Rolleiflex 2.8f help!

[stormbind]

I have been extreamly lucky I received a mint Rolleiflex 2.8f with the Zeiss lens from my grandfather. Anyway when I load it with a roll of film and close the back case and begin winding to advance the film...it will wind the entire roll of film without stopping. I thought that it was supposed to stop at the next frame. In doing some research on the internet I found that this is something that happens with rollei cameras (not sure on the authenticity of this). That there is a film feeler that is supposed to tell the camera when the next frame is lined up for exposure and to stop the crank. But I was unable to locate any information on how to make this "film feeler" work. Also the number that tells you what frame you are on is not advancing...but this could be due to the crank never stopping through the whole role of film. Has anyone had any experience with these cameras and could help me out? Thanks,
nick-

 

[Dave_D]

I know this is vague, but on some cameras there is a lever that allows you to cock the camera and use the shutter and film advance when there is no film in it. When film is loaded, the lever must be flipped the other way to engage the frame counter. I have a Bronica with such a lever and if I accidently forget, what you have described happens.

 

[Dave_D]

I found you a manual in case you dont have one.
http://www.matthes.com/Rollei/Manuals/TLR_F/Coll-c.htm

 

[stormbind]

Dave,
Thanks for the manual. This is the one that I have been looking at for some time. And you can see on page 9 where it talks about a film feeler mech. This page is where I actually found the Q&A for the film advancing I was talking about. Here is the link: http://www.matthes.com/Rollei/Library/FAQindex.html

The picture in the manual is a little hard to see and I can't identify the feeler mech that it is talking about. I am just wondering if there is something wrong with my camera or if the noob (that's me) is loading the film incorrectly :-/

Nick-

 

[stormbind]

Things that go Bump in the night

Anyway I am going to the camera shop tomorrow to pick up a roll of 120 for landscape. I am wondering what would be a good film to get...provided that film advance works.

Update: I can turn the crank on the side of the camera one rev and it will allow me to snap the shutter. I am wondering if I can just crank it one turn ...snap a pic...and then repeat process.

 

[Dave_D]

If you decide that the film that you loaded and completely advanced is trash, I would use that roll over again as a test roll to become more familiar with the rig and see if you can figure it out. I accidently dropped a roll of Tmax after shooting landscapes and it unraffled. I knew it was no good, but I held on to it anyway. I sent my RB up to nyc for service and when it came back it wasn't working right. Come to find out that when they put new leatherettes on it, they were a little sloppy with the glue. The film back wasn't getting the pin push from the body to reset the film advance because the pin was glued. having the extra roll of film around was useful for figuring that out.
See if you can use that roll to find out what's going on before you go to the to the guestimate method of film advancing and blow more film.
To answer your original question, I shoot fuji velvia or provia for color landscapes. These are transparency films which you may already know, but nothing can hold a candle to them. They are not as forgiving as print film when it comes to exposure latitude so your metering is very important. For b&w I use Ilford fp4, fuji acros, or Tmax. BTW all film speeds I use are 100 except the velvia. For that I use 50.

 

[stormbind]

I am still a little fuzzy as to how to run the film. Here is a picture that I took of the camera's film feeler:

So does the film go under 3 and over 1?
or
Does it go under 2 then up and around 3 then over 1, kind of like an s pattern?

Thanks, Dave, for the film suggestions..I'll be sure to pick some up when I go to the shop tomorrow :mrgreen:

Nick-

 

[doxx]

 

[stormbind]

Thanks, Doxx, so much for taking the time to provide me with such good directions. The guy at my LCS (local camera shop) just didn't know what he was doing :-/

As of right now I have taken my first 7 shots with a medium format camera. I am so excited :-D Thanks everyone for all your help!!

Nick-

 

[Dave_D]

Nick, Good luck with the camera and what a save by Doxx. I don't own one of these cameras, but what an asset it is to have people to access for such detailed help.