The idea of a camera with twin lenses, one to take the picture, the other to reflect its image up to a viewfinder on the top of the body, goes back to the days when cameras used glass plates and/or individual sheets of cut film. The cameras were consequently quite cumbersome. The Rolleiflex was the first twin lens reflex (TLR) to use roll film in a small, compact, hand-holdable body. It was a success that inspired countless other manufacturers world-wide to produce their own versions of the classic design. Most were true TLRs, though some were far simpler cameras without the coupling between taking and viewing lenses. Even so, they still resembled, and took inspiration from, the iconic design of Rollei TLRs.

A bit of history

The concept for the Rolleiflex began with a camera designer named Reinhold Heidecke who worked for prestigious German camera manufacturer Voigtländer. When he came up with the idea for a compact TLR, it was turned down, the company preferring to stick with models with proven popularity, in particular stereo cameras that were in vogue at the time. So, in 1920, Heidecke left Voigtländer to link up with businessman Paul Franke to form a company they called Franke and Heidecke.

Initially, lack of funds prevented the introduction of anything too revolutionary, so they produced stereo cameras. The first, called the Heidoscop, the name derived from that of its designer, used three lenses in a row. The outside lenses were for shooting the stereo pair of images. The one in the centre acted as a viewfinder, reflecting its image up to a ground-glass screen under a hood on the top of the body. The camera used glass plates, but in 1926 a roll film version was produced with ‘roll’ incorporated into the name to make Rolleidoscop. From there it took only a short step to turn the camera on its side, remove one of the lenses and shift the position of the viewfinder to what was now the new top of the body. The year was 1928 and the name was adapted yet again to make Rolleiflex – ‘Roll’ from the film it took, ‘ei’ the last bit of Heidecke’s name to survive and ‘flex’ because it was reflex camera.

A couple of firsts

Although Rollei cameras would become famous for shooting twelve 6x6cm pictures on 120 film, the first model used 117 size film, on which it shot only six 6x6cm images. Many of these early cameras, however, were subsequently adapted for 12-on 120, which is how they are usually found today.

With its hood folded down, the camera measures only 12.5×8.5x7cm and weighs 700 grams, a true lightweight against then current TLR cameras. The shooting lens, usually a 75mm f/4.5 or f/3.8 Tessar, is in a rim-set Compur shutter speeded 1-1/300sec. The viewing lens above it is a 75mm f/3.1 Heidoscop Anastigmat. Opening the viewing hood adds 6cm to the height and reveals the focusing screen which is viewed by holding the camera at waist level. There is no focusing aid, but a magnifier folds up and over the screen for critical focusing. Behind the front of the hood, a piece of highly-polished metal can be folded down to about 45° and held in place by flipping the magnifier over it. Using this, the focusing screen can be viewed by holding the camera at eye level a short distance from the face. Film is wound by a knob with numbers read in the red window on the back. Focusing is by a small knob on the side of the body that moves both lenses back and forth in tandem.

New and better Rolleiflex TLRs continued to be launched in the years ahead. The introduction of the famous film wind crank that replaced knob wind appeared with the first of the Standard models in 1932 and became a regular fixture. Then came better lenses, shutters and eventually the introduction of in-built exposure meters.

Side-by-side with this evolution another series of cameras arrived under the Rolleicord name. Made with less prestigious lenses and simpler mechanics they were cheaper, though still high quality, aimed more at the amateur than the professional market. The first Rolleicord, made in 1933, sported an attractive art deco nickel-plated body, but within a year this had been replaced by more traditional black leather.

Both Rolleiflex and Rolleicord cameras continued to evolve for many more years up to and after World War II. Both models became blueprints for numerous other manufacturers world-wide.

TLRs around the world

Of the great many cameras that adapted, and sometimes improved upon, Rolleiflex/Rolleicord designs here are six international examples, all for shooting twelve 6x6cm pictures on 120 film.

1933: Voightländer Superb (German)

The Superb, although still retaining the basic TLR design pioneered by Rollei cameras, adds extra refinements. Film runs horizontally through the lower part of the body, rather than vertically. Speeds of 1–1/250sec are engraved upside down and back to front on the rim-set Compur shutter so they can be read from above via a tiny prism beside the lens. Focusing is by rotating the lower Color-Skopar 7.5cm f/3.5 taking lens linked via cogs to the Helomar f/3.5 viewing lens. As the top lens rotates to focus on the viewing screen it also moves up and down to compensate for parallax. Film wind is by a lever which advances the film in a series of strokes, its numbers read through a red window at the rear. No other TLR incorporates all these features into a single camera.

1952: Microcord (British)

Made by Micro Precision Products (MPP) and based on the Rolleicord, two models were available with different shutters. This is the Mark II with a 1-1/300sec Prontor shutter and Ross Xpress 75mm f/3.5 lens. The Mark I has a mirror in the viewfinder hood for eye-level viewing, the Mark II substitutes a frame finder in the hood. In 1959 MPP introduced the Microflex, based on the Rolleiflex.

1955: Lubitel 2 (Russian)

Made by Gomz, the first Lubitel appeared in 1949 This second model is similar, but with the addition of flash sync and a self-timer. Both cameras are copies of the German Voigtländer Brillant (often mistakenly referred to as the Brilliant). Like the Voigtländer, the Lubitel replaces the ground-glass focusing screen with a large, glass magnifying lens, giving a much brighter viewfinder image than that usually associated with TLRs. Unlike the Voigtländer, the body is made of Bakelite. Focusing and viewing lenses are geared so that one rotates the other. The taking lens is a 75mm f/4.5 T-22 and shutter speeds run 1/15-1/250sec. Lubitel cameras offer decent quality images at a much lower cost than most TLRs.

1958: Yashica-Mat LM (Japanese)

In 1957, the Yashica-Mat series of TLRs ran concurrent with the very similar Yashicaflex series. The main difference is the ‘Flex’ cameras have knob film wind, while the ‘Mat’ models use a crank lever. To this, in 1958, the LM model added a light meter. A selenium cell across the top of the body feeds a needle beside the focusing hood, which moves to indicate what Yashica called a key number. On the side the body, the focusing knob, which moves the twin lenses back and forth, doubles as an exposure calculator. The film speed is set, a dial is rotated to match the key number with a black dot and suggested shutter speeds are read off on a scale against apertures. These are then set manually on the camera using small dials between and either side of the lenses.

1959: Semflex Standard (French)

Following World War II, German products imported into France were prohibitively expensive. So Sociéte des Établissements Modernes, more popularly known as SEM, began making Rolleiflex-inspired TLRs under the name Semflex. Many variants were made with often only subtle variations to the spec. This one, which appears to be the Standard model, offers a 75mm f/3.5 lens, shutter speeds of 1-1/400sec and lever film advance with automatic stop for each frame. Sadly, the outwardly high quality appearance of these cameras was not always matched by the reliability of the mechanics within.

1979: Seagull-4 (Chinese)

Originally called the Shanghai, this TLR was renamed the Seagull for export purposes. It uses a shutter speeded 1–1/300sec and Haiou-31 75mm f/3.5 taking lens twinned with a 75mm f/2.8 viewing lens, reflecting its view to a screen marked in a grid pattern of 25 squares. A knob on the side of the body moves a panel containing both lenses for simultaneous focusing. Film wind is also by a knob which incorporates an automatic frame counter.

One design, many films

The film most usually associated with TLRs is 120. But Rollei look-alikes existed for all sorts of film sizes. Here are six, plus one oddity for no film at all!

120 film: Rolleiflex Automat II

First seen in 1949, the Automat’s signature feature is the way it can be loaded and wound, leaving it to the camera to sense when the first frame is in position for the first exposure. Thereafter it winds and automatically stops at each frame, thus negating the use for a red window to read film numbers. From 1954 onwards, the Automat also offered an alternative way to set exposures by means of Exposure Value (EV) numbers. With a shutter speed selected, the aperture ring is turned until the appropriate EV number is indicated on a dial between the lenses. Or Vice versa. An exposure calculator on the camera’s back indicates suggested EV numbers by checking tiny engravings of subjects against scales of film speeds and weather conditions.

127 film: Primo Junior

In 1931, Franke and Heidecke introduced a small version of the Rolleiflex to shoot twelve 4x4cm pictures on 127 film. In 1957, a grey coloured and upgraded version was launched. Hot on its heels, in 1958, came the Primo Junior, made in Japan by Tokyo Kogaku, who also made Topcon 35mm single lens reflexes. The Primo looks just like a Rolleiflex in miniature, complete with film wind crank and focusing knob on the side linked to the twin lenses. Shutter speeds and apertures can be linked so that changing one automatically adjusts the other keep exposure constant. Yashica and Ricoh were also strong contenders in the 127 TLR world.

35mm film: Luckyflex

A few manufacturers produced TLRs for 35mm, but the Luckyflex, made by the GGS company in Italy in 1948, was the one that most resembled a Rolleiflex. Film runs vertically top to bottom for an upright 24x36mm image. It is wound by a lever on the side that requires two strokes per frame. To aid viewing on the smaller-than-average focusing screen, a magnifier is raised above the screen. Taking and viewing lenses are linked for focusing by serrated edges on each lens, coupled via a small gear wheel between them. Shutter speeds run 1/20-1/300sec and the taking lens is a 50mm f/3.2 Solar Anastigmat.

Bolta film: Museflex

Bolta film was the same width as 35mm but without the sprocket holes and wound in short lengths onto spindles with backing paper. It began in Germany in 1935, but attained greater success in Japan where the Tougo-do company made the Museflex in 1950. It’s not a true TLR since, even though its shows definite Rollei influences, the viewing lens is fixed focus and not linked to the taking lens.

17.5mm film: Gemflex

The film used for this miniature TLR, made in 1949 by Showa Kogaku, is often mistakenly referred to as 16mm, but is actually 17.5mm wide, wound on spools with numbered backing paper. The camera measures a mere 6.5×4.5x3cm.The GEM 25mm f/3.5 lens is fixed focus and therefore so too is the viewing lens which reflects its image up to a tiny viewing screen on top of the body. Shutter speeds of 1/25–1/100sec are set by a pointer above the taking lens and apertures down to f/11 are adjusted by another pointer on one side of the body.

9.5mm film: Sharan Rolleiflex

Minox cameras, first seen in 1937, used film 9.5mm wide in a twin-cassette arrangement that pulled the film from one cassette and pushed it into the other. Towards the end of the 1990s, a Japanese company called Sharan (sometimes also referred to as Megahouse), built a series of scaled down classic cameras to take Minox film. The problem with those that copied 35mm models was that a hump had to be added to the back of the body to accommodate the shape of a Minox cassette. But, in 2000, when the company made a miniature Rollei, the shape of a TLR proved to be perfect for incorporating the film without unnecessary protuberances. Although only 6cm high, with the hood folded, this is an amazingly detailed replica of a Rolleiflex 2.8F. Only the shutter release and the film wind crank work. The other faithfully reproduced controls are merely for show.

No-film toy

The last camera in the line-up illustrated here isn’t really a camera. It’s a Japanese toy that was sold in a small range that included an art deco Rolleicord and a Nikon F with interchangeable ‘lenses’ and ‘flashgun’. Even though the Rolleiflex version stands at a mere 2.5cm high with the hood closed, the detail is almost ridiculously accurate, right down to the controls, the name, the meter cell and exposure calculator on the back. Obviously, it doesn’t actually take pictures.

Mamiya – they did it their way

Mamiya began making Rollei-like Mamiyaflex cameras in 1951. Then, in 1956, the company looked at traditional TLRs, ripped up the rulebook and gave the world the C-series. The one shown here is the Mamiyaflex C3 from 1962 which shares similar basic principles with the rest of the C-cameras. First among these is being one of the very few TLRs made to accept interchangeable lenses. Because this is a TLR the lenses come in pairs, each with the same focal lengths and permanently attached to one another. Mamiya-Sekor 80mm f/2.8 lenses are usually the standards. Other lens pairs include 55mm f/4.5, 105mm f/3.5, 135mm f/4.5, 180mm f/4.5 and 250mm f/6.3. And that’s not all. The cameras also accept interchangeable viewfinders, which include waist-level, eye-level porroflex or pentaprism types, plus a special magnifying viewfinder. Mamiya C-series cameras continued to be made in different models right up to 1983.

P.S. Digital too

So far, it seems only one digital camera has been influenced by the Rollei design. The Chinese Chuzhao stands only 9cm high, but is a faithful reproduction in most details of a Rolleiflex. Unlike a real TLR, the upper lens is for show only. The lower one is the working lens, relaying its image to a 1/4in CMOS sensor and to a tiny LCD screen under a hood where a proper TLR’s focusing screen would be. Focus and exposure are automatic. The camera claims a 12MP effective resolution, plus 1080p video recording – something of which neither Mr Franke nor Mr Heidecke could ever have conceived.

Related reading

• Like a Leica – copies, replicas, and fakes of the World’s most famous camera
• Here are 20 of the weirdest and most wonderful cameras ever made
• The Worst Digital Cameras Ever Released

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