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.

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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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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Fußball und eine Rolleiflex Automat Kamera.

A good, daily dose of German.

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

The Rolleiflex Automat: stalwart companion.

Treat it well and take it out often.

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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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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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