Rollei Tele Rolleiflex
There's really no doubt about the place that the Rollei Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) has in the world of camera design and manufacturing. Just the name itself evokes quality and desirability. Anyone who's owned or even just fired a Rollei knows that the experience is unmatched and that the image quality is unmistakable. For as much as these TLRs are so rightly beloved, they have their limitations. Notably, nearly all TLRs come only with a fixed focal length lens. While Mamiya developed a truly interchangeable lens TLR camera, Rollei took a different tack and created TLR models with fixed lenses that were not the "standard" 75mm or 80mm. In 1959, Rollei introduced the Tele Rolleiflex.
Modeled on the Rolleiflex 2.8E and sporting a 135mm f/4 Sonnar taking lens, the Tele Rolleiflex has a focal length that is roughly equivalent to a 70mm lens on a 35mm camera. Aside from the difference in the focal length, the Tele Rolleiflex has all the same features as its 2.8E compatriot. With its film feeler roller, 120 film stops automatically on the first frame and at each subsequent frame. The Tele-Rolleiflex also has the same coupled shutter speed and aperture dial locking system and a selenium-based light meter.
The Tele-Rolleiflex was produced through 1975 and remained largely unchanged, although the second version has an adjustable film pressure back that allows for the use of 220 film.
Unlike its cousin the Wide-Angle Rolleiflex, the Tele-Rolleiflex had a longer run and there were more than twice as many units produced. Even with that, the Tele-Rolleiflex is still a difficult camera to find and 21st century prices reflect how revered Rollei is and how special this camera is. Take the time to track one of these cameras and feel all of that same Rollei quality that's present in the standard Rolleiflexes.
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