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Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS

Few camera names are as synonymous with photography as Rollei. Ceasing camera production only for World War II, the German company Franke & Heidecke continued to refine their original TLR (twin lens reflex) 1927 design through the 1970s. Through those refinements, the Rolleiflex was the standard against which other TLRs were measured and these cameras became the tools of processionals, both in and out of the studio, and desired by advanced amateurs for their quality build and fabulous lenses. While many professionals began using the slightly faster f/2.8 version of the Rolleiflex, the smaller 75mm f/3.5 is also a brilliant performer and the selection of options with this camera leave no photographer lacking the tools needed to make great images.

By the 1950s, the Rolleiflexes were known for being built solidly with an unequaled ease of use. Thanks to its unique film loading system which automatically advanced the film to the first frame, these cameras could be unloaded and loaded with fresh film very rapidly. The Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS was produced from 1954 through 1956 and came with a 75mm f/3.5 lens that was either a Carl Zeiss Tessar or a Schneider Xenar taking lens. The answer to the question of which lens is better is a matter for long debates, but there's no question that each is a solid performer.

Of the features of the Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS, perhaps the most useful is the system that locks the aperture and shutter speed together so that once one combination is calculated, all other appropriate combinations can be be accessed by turning either the aperture or shutter speed dial. The only other substantial change from the model that preceded the Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS was the addition of a switch to override the film advance when re-cocking the shutter. This allows for intentional double-exposures and is a feature found on all subsequent Rolleiflexes.

Thanks to the superb design, engineering, and craftsmanship that come with these cameras, each has a feeling unlike any other camera or any other TLR. And thanks to each of these elements, the Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS will be popular for many decades to come.

Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS with the Rolleimeter

Rollei made a number of cool gadgets and accessories for their Rolleiflex TLR cameras, but we think our favorite is the Rolleimeter. This nifty device provides your Rolleiflex with rangefinder focusing. You attach it to the front of the hood of the camera, calibrate it for both close focus and infinity, and then pop open the direct "sportsfinder" viewfinder and away you go. ⁠

One final note, this is the 3.5 version. The Rolleimeters had a little plate you swapped out for use with 3.5 or 2.8 cameras (from our understanding of the device) and this one has the 3.5 plate. It will work on all the Automat cameras and up to the 3.5E. But sadly it does not fit onto a Rolleicord or the Rolleiflex T.

Wil Thornton with Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS

Wil Thornton is a local, north Portland resident who has been stopping in our shop for nearly all of the 20 years we have been in business. He's a quiet and incredibly nice fellow who has a deep love of film photography.⁠ Somehow or other, he ended up over at Peter Carlson's house one day to sit for this portrait, made with Peter's Kodak 10A Century Studio 8x10 camera⁠. In the image, Wil is holding Peter's Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS.

We wanted to take a moment to share a sublime portrait of a customer we have known well for a long time.⁠

⁠

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Peter's Leica M3 and Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS

One of our main darkroom techs, Peter, made this portrait of his Leica M3 and his Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS, telling us it reminded him of a joke that started with, "Two Germans walk into a bar...". He didn't have a punchline figured out, so we'll leave that up to you. Portrait made with a Century Studio 8x10⁣, Kodak Commercial Ektar 10" f/6.3⁣ and Ilford HP5⁣.⠀ ⁣⠀

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Results and Process with the Rolleiflex Automat

One could look at photography as a combination between the "process" and the "results". The results are the photos you have made by the end of the day. But the process, that is the important part. It is the looking and searching the world for images and ideas. It is the planning and scheming. It is also the simple pleasure that comes from carrying and using a certain camera.

And here is the Rolleiflex TLR, a camera that makes the process of photography a joy. Smooth, elegant, refined. If you have never had the opportunity to pick one up and see the world through it's eyes, you should do so. You'll be wondrously surprised at what you find. And if you have had that opportunity already, do so again. You'll be wondrously surprised at what you find.

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Eine Rolleiflex Automat Kamera

Fußball und eine Rolleiflex Automat Kamera.

A good, daily dose of German.

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Hasselblad 500C, Rolleiflex Automat, and a Yurt

Still life as an analogue photographer in a yurt on the Oregon coast.

Rolleiflex Automat Visits Mt. Rainier

Leading lines leading cameras.

Rolleiflex Automat Of The Mountains

Things that (should) last a long time: mountains, pleasant memories and the cameras that help make those memories tangible.

What do you call a gathering of Rolleis?

What do you call a gathering of Rolleis? A flex? An exposure? Eine Gruppe von Rolleis?

The Rolleiflex Automat: Stalwart Companion.

The Rolleiflex Automat: stalwart companion.

Treat it well and take it out often.

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Life with the Rollei Automat MX-EVS

Being a photographer is about more than making photos. It can be a way of life - a way to experience and record not just the big moments but the little ones too... or even the little, big moments (or maybe they are big, little moments) like the aftermath of a child's ninth birthday party. Dirty silverware, melted ice cream, and Rollei Automats: some of the stuff that life is made of.

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Walz 44 and a Rollei Automat

A Walz Automat 44 right up alongside its Rollei brethren. Are they preparing for a paced march and turnaround? Facing away in dismay or concern? Back to back, similar formats, ready to take on the greater world of cameras in the big photographic bar fight?

...or, we could just be illustrating the size difference between 127 and 120? We'll let you decide.

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