rolleicord/flexaret/autocord? I II III IV V .....sizes?

[Macpod]

ok. ive decided TLRs are good for me. i suppose the autocord and rolleicord are the better made units. but im ocnfised about the models. which models offer 1/500 shutter speed?

out of the above models, which ones are smaller? it has to fit into my domke 803 along with a zorki 3.

is there a good place t get CLAed units, apart from Cupog on ebay?


cheers


Yihang

 

[ZorkiKat]

Later Rolleicords (model IV for instance) have the 1/500 shutter speeds. The Rolleicord is quite compact. The size hardly differed between the models. Here is a comparison between the II and the IV, with a kitten in between to show the scale:

 

[Macpod]

nice. even cats find these things interesting. i took my seagull to work today and everyone was lining up to hold it. i guess the seagull is ok to keep as a lomo type camera.....the shutter speeds are abit off i think. migt get some expired 120 film for it.


i did handle a rolleicord briefly and was very impressed by its contruction. the Flexaret VII also looks impressive with its silver front plate. have not seen an autocord around.

 

[Solinar]

Great photo. It looks like you Siamese kitten is peering at you through the finder.

 

[erikhaugsby]

I'm assuming that is the cat that can speak 28 languages?

Stupid question: rolleicords can take 220 fiom, right?

 

[ZorkiKat]

Thanks Andrew.
I think the kitty did see a puddy-tat in the finder . I had this photo posted in APUG as well.

Macpod:
The Seagull seems a bit heavier and a tad larger than the Rolleicords. Just a trifle difference, really, but for some reason the Rolleicords feel "smaller" than a Seagull. The Seagull has much more in common with the Yashicamats than Rolleiflex. I would tend to believe that the Seagull was patterned after the Yashica TLRs but the Seagull used the levers instead of dials for setting the aperture and shutter. A more inexpensive and easier production recourse perhaps?

Jay

 

[Gordon Coale]

I think they are all about the same size, with the exception of the interchangeable lensed Mamiyas. I have a Ricoh Diacord (my main user), a Flexaret Va, a Minolta Autocord (an abused junker), and a Chinese Pearl River. If you want to try a TLR out without spending a lot of money I would suggest a Ricoh Diacord or a Yahsica D with the Yashinon lens. Be patient and you can get one for $50. If you like the format you can always trade up. But, with these two, you may not want to. They are great.

 

[ZorkiKat]

I'm assuming that is the cat that can speak 28 languages?

Stupid question: rolleicords can take 220 fiom, right?

Yes he can meow in 28 languages, but with a very siamese accent (fade in from background: "...we are siameeeese if you pleeeeasssse..." )

I don't know about the later cords but my II and IV will only take 120. They were made before there was 220.

Jay

 

[Pherdinand]

No 'cord can take 220 film up to and incl the rolleicord V.
Va and Vb, i don't know.

 

[Macpod]

Ill add yashica D and Diacor to the list. from some pictures the yashica mat 124 looks noticeably bigger than the rolleicord, is the yashica D smaller? im not talking big difference, but still noteceable when handling.

I thought i had GAS when i was comtemplating a Pentax DSLR plus a couple primes. This going back to film stuff is just rediculous. i have a zorki 3 with two jupiters on the way, a seagull in front me and about a dozen leica IIIfs and zorki 3ms on ebay watchlist. im also keeping an eye out for a cheap leica M2. And now ive added all these TLRs to mix! not to mention a dozen different films and a developing kit! its all good fun though.


EDIT: had a quick look at diacords. theres more ricohflexes on ebay. is this just an earlier model or is the difference similar to rolleicord and rolleiflex?

 

[Pherdinand]

the yashica D is bigger than the rolleicord. But not by much. Maybe 1 cm in all dimensions.

 

[Gordon Coale]

The Diacord has the better lens. It's a tessar. There are two Diacords. One with a meter and one without. Probably the one without is the better deal. The meter on the 124 probably adds a little height.

 

[dreilly]

Diacords and Ricohflexes are different, in general. The flexes have helical focusing lenses and, I think three-element lenses. However, the latest Ricohflex is actually the earliest Diacord in design. You can tell because it has the combined view/taking lenses in one unit and the lever focusing.

I'm coming from a flexaret (lever focusing camera that inspired the autocord, I hear) and I just got a Rolleiflex MX--and the right hand, knob focus will take some getting used to.