[rollei_list] Yielding to Temptation

From: John Owlett <owl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Rollei List <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 17:06:42 +0100
There she was, hiding in the cave that is Robert White's shop in
Poole, a sultry temptress clad in grey leather, wearing an Oxford
blue name badge saying "Rolleiflex 2,8GX".  And all of a sudden the
quest for a 3.5F Whiteface didn't seem so important.

It is always risky to visit Robert's shop.  Once upon a time, having
learnt that I was a Rolleiflex and Nikon F3 user, he handed me an
M6 to look at, saying that I'd like the build quality.  This is the
photographic equivalent of offering heroin to someone with a known
cannabis problem.

Using my newfound skills, I checked that the lenses were clear and
bright.  Then I ran through all the shutter speeds and checked that
the focus moved the front plate smoothly and evenly.  ("Play" is the
verb that springs to mind.)

Not, perhaps as nicely balanced as the 3.5F, a bit front-heavy.  And
missing the eyelevel focusing lens and mirror.  (I like to photograph
fungi, and only once do you try to put a Rolleiflex on a tripod
pointing 45 degrees downwards, and focus using the waist-level
finder!)  Also, I think I shall need some sort of soft release for
the shutter button.

But on the positive side, the view in the finder seems much brighter;
TTL flash control is a useful feature (I do use fill-in flash for
event photography); a built-in silicon-diode meter may well be
convenient, though a hand-held incident light meter has never seemed
inconvenient; and the camera is in superb condition.

So, after a bit of playing, and a bit of negotiating, I brought the
camera home with me and hid the receipt so that my wife won't find
it.


On Monday 11 July 2005, at 21:15 EDT, the Virginian wrote:

> Rolleiflex now markets a Bayo III rubber lens hood which is not
> really a stellar product, but the older metal hoods are easily
> found used, generally in their sexy leather cases.
>
> Finally, B+W and Heliopan will cheerfully sell you any filter or
> hood which you desire, but the freight is a bit hefty -- the last
> time I checked their pricing, Heliopan Bayo III filters were
> running around $80 a pop as opposed to H&H's $20 each.

My purchase included both a lens hood and, unusually, a filter.
Perhaps typically of someone who likes shooting contre jour, I am
somewhat obsessional about using a lens hood but use filters strictly
only when there is a reason to do so: absorbing the impact of
grandchildren's fingerprints seems like a valid reason.

So I can confirm that the Rollei metal lens hood is still available
new:

http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/rollei.htm


On Monday 11 July 2005, at 18:36 PST, the Californian wrote:

> If ANY of you know about a NON Rollei filter that will fit inside
> of a Bay III hood, please let me know.

The filter I bought was B+W MRC -- at GBP 28 the sticker shock was
much less than with a Rollei brand filter -- so I can confirm that
a Rollei bayonet III metal lens hood can be fitted over a B+W bayonet
III filter.  (They have to be put on the lens in that order.)  

Later,

Dr Owl

----------------------------
John Owlett, Southampton, UK



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[rollei_list] Yielding to Temptation

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