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Rollei 35AF

ottokbre
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p.12 #1 · p.12 #1 · Rollei 35AF

A lot of the better YouTube reviewers have a "if I don't have anything good to say about it I just won't review it" policy.

Sep 07, 2024 at 11:54 AM

Desmolicious
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p.12 #2 · p.12 #2 · Rollei 35AF

Me Mum always said ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything nice’.

A lesson I have taken to heart..

Sep 07, 2024 at 05:04 PM

Pete_R
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p.12 #3 · p.12 #3 · Rollei 35AF

OK, sounds like the reviewers aren’t exactly Erwin Puts, but to play devil’s advocate - hipster enhusiasts who are all about the film vibe and don’t know or care much about doing technical reviews are probably *the* target market for a cool looking pocket automatic 35mm.

The guy pushing back against the idea of putting the camera on a tripod to do tests might be annoying, but he’s right in saying nobody will use this thing on a tripod. OK I might, but I know I’d be an outlier.

For $800 new I wouldn’t really expect the AF or sharpness to rival my nikon f100 with it’s chinese 50/1.8. But the sample photos on the Mint blog look promising in the ‘look and feel’ department.

If AF works well enough for social and holiday photos, it’s going to be worth it to a lot of people. Looks every bit as cool as an M6. Even easier to use while out with friends. I think Mint could be right in thinking there’s a lot of people attracted to the concept of a Rollei35 who were disappointed in results with zone focusing.

That said, I readily admit that don’t really know the market for AF auto exposure 35mm film pocket cameras. Maybe there’s obvious better value competitors ticking the same boxes.

Sep 07, 2024 at 06:05 PM

madNbad
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p.12 #4 · p.12 #4 · Rollei 35AF

In the mid 1970's when Rollei introduced the 35, travelers were the target market. A small, light camera that was easily pocketable and produced much better vacation photos than the then standard Kodak Instamatic. Leica countered with the CL and a couple of interchangeable lenses.
Traveling with film today is a much different situation. Powerful airport scanners, the demise of the one hour photo kiosk and the ubiquitous cell phones have changed the landscape.
Mint's target market is a new generation that has discovered film and would like to have a camera that offers features found on the high end P&S of the late 1990's but is new manufacture. I was in a shop today and there was a Leica CM on consignment for more than two thousand dollars. It could last for years or a couple of weeks. Either way the is no way to fix it once it dies.
Mint starts taking orders on September 10th with the first deliveries expected by mid-October. Once the 35AF is in more hands and we start getting more feedback, then we will know if it's the winner we are hoping for or just a good start.

Sep 07, 2024 at 06:25 PM

Desmolicious
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p.12 #5 · p.12 #5 · Rollei 35AF

When the Fuji Klasse W was released, I think the price was $400. The lens on that thing is superb, the exposures always were spot on as was the AF.
And that was 20 years ago.
The problem at the moment w the Mint Rollei IS that there have not been reliable reviews. Not just w the AF but also the film advance action seems to be very crunchy and whips back. But we cannot really tell because the reviews are seriously lacking and do not address the basics.
That character who whined about how no-one would use a tripod with it? Well he set himself up by performing a sharpness test shooting it at different apertures. And having out of focus pics. But because he decided to do a sharpness test w/o a tripod all we can surmise is it is either down to his incompetence aka user error, or the camera really does miss focus wide open.
The trust me it’s great attitude doesn’t sit well with me for $800 when basically all we know is it looks nice. I want this camera to be great, but I don’t want to be the guinea pig.

Sep 07, 2024 at 09:25 PM

OregonSun
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p.12 #6 · p.12 #6 · Rollei 35AF

Desmolicious wrote:
When the Fuji Klasse W was released, I think the price was $400. The lens on that thing is superb, the exposures always were spot on as was the AF.
And that was 20 years ago.
The problem at the moment w the Mint Rollei IS that there have not been reliable reviews. Not just w the AF but also the film advance action seems to be very crunchy and whips back. But we cannot really tell because the reviews are seriously lacking and do not address the basics.
That character who whined about how no-one would use a tripod with it? Well...Show more →

Patience, grasshopper!

Sep 07, 2024 at 09:56 PM

Desmolicious
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p.12 #7 · p.12 #7 · Rollei 35AF

OregonSun wrote:
Patience, grasshopper!

Exactly! I have no problem waiting on this one.

Sep 07, 2024 at 10:36 PM

Desmolicious
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p.12 #8 · p.12 #8 · Rollei 35AF

Preorders open. As I guessed, also in black, The black one looks amazing. And is about $830.

But still no reviews so buying this blind? Can't do that.

Sep 09, 2024 at 12:47 PM

Desmolicious
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p.12 #9 · p.12 #9 · Rollei 35AF

Also weirdly going into production with no lens filter thread? And no lens hood?

Sep 09, 2024 at 12:48 PM

RustyRus
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p.12 #10 · p.12 #10 · Rollei 35AF

I ordered one-

Hopefully its awesome!

Sep 09, 2024 at 01:10 PM

Desmolicious
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p.12 #11 · p.12 #11 · Rollei 35AF

RustyRus wrote:
I ordered one-

Hopefully its awesome!

black? that thing looks amazing!

Sep 09, 2024 at 01:25 PM

madNbad
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p.12 #12 · p.12 #12 · Rollei 35AF

RustyRus wrote:
I ordered one-

Hopefully its awesome!

We will be expecting a real review.

Sep 09, 2024 at 01:29 PM

RustyRus
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p.12 #13 · p.12 #13 · Rollei 35AF

Desmolicious wrote:
black? that thing looks amazing!

I got the black-

Also I plan on taking it downtown Portland for a walk/drinks and shoot 3 rolls through it. I am going to record where I focused after the shot just as a frame of reference- I am going to scan and print all 3 rolls.

Sep 09, 2024 at 03:15 PM

Desmolicious
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p.12 #14 · p.12 #14 · Rollei 35AF

My main concerns are film advance action/feel, AF accuracy, exposure accuracy.
I actually don’t care that much if the AF is slow or noisy.

Sep 09, 2024 at 04:36 PM

madNbad
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p.12 #15 · p.12 #15 · Rollei 35AF

RustyRus wrote:
I got the black-

Also I plan on taking it downtown Portland for a walk/drinks and shoot 3 rolls through it. I am going to record where I focused after the shot just as a frame of reference- I am going to scan and print all 3 rolls.

Last couple of times for a photo walk on a Saturday morning, I started at the Art Museum. Through the plaza at the Historical Society, east on Madison to Second. Cross Naito to the waterfront park, through the park to Saturday Market. Wander around between 1st and Third from Harvey Milt to Burnside. West on Burnside to Tenth, pop into Powell's. Catch the streetcar to NW 19th. Wander in to Pro Photo and chat with Jim Clinefelter and buy a couple of rolls of film. Wander down through the Alphabet District into the Pearl, through the West End till I'm back at the Art Museum. Looking forward to the results.

Sep 09, 2024 at 06:03 PM

coogee
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p.12 #16 · p.12 #16 · Rollei 35AF

It's great they made this camera, I support the endeavour and look forward to seeing photos from it but I've declined the pre-order opportunity.

For me, retail cost of this is the same as getting three more Rollei 35S and the scale focus on the original is a thing of beauty, AF looks painful for the way I use my 35S. And the real kicker is the Sonnar and Tessar lenses.

I hope these 35AF give some joy when the photos get developed on a par with the originals.

Sep 09, 2024 at 07:40 PM

Desmolicious
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p.12 #17 · p.12 #17 · Rollei 35AF

coogee wrote:
It's great they made this camera, I support the endeavour and look forward to seeing photos from it but I've declined the pre-order opportunity.

For me, retail cost of this is the same as getting three more Rollei 35S and the scale focus on the original is a thing of beauty, AF looks painful for the way I use my 35S. And the real kicker is the Sonnar and Tessar lenses.

I hope these 35AF give some joy when the photos get developed on a par with the originals.

Every single Rollei 35 I’ve seen for sale- including one a couple of weeks ago - has needed a shutter service. And even when working properly, no way can you focus that accurately wide open unless at infinity.
So I really see the point of the new “Rollei” 35AF. And I really want it to work properly but I also did not go through w the pre-order because it has not been adequately demonstrated to work properly.
I do thank the brave soul who did, and am looking forward to his review!

Sep 09, 2024 at 07:47 PM

coogee
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p.12 #18 · p.12 #18 · Rollei 35AF

Yes, I rarely use mine at f/2.8 (or 3.5), I think the lenses shine stopped down a bit and of course it makes scale focus far easier. 99% of my photography is stopped down. I like guessing distance too, it’s not so hard when you’ve been using rangefinders anyway.
My originals work fine in all regards but there so many out there that they come in all types of condition, including your favourite - the dented dropped 35

Do these new ones have a strap?

Sep 09, 2024 at 07:54 PM

Desmolicious
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p.12 #19 · p.12 #19 · Rollei 35AF

coogee wrote:
Yes, I rarely use mine at f/2.8 (or 3.5), I think the lenses shine stopped down a bit and of course it makes scale focus far easier. 99% of my photography is stopped down. I like guessing distance too, it’s not so hard when you’ve been using rangefinders anyway.
My originals work fine in all regards but there so many out there that they come in all types of condition, including your favourite - the dented dropped 35

Do these new ones have a strap?

Maybe the new one is harder to drop because it is fatter?
But really why are these things dropped so often? Is it because of the left side film advance?

P.s. that Rollei 35 that I saw a few weeks ago? Black, no dents. So so pretty and I love the size. But did not want to go down that fix an old camera rabbit hole!
Oh and my Pentax Espio 24Ew? Small, aluminum bar of soap! The very first thing I did when it showed up was drop it! Thankfully onto carpet so no damage, but at least it’s not just Rolleis that are dropable!

Sep 09, 2024 at 08:15 PM

OregonSun
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p.12 #20 · p.12 #20 · Rollei 35AF

Do these new ones have a strap?

This is my take too. Basically never shoot wide open, that look never really spoke to me. Also never prioritized the smallest possible form factor. I've definitely thought about one of the original Rollei 35s just because they're so iconic, but never pulled the trigger. The new one offers nothing I'm interested in, but I hope it does well and people are happy with it.

Sep 09, 2024 at 09:48 PM

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