor 50mm 1.2)
Johnny,
I haven’t used any of the above exact cameras. I have used similar, I own and use a Rolleiflex and have a few Nikon film slrs.
The most important thing is condition when buying old cameras I think. Get them in your hands and fire the shutter a few times, roll on the film a few times. Make sure everything moves very smoothly and there is no stiffness. Try to find out when they were last serviced, what the history was ie how many roles of film have gone through them, were they used professionally…
The three cameras you mentioned are all great and will all take great pictures. As for an F2 or F3 personally it would be the F3. If the F2 was in much better condition though I would go the F2
Anyhow have fun
Mcheck the foam seals around the door and mirror bumper foam – its not a big thing but something to look out for.
i think the Nikon F3 was a fully pro camera and nikon made them for about 20 years!
the f2 is fully mechanical afaik.
but both are supposed to be great cameras.
as martin says give them both a good going over,
Having owned all of these cameras and the 1.2 I have to say nice choices. The F2 is sensational esp. in AS guise , but I have had issues with two other non-AS F2 bodies: one is the lightmeter in the Photomic version (can still get repaired though (I have the link somewhere)) the other is the sometimes mistreated aperture link. Apart from that and – as with all older cameras- potential issues with the light seals: Bulletproof goodness. F3 also sensational, and adds auto-exposure and TTL. Both cameras need a special adapter for on-camera flash, but they’re quite easy to find.
The 55mm or later 50mm f1.2 lenses are all great; if not having slightly reduced contrast, but in practical terms:
If you just want a fantastic 35mm SLR (and that you can also carry insofar as not encroaching onto Pentax67 territory or the likes) and fast 50mm lens combo, I’d go for any of the FM, FM2, FE, FE2, FA or FM3a bodies wit ha nice 50mm f1.4. The f1.4 performs better overall and weighs about a stone less than the f1.2) Having said that….I recently shot the f1.2 on my F4 with DA-2 finder and good screen and the things you see in dim light through the finder that I can’t see with any other camera and, say, a 50mm f1.8 are something to behold. But I carry an FE2 and 50mm f1.8 more often than I would have the F3 and f1.2, because they’re lighter and have a better flash synchro speed. All a matter of personal taste though.
Re Rolleiflex and Tessar f3.5. Also very nice and the leap from the newer f2.8 to the older or cheaper f3.5 optics isn’t that great. So, if its a decent price: go for it. Great 1950s technology. I miss the ability to change lenses or indeed focus closer, but many a great photo have been taken with this camera. Flash syncs at all shutter speeds, too.
Edit: I just saw your other post regarding getting into 35mm or medium format…..I’d just go with the Canon EOS 35mm body suggestion. Cheap as chips on the web and your lenses fit. However: €200 for an F2 WITH f1.2 is a sensational price and you should get them if just for investment value, ditto for the Rolleiflex. If starting from scratch, either would be my choice. The simple manual controls of the old Nikon bodies make getting away from concentrating on the camera and focussing (pun intended) on the subject that much easier and quicker. But Nikons focus the other way, so if you’re used to manually focus the Canons, also using the Nikon(s) in parallel would drive me nuts.
RE: Hasselblad: Forget that word as a substitute for medium format camera; it’s just a brand. They’re no better than Mamiyas or Bronicas or whatever…all take photos.Hi Johnny,nice to meet another deaf photographer.I owned 2 Rollei Tessars at one time with prism finders,they were still working fine when I parted with them 25 years later.I have owned the F3 and 2 F2s,both very robust cameras.I loved the fast flash synchro on the F2s,which was fairly unique at that time for that reason I would still choose the F2 to-day,best regards,Bob
Hi everyone, thank you for sharing..I did learn from you..it was interesting knowing…guess what? I bought the Nikon f3 with a motor(need 8batteries) with 50mm and 80mm AND a rolleiflex for €400 and the seller is THE John Minihan. :-)
Also it’s time to get a few black/white rolls to start off… Tri-x for Nikon? And square films for Rolleiflex?
Trix 400 (35mm) for the Nikon is a great choice. You’re looking for 120 film (square) for the Rolleiflex. There is Trix available
for that format too. Best thing initially is to perhaps pick a couple of films and get used to them.Check out Peter’s (thefizz) new online store http://www.thephotoshop.ie” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false; . The prices incl p+p are very good and delivery is quick.
enjoy :)
If you can’t find Tri-X, any of the slower b/w film would do nicely; I’ve even been shooting 20 ISO (twenty, yes) handheld in the rain, all day at f2.
My favourites other than TRi-X are: FP4+ (probably the most common b/w film out there) Agfa/Rollei APX100 (perhaps even better) and for kicks ADOX CMS20. But I guess everyone develops their own look and has different tastes. Film and developer choice are one way to achieve that.
So, just find your own favourite combo and don’t fret too much.Very interesting, learn afew from you guys, thanks for sharing… Will get some cheap films to start off first once I feel confident while putting the films in and out and then will try afew different films to suit my need.. Hope to find a real good strong black white.
ALSO I’m just trying to look up what size I can get on the rolleiflex camera, as is that my camera serial number? 1150966 also how will I know which to get a SQUARE one just as 5×5?
Thanks for helping me out!
Did some searching… I think I found my model name for the rolleiflex, I think it’s a ‘rolleiflex automat 6×6 model k4a
‘120 film so :).
I did a google too and some models seem to take 127. You want to avoid them if possible as the film can
be a little more difficult to get and the film itself is more expensive (I shot a roll on an old camera my Dad
used to use when I was a baby). Anyhow, not a problem for you by the looks of itCheers so what’s 120 stand for? I thought less than 10 shoot pair rolls…just learning!
Apparently its just a ‘next available’ product number which Kodak used way back, so it means nothing really.
You’ll get 12 frames with it on your Rolleiflex at 6×6 (cm)
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