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Post by yashica1943 on Apr 12, 2016 8:28:40 GMT -5
I have taken the black SL 35E pictured out for a trip, there was an occasional blip with the shutter release. Now the 24 exposures have come back, there are 10 blanks but the other 15 are sharp and well exposed.. So I won't rely on that one again. I must be a glutton for punishment. This morning another nice clean spares/repairs SL 35E body arrived with a known shutter problem. The shutter release, shutter, mirror sequence works, but the shutter slit does not open at any indicated speed. Having played around with it, the shutter works on 'B' and on the X setting which should be 1/125 second which looks and sounds right. I won't mess around with it because I have other film cameras that I can use, at least I could work around the 1/125 on this one with a slow film if I wanted to. My other two really cheap Rolleiflex SL 35E have shutter/mirror sequencing issues that probably never will be solved.
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Post by yashica1943 on Jun 28, 2018 11:13:57 GMT -5
Yet another SL 35 has arrived free of cost. This one is the 'silver top no hotshoe model' sadly the made in Singapore version. This one has obviously been well used but after a good clean looks smart enough for my shelf. The shutter/mirror/wind on works well, for a change but the meter doesn't. Strangest thing, it was fitted with an Auto-Chinon 35mm f2.8 obviously with a QBM mount, can't be too many of those about. Now I have fitted a Tamron Adaptall 28mm (only because I can!) Not a patch on my German made SL 35 which is in its own exhibit case. I have just looked at my photo above comparing the 'original' German baseplate internals with the 'Black' Singapore version and the position of the battery cover and tripod mount and the lack of the square motordrive terminals indicates to me that my Singapore built camera just received must include the original version of the mechanism!
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Post by yashica1943 on Jul 14, 2018 11:05:11 GMT -5
Oh,Joy! The SL35 works! I should have read the instructions, pushing the preview button on the top brings the meter needle into play. Also I was looking for a lost compact camera (Minolta) in my cupboard and I found a Singapore built Rolleiflex SL 35E that doesn't work, but has (had) a nice Rollei 50mm Planar on the front, so that has been transplanted onto the 'good' camera. It just has some signs of wear around the viewfinder and on the top of the prism housing, otherwise OK+. I am almost tempted to sell it, but not with the Planar.
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Post by philmisnotdead on Oct 27, 2018 8:53:15 GMT -5
Hi all, good to see some SL35 users out there!
I've recently acquired an SL35 E with Rolleinar 55 F1.4 lens for next to nothing Everything fires nicely but the shutter speed seems to be constant, and won't change, except for Bulb mode.
I was under the assumption that the shutter was mechanical, and only the light meter relied on the battery... Is this correct or Should I try the camera with a battery for variable shutter-speeds?
I mainly got it for the lens (the whole kit cost £45 with soft case and hard lens case) but I'd love to use it as a fully functioning camera if it isn't stuck in paperweight mode!
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hansz
Lifetime Member
Hans
Posts: 697
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Post by hansz on Oct 28, 2018 8:16:06 GMT -5
I have one, working great, but it has a fully electronic shutter, so you rely on the battery... Hans
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Post by philmisnotdead on Oct 29, 2018 2:04:24 GMT -5
Thank you Hanz, that gives me hope! May I ask what battery you use? I will try and source one and give it a go!
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hansz
Lifetime Member
Hans
Posts: 697
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Post by hansz on Oct 29, 2018 8:01:05 GMT -5
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antonio
Contributing Member
Posts: 27
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Post by antonio on Nov 21, 2020 9:49:51 GMT -5
Hello, looking for some help. I have been gifted a Rolleiflex SL35 which has been sitting inside a drawer for the last 25 or so years. It was my late father in law camera. I never knew him (he passed away before I even knew my wife) and apparently we were both avid photo enthusiasts. So during the spring cleaning we found another of his cameras, a Rolleiflex SL35 with 2 lens. I brought home and gave a mild clean and I could see the mirror was stuck up. I started by taking the bottom plate off and while I was fiddling inside her the mirror came down, I was all happy at such an easy fix until I realised that now the shutter wont fire and the film winder lever wont wind (it goes 1/3 or 1/4 of the way until it "stops"); Seeing as it has a lot of sentimental value I didn't want to keeping trying to fix it and just take it to a repair shop. The repair shop told me they couldn't fix it and didn't even tell me why (which was really awkward); Anyway, today I was going to try and get her to work and i noticed, once I removed the bottom plate, that on of the screws that holds the tripod mount is a bit stripped so I'm guessing the camera shop did this and just gave up after no being bale to remove said screws. The problem is still the same, the shutter wont fire, the winder lever wont wind, if i push the mirror up with my finger it goes up only halfway. From the bottom of the camera I can push the mirror lever with a screwdriver and this small lever stays up and if I press the shutter in the B position the mirror goes up and stays up (the curtains do not open at all) and it only falls back down after I do it in the levers on the bottom of the camera. More, I can hear something rattling inside her and after I opened her today a small black screw dropped down.
So, I'm here looking for help. Can she be saved? What can I do? Is there any tutorial on how to take the top cover of her?
Thank you for your time and sorry for my bad english
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Post by philbirch on Nov 21, 2020 10:55:00 GMT -5
It sounds like the camera is in bad shape. I understand from a sentimental point of view it has value but the main value of these cameras is the lenses, particularly if it has a PLANAR lens. The cost of repair, if you can find someone to do it is likely to be very high.
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antonio
Contributing Member
Posts: 27
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Post by antonio on Nov 21, 2020 12:08:19 GMT -5
One is in fact Planar, the other is a Zeiss one. It's disappointing, lets see if I can find other mechanics or if I can open and fix her myself,
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Post by yashica1943 on Nov 23, 2020 6:24:56 GMT -5
I have had a number of Rolleiflex SL 35 of various descriptions. (See my previous posts). I did a comparison of the base internals of the German built ones with the Singapore versions. The mechanism of the Singapore ones, at least the cameras with the rounded pentaprism top is complely different to the original German one. I asked the question somewhere on the web if the Singapore ones were based on a Cosina (or similar) design, somebody must know. I have probably had six black topped Singapore SL36 variants and none have worked properly, all have had failures in the shutter & mirror area. They have all been sold as spares/repairs or are in a box in my garage. Antonio, you do not say which version your SL35 is. If it is a German built one I would say that it is worth finding a repair workshop that will fix it especially if the lenses are clean & functioning.
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Post by belgiumreporter on Nov 23, 2020 8:26:55 GMT -5
I've got both the German made SL35 and the Singapurian SL35E. The 35E works perfect while the 35 has exactly the same problem as described by Antonio. When examining the 35 i noticed the problem lies in the shutter mechanism (not the mirror or film transport) i was able to "un jam" the camera and was able to make one shot after wich the shutter "frose" again half way through the cycle. From what i've heard the origin of this problem is bad lubrication of one of the shutter mechanism components,don't know wich one or where it is situated. In the past the most SL35 (E) 's i came across were jammed or had a broken film wind shaft, i suppose this happened after applying to much force on the winding lever after the shutter has jammed. So i think there might be a solution for a jammed SL35 on the condition the drive shaft (or anything else) isn't broken. I'm going to have a closer look on my German maybe open it up and see if i can find out anything more building on what i have found so far.
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antonio
Contributing Member
Posts: 27
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Post by antonio on Nov 23, 2020 9:23:32 GMT -5
Thank you all for your input. So the issue stands as such at the time: - I realised that the thing rattling around inside is probably something that holds the flash mount to the camera, because I took it off to try and clean it and know when I put it in the screw wont tighten at all, so I'm guessing that theres is some kind of "nut" inside the camera to hold the flash mount and Its loose inside her; - I couldn't unscrew the film wind lever and I'll have another go with those lens opening spanner (I dont know the name) when I get a hold of one. I'm hoping that with this I can at least see whats loose inside and maybe fix the shutter (i'm still hoping the shutter is just in need of some cleaning/lubrification; - The camera says Made by Rollei Singapore, but removing the bottom plate she looks like this: (not my picture, found it online, but it is the the same thing) So I'm a bit confused has to what model I do have indeed. - The lens are not clean AT ALL; (this is something I dont dare to do, open up lenses and clean them) Regarding the cleaning of this camera (and others alike) what products can/should I use? To clean the outside of the camera? Also, how should I lubrificate the mechanisms? WD-40? Can I just use it all over, only on some areas? The back of my camera and the front Thank you again
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Post by dg on Jul 25, 2021 3:21:20 GMT -5
I've got both the German made SL35 and the Singapurian SL35E. The 35E works perfect while the 35 has exactly the same problem as described by Antonio. When examining the 35 i noticed the problem lies in the shutter mechanism (not the mirror or film transport) i was able to "un jam" the camera and was able to make one shot after wich the shutter "frose" again half way through the cycle. From what i've heard the origin of this problem is bad lubrication of one of the shutter mechanism components,don't know wich one or where it is situated. In the past the most SL35 (E) 's i came across were jammed or had a broken film wind shaft, i suppose this happened after applying to much force on the winding lever after the shutter has jammed. So i think there might be a solution for a jammed SL35 on the condition the drive shaft (or anything else) isn't broken. I'm going to have a closer look on my German maybe open it up and see if i can find out anything more building on what i have found so far.
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Post by dg on Jul 25, 2021 3:25:21 GMT -5
I mentioned elsewhere that I had bought a Voigtlander Color-Skoparon 28mm with a QBM mount off an ebay seller who hadn't bothered to describe it properly. So I then needed a camera to mount it on. Last Sunday, on ebay, I was trying to choose between three Rolleiflex SL 35 - two were Singapore built and this one was German and appeared to be in better condition than the first black SL35E that was closing at 8 pm. I watched that one and the bidding went right past the figure I was prepared to pay, more than double in fact. And that one was not pristine with scuffs on the base and a RUSTY screw! This made me quite sure that the second German made Rollei was going to go astronomical 40 minutes later so I sniped it at the last second with the absolute top amount that I thought was nearly 'sensible'. I bought this one at £16 less than the Singapore version, which I thought was a good buy because the German built ones are said to be more reliable. The second SL35 M went for a more sensible £34 nine minutes later.. The camera arrived today, it is absolutely immaculate, the only fault that I can see at the moment is that the film wind lever is a bit stiff. It has a very clean f 1.8 Planar lens. I assume that the lack of hotshoe might have counted against it? Or the lack of a black finish?
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