Difference between revisions of "Rolleiflex SL35M"
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The '''Rolleiflex SL35M''' is a 35mm single lens reflex launched by [[Rollei]] in 1976. | The '''Rolleiflex SL35M''' is a 35mm single lens reflex launched by [[Rollei]] in 1976. | ||
| − | The history of this camera is quite tormented. At the beginning of the 1970s the German camera industry was facing difficulties. Rollei tried to maintain a politics of diversification, with a range of cheap viewfinder cameras in many different formats (110, 126, 35mm), more evolved compacts like the [[Rollei 35]], the traditional high end medium-format TLR [[Rolleiflex]], a very expensive medium-format SLR [[Rolleiflex SL66]]. At the middle range there were the home-breed 35mm SLRs [[Rolleiflex SL35]] | + | The history of this camera is quite tormented. At the beginning of the 1970s the German camera industry was facing difficulties. Rollei tried to maintain a politics of diversification, with a range of cheap viewfinder cameras in many different formats (110, 126, 35mm), more evolved compacts like the [[Rollei 35]], the traditional high end medium-format TLR [[Rolleiflex]], a very expensive medium-format SLR [[Rolleiflex SL66]]. At the middle range there were the home-breed 35mm SLRs [[Rolleiflex SL35|Rolleiflex SL35 and SL350]]. |
But in 1972 the [[Zeiss Ikon]] company stopped the production of cameras. It had also been a generalist maker, who tried to produce cameras for all the segments of the market, from low range to high end. Zeiss Ikon was dismembered, and the factories, brand names, research results and camera designs were transfered to other hands. | But in 1972 the [[Zeiss Ikon]] company stopped the production of cameras. It had also been a generalist maker, who tried to produce cameras for all the segments of the market, from low range to high end. Zeiss Ikon was dismembered, and the factories, brand names, research results and camera designs were transfered to other hands. | ||
Revision as of 12:38, 11 October 2006
The SL35M
The Rolleiflex SL35M is a 35mm single lens reflex launched by Rollei in 1976.
The history of this camera is quite tormented. At the beginning of the 1970s the German camera industry was facing difficulties. Rollei tried to maintain a politics of diversification, with a range of cheap viewfinder cameras in many different formats (110, 126, 35mm), more evolved compacts like the Rollei 35, the traditional high end medium-format TLR Rolleiflex, a very expensive medium-format SLR Rolleiflex SL66. At the middle range there were the home-breed 35mm SLRs Rolleiflex SL35 and SL350.
But in 1972 the Zeiss Ikon company stopped the production of cameras. It had also been a generalist maker, who tried to produce cameras for all the segments of the market, from low range to high end. Zeiss Ikon was dismembered, and the factories, brand names, research results and camera designs were transfered to other hands.
Rollei took over the Voigtländer name from Zeiss in 1972, together with the design of the Zeiss Ikon SL706, an evolution of the Icarex and the last 35mm SLR model released by Zeiss Ikon. Rollei decided to revive Voigtländer as a brand name, and to produce a version of the SL706 called the Voigtländer VSL 1 (TM), almost identical to its predecessor. Both the SL706 and VSL 1 (TM) were designed to accept 42mm screw lenses. So Rollei was intending to sell at the same time their own reflex SL35 and SL350, with its specific bayonet mount, and the VSL 1 competitor, that took different lenses. That was of course absurd.
In 1976 Rollei took the decision to drop the production of the SL35 and SL350. They would concentrate on the VSL 1 design, but would modify it to take the Rolleiflex SL35 lenses, and standardize the lens range. This move was quite unexpected. It is rare to see a maker buy another company and abandon its own product to concentrate on the one they have bought.
Rollei released both the Voigtländer VSL 1 (BM) and the Rolleiflex SL35M, the same body with cosmetic changes. Despite their complicated history, they were straightforward SLR cameras of the 70s, with a through the lens exposure meter giving a match needle measure, readable at open aperture, a hot-shoe and decent if innovative ergonomics.
The finish was correct but not always to the standards of quality one would expect from such a firm as Rollei. These models were manufactured in Rollei's plant in Singapore, one of the first examples of delocalization in the camera industry. The rumor says that the quality control in the plant was bad, and that the situation improved only many years later.
The clients probably were probably disoriented by all that confusion, and the SL35M was not a big success. It only existed in black finish.
The SL35ME
Parallely to the SL35M and VSL 1 (BM), Rollei also developed an aperture-priority auto exposure version called the Rolleiflex SL35ME, the Voigtländer equivalent being the VSL 2 automatic. The shutter speed selected by the meter is indicated in the finder by a needle. They were sold only in black, and are not renowned for their reliability.
The Rolleiflex SL35M and SL35ME were replaced by the Rolleiflex SL35E model.
Links
In English:
- Captain Jack's Rollei SL35 and Voigtländer VSL website, including:
- Rollei 35mm SLRs at the Rollei Club (the site is dead and the links point to the web archive version dated March 7, 2005)
- Rolleiflex SL35M manual (.pdf format) at butkus.org's Orphan Cameras
In German:
In Italian:
- Rolleiflex SL35 family by Luca Vascon in Nadir Magazine
