The reliability issue was sorted out in the later production runs of the
SL2000F, so if you're thinking of buying one (if you find one) you have
to look at the baseplate and see if the serial number has an asterisk
next to it But the best bet is a 3003 (again, if you can find one). This
means it has the upgraded electronics without the bugs. Unfortunately,
bad marketing and the reliability issue combined with bad press (and a
very high price) doomed this fascinating 35 mm Rollei concept before it
could really get on to the market.
The camera itself has quite amazing ergonomics, and it's absolutely
irrelevant whether you're left- or right-handed - your fingers (or
thumbs!) are always positioned next to a release button however you hold
it, though some find it a little awkard when shooting in portrait format
- possible Rollei engineers didn't think about that, being used to
square formats.
Rollei had all sorts of plans for the camera in the proverbial drawer,
including a digital back recording on a floppy disk. There were two
series of lenses, the top-bracket Zeiss offerings which cost an arm and
a leg even second-hand, and the Rolleinar (also sold as Voigtländer)
lenses which were target more at semi-pros or consumer-level
photographers. It's probably also the only 35 mm SLR with three shutter
release buttons, one on top and one on each side and two different
viewing options, a telescope-like VF and a pop-up gadget with a
magnifier that let's you view from above, just like a 'real' Rollei, an
option which is extremely useful when working with bellows or extension
rings for macro subjects. The range of accessories was immense too, for
instance,: electronic interval timers, a night-vision lens, any number
of wierd brackets for attaching things to it, etc. and of course
interchangeable backs, once you get the hang of it, you can change in
mid-roll from BW to neg to slide film in seconds without losing a frame.
Cheers
Douglas
a aa wrote:
> The Rollei 2000/3003s are 35mm cameras.
>
> They were designed by ZI to replace the Contarex. Rollei took over
> the designs when they bought Voigtlander and produced them as the
> 2000/3000 series of cameras. TTBOMK reliability was always a problem.
> CZ lenses for this series are hard to find and very expensive, more
> expensive than the equivalent Contax RTS lenses.
>
>
>
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