By 1964, when I started committing press photography in Los Angeles,
the dominance of Rolleiflex TLRs was beginning to decline. Some of the
dailies and agencies had switched to Yashicamats because it was cheaper
to replace them than repair Rolleis. Ultimately, as improvements in
photo printing technology effectively closed the quality gap between
6X6 and 35 mm for newspaper reproduction, TLRs were relegated to a
specialty role, then phased out entirely. By 1965, Los Angeles area
photo shops were stocking used Rolleiflexes, many of them pristine,
selling for heartbreakingly low prices as trade-ins for Nikon F
outfits. The heartbreaking part was that even though great bargains I
couldn't then afford one. However, I did make merry with my
Rolleicord, so life was sweet, after all.
Allen Zak
On Dec 15, 2005, at 5:54 AM, Richard Knoppow wrote:
I went to the Getty this afternoon to see the exhibit of Weegee photos (worth seeing). There is also a smaller exhibit of other press work. Among the pictures is one of a group of Los Angeles press photographers dated c.1960. All eight of the photographers who's cameras can be seen are using Rolleiflexs although a couple might be some other TLR, I think there is one Rolleicord. No Speed Graphics. One of the photogs also has a 35mm camera around his neck. I can't identify it for certain but it appears to be an SLR of some sort.
All have potato-masher strobe flashes of some sort. These are all major league guys, working for local papers or the wire services.
--- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx --- Rollei List
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