Vintage Rollei cameras

Rollei was established in 1920 by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke.  For most of its life the company was famous for its TLR cameras.  A miniature 35mm camera was introduced .  The company went bust in 1981.  Latterly many Cosina-made cameras carried the Rollei name.

Rollei 35 LED

Date: c.1978
Country of origin: Germany/Singapore
Rangefinder: Viewfinder only – zone focusing
Meter: Coupled, battery-driven (3 leds visible in viewfinder)
Shutter: Leaf
Speeds: B 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500
Lens: Rollei Triotar 1:3.5 40mm
Stops: 3.5 4 5.6 8 11 16 22
A very small camera by 35mm standards. This model is one of the later Rollei 35 models, and has the cheaper 3-element lens – although it is reputed to be an excellent performer. I’ve not shot this camera recently – it uses a 5.6V Silver Oxide battery, and I’ve not got one spare at the moment.