More questions about med. format cameras

[nealjpage]

Matt, I'm betting you can help answer this one. What's a used Rolleiflex worth if buying one off of eBay? They seem to range from $50 or so on up to $1000. What gives? Are they that superior to other medium format cameras? Or do they have a cult following?

 

[David A]

I don't know anything about medium format cameras, but if I had to guess, I'd say they follow the same rules of the DSLRs...You can buy a $700 300D or a $6,000 1D Mark II. It just depends on what you want...

(Also, if they are older...I'm sure that some of them have historical value and are probably more rare.)

 

[Mitica100]

Matt, I'm betting you can help answer this one. What's a used Rolleiflex worth if buying one off of eBay? They seem to range from $50 or so on up to $1000. What gives? Are they that superior to other medium format cameras? Or do they have a cult following?

While not being Matt (last time I checked...:lmao: ) I think I can answer some of your questions. I'll start with the last, yes! There is a Rollie cult out there but it's really based on its perfomance. One of the greatest lenses produced by Zeiss, the Planar is the most sought after.

Are they superior to other MF cameras? Well, let's look at a few things here. Rollies have fixed lenses, like most TLR (twin lens reflex) cameras. Most MF shooters prefer an SLR like Hasselblad (yet another cult!), Mamyia, Bronica and so on. However, as I mentioned before, the Rollies have great lenses.

Which brings me to the next question... Why such a variance in prices? It really depends on the rarity of that particular camera. There are models that will demand high prices, having the Planar lenses on (at f/2.8 ) and models that will demand lower prices (even the Planar f/3.5 is cheaper).

For a better understanding of all this, here are some links:

http://www.foto.no/rolleiflex/

http://www.rolleirepairs.com/models.htm

http://home.comcast.net/~wymanburke/Rollei_Links.html



I hope this helps.:mrgreen:

 

[terri35 7]

There's also the general condition of the Rollei being auctioned.

If you're looking at some drop-dead pristine Rollei with a Planar 2.8, for instance, the bidding will be fast and furious and the price will go wayyyy up.

There's also the "white face" Rolleis that just look cool. Or certain limited editions only put out in certain years. Put a great lens on one of them and watch the bidding wars begin.

All kinds of extras could add value to an auction: a pristine lens cap, a case, filters, etc.

And yes, I have a Rollei enthusiast at my house who routinely drags me over to the computer to point at an auction and say, "I want to bid on this one!" :mrgreen:

 

['Daniel']

I'm definately interested in getting a medium format camera for landscape photography. Since I went to a Thomas Joshua Cooper exhibition I've been inspired to at least try lanscape photography.

I'm hopefully going this week to take some landscapes with my 350D so i'll see how well that works.