StefanT
Hello everyone,
First of all, I’d like to introduce myself, as I’m new to the forum. Some of you might recognise me from the Phototec forum, where I used to post the odd comment.
I’ve been taking photos since my teenage years, so for about 35 years now, alternating between analogue (my love) and digital (when I want it to be convenient and save time). Black and white has been rather neglected in recent years, as I have a rather impractical darkroom in the basement of a block of flats with no water supply. It’s not much fun that way. But I’m planning to do more of it again. I mainly shoot with an Olympus OM-1n and sometimes with my beloved Vitomatic IIa. Every now and then I also shoot medium format. Over the years I’ve bought and sold several TLRs. But I always find myself drawn back to it. I’ve recently acquired a Rolleicord Vb that looks almost new. It’ll get its first roll of film in the next few days, when there’s a bit more light and the weather clears up. What I can say so far is that the slow shutter speeds are, as expected, a bit sluggish. After a bit of enthusiastic shooting, it got better, but I’m not sure how reliable the timings are. Second ‘flaw’: the previous owner has made a few small marks with a felt-tip pen on the focusing screen, perhaps for the 28x40 crop. The corresponding control mechanism was also included.
Now my questions:
I don’t necessarily need the slow shutter speeds very often, but I’d still like to know whether I can expect the shutter to ‘get going’ again or whether maintenance will be essential. As I understand it, does the fault only affect the slow shutter speeds anyway, or is it possible that the shutter might fail completely?
Secondly, can you recommend a good service centre for the Cord?
And thirdly, can I safely remove the felt-tip pen marks from the focusing screen without ruining it, and if so, what should I use? Would dabbing with alcohol and cotton buds work?
Many thanks in advance.
Stefan
piu58
> "gets going"
Over time, the speed will slow down a bit. However, you can adapt to this and take it into account during exposure. The second hand should at least keep moving and not get stuck.
Keep pressing the shutter button! To stop it getting any worse.
Gucker
Ethanol should do the trick for the felt-tip pen marks; it definitely won’t damage the glass, and if it doesn’t work, it’s no great loss.
Urnes
The shutter is encrusted with resin and can usually be serviced (cleaned and lubricated). For a large-format central shutter, this costs around €70–80. If the camera is in good condition, it’s definitely worth it.
Regards, Sven.
Gast
I have my Rolleiflex cameras serviced either here:
Paepke Fototechnik, owned by Dieter Paepke
Rather Broich 57
40472 Düsseldorf
http://www.paepke-fototechnik.de/
or here:
Jürgen Kuschnik
Landgraf-Philipp-Strasse 55
60431 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
http://www.jurgenkuschnik.com/index_de.html
I’ve had the problem with felt-tip pen marks on the focusing screen before.
They came off without leaving any residue using standard methylated spirits.
Best regards
Wolfgang
StefanT
Hello and thanks for the tips. The felt-tip pen mark is now off. It came off really easily with some alcohol. And now that my fingers are almost sore from winding and releasing the mechanism, the seconds hand is ticking along nicely. I’ll leave it like that for now and see how it goes. I’ve saved the service links, just in case. Now I just need a bit more light. I’ve got two Portra 160VC rolls lying about, which will have to be the first to go. But it’s a bit overcast here at the moment.
Best regards, Stefan
Tandemfahren
Hi Stefan,
With CN film, you’ll hardly notice if the exposure times are too long; the film doesn’t really mind (compared to slides, at least), unless of course it’s seriously under-exposed.
There are also two potential sources of error: the shutter itself and the escapement, which is used for exposure times longer than 1/30.
Enjoy your Cord,
Frank
peterkrumm
...Secondly, could you recommend a good service centre for the Cord?...
in Braunschweig:
http://classic-fototechnik.de/
Highly recommended!
Every now and then, it’s worth treating your old banger to a service.
StefanT
Hello Frank and peterk,
You’re absolutely right about the CN film, of course. But I’d just like to try out the Cord first. My next order of consumables will include some transparency as well. That should provide more clarity. Thanks for your good wishes.
Thanks Peter for the address. I’ll save the link too. If the shutter needs servicing, it’ll get it. Unfortunately, I don’t have the money right now to keep the German precision engineering guild afloat just for the sheer joy of it. I work in the healthcare system, which has been talked to death for decades and where there is, after all, a considerable need for redistribution.
Best regards, Stefan
Morte
For a large-format central shutter, that costs around 70–80 euros.
Is this a realistic estimate?
I have the same problem with the long exposure times on my Rolleiflex Automat. When I enquired at a workshop in Charlottenburg here in Berlin (Sybelstraße), I was quoted a price of 200 euros for cleaning and recalibration. For me, despite my love for the Rolleiflex, that is unaffordable. Other workshops, such as the one mentioned above at Ostkreuz, gave me the standard response over the phone: “We can only assess that on a case-by-case basis.” However, the risk of sending the camera in and then, only after the repair has been carried out, being quoted a sum that might be unaffordable is also too high for me.
So, if anyone has had this repair done before (it’s actually more of a cleaning/maintenance job, as nothing is actually broken) and can quote a specific price from a specific workshop, I would be extremely grateful.
Regards, Morte
piu58
> A total of 200 euros
That’s a lot. But with today’s hourly rates, you can’t get away with paying less than 100 euros – no matter what the job is. I had my Cord and my Flex serviced at Paepke in Düsseldorf. They do a proper job; but it wasn’t cheap.
You have to bear in mind that after a full overhaul, you get a camera that you can use for the rest of your photographic life without needing any further servicing. When you compare that to all the electronic kit you have to replace every few years, it doesn’t sound like such a lot after all.
StefanT
"You have to bear in mind that after a full overhaul, you end up with a camera that you can use for the rest of your photographic life without needing any further servicing."
Is that really the case? I think that after a full overhaul, you have a camera where the interaction between the individual components has been checked, faulty parts have been replaced, and the whole thing has been cleaned and, where necessary, lubricated. Nevertheless, you end up with a camera whose individual parts are old and second-hand – in the case of my Cord, ‘only’ about 40 years old. A few years ago, I bought an Olympus OM-1n from a dealer who claimed it had been fully overhauled. Despite that, the transport mechanism broke after 2–3 years. ‘Ostkreuz’ repaired it in a day (I was on holiday in Berlin at the time), for just under 100 euros (as Uwe said). Two months later, the Beli was broken (yes, I know, electronics). Ostkreuz repaired it as a gesture of goodwill, which was very kind. But the saying ‘a photographer’s life’ won’t always hold true.
Regards, Stefan
piu58
> won't always work
In the case of the Cord, it probably will. Nothing can go wrong there (unlike with the much more complex Flex). It's just the lubricant.
StefanT
Well, I'm hoping so. That's why I went for a pair of corduroys rather than a pair of flares from the 50s or something like that.
sputnik
> won’t always work
In the case of the Cord, it probably will. Nothing can go wrong with it (unlike the much more complex Flex). It’s just the lubricant.
Well, Uwe. Can you really say THAT? I don’t know. Paepke, whom you mentioned, very clearly advised me against a Cord back when I first started taking an interest in twin-lens cameras, as the Flexes, ASIDE from their superior features, also – and in particular – boasted a far higher quality that definitely justified the higher initial investment.
Sure, there’s more to a Flex. But given that, as far as material and build quality are concerned, hardly any other camera can compare to the Flex (if you believe the repairers), for me there’s currently NOTHING to suggest it’s any more prone to faults than the Cord.
Provided, of course, that everything is in order to begin with. Also provided that you don’t end up with a model where you can tell just by looking at it that it’s had a VERY eventful life as a professional camera and thus has several hundred thousand shots under its belt – something a Cord might not even have managed under certain circumstances.
That’s why I ended up with a 3.5F, which, thanks to a stroke of luck, didn’t cost me any more than an average Cord (otherwise I might not have one even TODAY).
Also, maintenance costs for a Cord would definitely hurt ME MORE than for a Flex, because they are in a far worse proportion compared to the value (including practical value!) of the camera.
In short: I would choose the Flex over the Cord AGAIN at any time and would also recommend it to anyone who really wants to use their twin-lens camera for photography.
You just have to be patient when searching. :-)
Or have enough money. :-(
PS: Please do NOT take THIS as an attack on the Cord, but merely as a qualification of the statement that the Cord is the better choice in terms of durability and reliability.
piu58
My Cord Vb cost just under €200, but after a while the shutter started sticking. That set me back another €130.
My 3.5F cost just over €400; after a year, the film advance mechanism (the bit attached to the crank) needed repairing. Then later on I lost one of those pins that holds the film spool in place. The inner insert was still there, so I got through the holiday. But that cost another 100.
I don’t think the Cord’s inner workings are of lower quality. It’s just that everything is simpler – fewer technical bells and whistles. Even the Flex’s film transport mechanism is a thing in itself (though for me, it only failed on one film out of about 1,000).
sputnik
My Cord Vb cost just under €200, but after a while the shutter started to stick. That set me back another €130.
My 3.5F cost just over €400; after a year, the film winder (the part attached to the crank) had to be repaired. Then later on, I lost one of those pins that holds the film spool in place. The inner insert was still there, so I managed to get through the holiday. But that cost another €100.
Well, Uwe. That’s one (in words: ‘ONE’) example. To derive a general rule from that, I think, is perhaps a bit presumptuous. And the idea that losing a pin (which probably happens to one in 100,000 owners) is model-specific is highly doubtful; after all, it could just as easily have fallen off the Cord.
Had I accepted with the Flex that the long times no longer run 100% accurately, I wouldn’t have had to invest a single penny so far, apart from the €333 I paid for it two years ago, including the gel, filters and a Gossen Profisix.
But THAT, too, is just ONE example and not representative.
I don’t believe the inner workings of the Cord are of lower quality. It’s just that everything is simpler – fewer technical bells and whistles. Even the Flex’s film transport mechanism is a thing in itself (though it only failed on one out of about 1,000 films for me).
I can’t really form an opinion on whether the Flexes are also built to a higher standard. At least not a reliable one. How could I? But when someone like Mr Paepke, who has taken apart countless Rollei TLRs, makes such a claim, it certainly carries weight with me. EVEN though I am well aware that with a more complex mechanism, there are naturally more opportunities for all sorts of faults to arise. Whether, and above all after how long, these actually occur – that is the question.
Morte
To get back to the subject:
My Rolleiflex Automat dates from 1939 and is in astonishingly good condition overall – both mechanically and optically. The leather, for example, looks as good as new! For me, as a (mechanical) layman, that’s a truly fascinating achievement. (Something today’s cameras can’t even dream of.)
What I mean is: for me, this Rolleiflex is worth both the cost of a repair and extensive use, because it takes magnificent pictures. So this isn’t about the moral, but the purely financial sense of such a measure. Hence my request for reasonably reliable estimates. However, 100 euros is quite a different ball game from double that amount.
sputnik
(It’s really more of a cleaning and maintenance service; nothing’s actually broken)
Just to briefly return to the subject. As far as I know, if Rollei guidelines are followed, the main spring is always replaced during every shutter service.
At least, that’s how Mr Kuschnik explained it to me.
I imagine it’s for safety reasons, and that makes sense, as the repairer does, after all, provide a warranty on a shutter that has been serviced – i.e. cleaned, lubricated and adjusted.
If I recall correctly, that adds another 20 (or 30?) euros in material costs.
Just for your information.
However, I’m not aware of whether new main springs are still available for models from the 1930s.
