"Back in the 1970s I owned a Rollei 35S LED but we got separated, along with my then-wife and I, in 1980.
"Figuring that perhaps the reliability of LEDs after 30+ years may not be so good, I sought out a straightforward 35S in a moment of nostalgic yearning a few years ago. In 2002 I acquired this one through eBay.
"Shown with an English pound coin, the 35S was one of the smallest full-frame 35mm cameras ever made and has a truly remarkable Sonnar ƒ/2.8 lens that is razor-sharp.
"This particular one has an interesting provenance too. I bought it from Ian Hamer, one of the U.K.'s leading jazz trumpeters who sadly died in 2006. We had quite a lengthy correspondence due to the camera shutter not functioning below 1/30th second when I received it. Ian very kindly took it back, had it fixed and returned it to me. He told me in the course of our correspondence that he had used the camera for nearly 30 years to photograph, amongst many other things, the leading jazz musicians that he worked with during that era. I feel honoured to own this particular example, and try to take it on regular excursions alongside (or even occasionally instead of) my Nikon digital.
"The most recent snap that made it to print was taken this year at The Tate Modern Gallery in London. Even with Ilford Delta ISO 3200 film in it, the wondrous lens quality shows through."Roy Hammans
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Forgotten Camera: Roy Hammans
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2 comments:
the Rolleis seem to be pretty sturdy little bricks of mechanical love.
my 35 was given to me by my brother-in-law. he originally thought it was stolen in a burglary, only to have his dog discover it hidden deep in his hedge a few years later. it was still in its soft case.
it is a bit rusty in spots, and the mechanical linkage for the pointer-matching light meter is broken, but the aperture blades are clean and the shutter speeds are not far off. I keep meaning to take it in to get it fully restored, but it's functional as-is.
go Rollei.
Roy, what a splendid photograph! I had almost forgotten the joys of grain. You've made me itch to get onto ebay.........so I had better go and have a good scratch!
Marten
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