Rollei found!

[woojiebear]

Hey guys

I'm so excited I found a Rollei 35t in my parents cupboard the other day!!
they never told me they had it hahaha....ughhhhhh
i could have learned manual sooo much earlier in life!!!


i learned the art on a 5D and have been sooo interested in playing with an old manual to really get the feel for how cameras work.
I'M STOKED!!

butttt I really don't know anything about how to use it (i've printed off the online manual and after much trial, i think successfully loaded the film lol!)
i don't see a battery area for it?! does it need one?! hopefully not haha....

i'm wondering if anyone has any tips or advice on using this camera
i'm going to take it camping with me this weekend and experiment!

thanks guys!!

[LibertyHeir]

The battery compartment is probably on the bottom and would look like a knurled button. I 'liberated' this info on the battery from Wikipedia:

The Rollei 35, Rollei 35 S and Rollei 35 T use a MR-9 mercury-battery with 1.35 volts, which is no longer produced due to environmental considerations. But there are alternatives available. A zinc-air cell also provides 1.35 volts, yet with a limited usage time of 1 to 6 months after first activation depending on the design of the cell. Otherwise the light meter may be adjusted for use of mercury-free silver-oxide batteries. Without adjusting, the higher voltage of 1.55 volts would lead to overexposure by 2 to 3 aperture steps. An adapter to fit the smaller silver-oxide battery to the battery compartment is required. The closest one in size to the original MR-9 would be SR-44. Alkaline batteries such as the LR-9 a.k.a PX 625U can not be used, since alkaline cells do not provide constant voltage and will lead to underexposure after becoming half-depleted.

Hope this helps. Have fun with your new joy...

[woojiebear]

haha yaaaaa

i don't see a spot for the battery on the bottom.....

at all but thank you for the info!

[xxloverxx]

I got some tips for you:

Don't bother with batteries, the camera is mechanical. Shoot negatives & guess exposure (slides if you're daring) or get a light meter instead (I would suggest incident)

Get an accessory rangefinder for it, else you'll have to guess focusing distance as well (!) (not a good idea if you're shooting wide open)

Wikipedia says the Rollei 35 series was the smallest mechanically working 35mm camera in the world, so it's no surprise there isn't a rangefinder built in.

If you're taking it camping, assuming you're taking landscape shots, focus at infinity and forget about it. Otherwise, take some time to learn and estimate the distance from you to your subject, and don't shoot wide open!

Just out of interest, what film did you load?

[woojiebear]

hey xxloverxx
i tried taking it camping but it didn't work
i thought it was because i needed a battery until i read your post....
glad that i don't!
i loaded iso 44 35mm film..pretty sure i loaded it right?! it was kinda hard haha

but now when i pop out the lense and lock it....the shutter doesn't "click"
won't take any pics

am i missing something?!?!?

thanx very much for your tips - i can't wait to try them!
will keep my eye out for a rangefinder...never heard of that before...

[xxloverxx]

ISO 44? What's the name of the film? I don't recall ever seeing ISO 44!

About your shutter…does the shutter button go down all the way, or does it seem 'locked'? If it seems locked you might not be winding the film fully (after reading the manual, I see how strange it is to use)

If it doesn't 'click' even with proper use, you might have a sticky shutter, or it may have jammed…if that's the case, I'll let someone else tell you what to do as I have no experience with this

You'll need a rangefinder if you're gonna shoot wide open, else you'll get out of focus photos. Not a 'must have' if you're shooting in bright daylight or if you like 'soft'-ish photos.

[woojiebear]

sorry xxloverxx -

400 ISO...worst typo ever haha



Ok. the film won't wind anymore...so maybe it's not loaded right. I'll try going through the manual again. Ya it seems kinda tricky haha.
The shutter just doesn't seem to engage so it must be the film...
i'll give it another whirl!! thanx so much

[xxloverxx]

Keep trying took me a while to figure out how to manually load film into an SLR the first time…I was spoilt by the F4's auto winding and everything.

Try not to waste too many frames, although that's probably not a primary concern

[woojiebear]

whoop!!! i got it to work
think i only wasted 1 or 2 frames too. that's ok.

thanks xxloverxx - any other tips for me ?!? hehe

[xxloverxx]

Actually yes - since you'll be relying on DOF to get things in focus (scale focusing and all that), you'll be shooting around f/4-5.6 if it's not sunny; f/8-11 if it's a nice day (not taking light into consideration); if I had to stop down that much (even at night), since I usually don't shoot with flash, I'd have 800-1600 film in there. Rather grain than blur.

The lens does have DOF markings right?…