[rollei_list] Re: Decline of Rollieflex/Film
- From: "Richard Knoppow" <dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:58:55 -0700
----- Original Message -----
From: "Elias_Roustom" <elroustom@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 10:40 AM
Subject: [rollei_list] Re: Decline of Rollieflex/Film
Rollei TLR cameras were cameras for the advanced amateur
market
mainly
Now that I didn't know. That's really interesting. Old
news for you, news to me.
Adds to the mystique. Thanks.
---
Rollei List
Keep in mind that when the Rolleiflex was developed,
and for much of its life, professional photographers used
large format cameras. Press work was done mostly on 4x5 and
studio work on larger sizes. A very few used 35mm cameras.
Most publications would not accept work on smaller formats.
One early exception was National Geographic Magazine who
accepted 35mm color nearly from its inception even predating
Kodachrome but they were quite unusual.
Rollei cameras for photojournalism took hold about the
late 1940s and some fashion photographers began using them a
bit earlier but most fashion and other advertising work was
done using 8x10 or even 11x14 sheet film cameras. By this
standard even the Hasselblad was an amateur camera and, in
fact was advertised as such. I think they were taken up by
pros as the improvements in film allowed smaller film size
to be acceptable for commercial work. There was also a move
away from the more formal presentation in fashion
photography that was partially cultural and partially the
result of smaller and more flexible cameras being available.
Some fashion photographers did use Rolleis because the twin
lens arrangement allows continuous viewing of the subject
where the Hasselblad mirror cuts off the view at the moment
of exposure. Also, the interlens shutter in the Rollei is
more compatible with electronic flash than the focal-plane
shutter used in the early Hasselblads. By the 1950s much
studio work had gone over to strobe from the hot lights used
nearly universally before.
The main advantage the Hassy has over the Rollei is the
ability to use a variety of interchangible lenses. While
interchangible lenses can be arranged for a twin lens
camera, note the Mamiya, the cost is much greater because of
the need for a matching finder lens and, for long lenses,
the arrangement can become quite heavy.
Rolleis are built to a very high standard of quality
and are quite rugged so, from that standpoint, are certainly
"professional".
Also, the pro market is much smaller than the amateur
market so it would pay a manufacturer to design for the
larger market or to try to hit both. BTW, the original Hassy
was NOT a reliable camera; the early 1600 shutter is
notoriously prone to failure and was soon discontinued.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
---
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