The Rolleiflex SL35 is a range of SLR cameras from the German camera maker,

Rollei Rollei () was a German manufacturer of optical instruments founded in 1920 by and in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord series of cameras. Later products included specialty and nostalgic type films for the ...

. This range of camera uses

35mm 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

film. The camera bodies were initially made in Germany, and later, Singapore. Rolleiflex SL35 uses QBM (Quick Bayonet Mount) mount, with a focal flange distance of 44.5 mm.

History

The Rolleiflex SL35 was the first 35mm SLR produced by

, in 1970. The SL35 is in fact a whole range of 35mm SLR cameras, that were developed and built from the 1970s until the 1990s. The first camera in the range, was the SL35, and compared to its competitors at that time, it was relatively small and light. The Rolleiflex SL35 was the second

SLR camera to be equipped with Carl

Zeiss Zeiss or Zeiß may refer to: People *Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), German optician and entrepreneur *Emil Zeiß (1833–1910), German Protestant minister and painter Companies *Carl Zeiss AG, German manufacturer of optics, industrial measurem ...

lenses, after the SL66 of 1966. Four years later, in 1974, Rollei produced the Rolleiflex SL350. The Rolleiflex SL350 had open-aperture metering, an improvement over the Rolleiflex SL35 which was built with a stop down light meter. In 1976, Rollei produced a new variant, the SL35M. The SL35M was built on a visibly different body based on an earlier Icarex design but with plastic top and baseplates and offered nothing technologically radical. At the same time, a variant of the SL35M, the SL35ME was also released. Built on the same body, the SL35ME had electronic shutter control inside and could set shutter speeds automatically. The viewfinder also came with a whole range of indicators including aperture and shutter speed amongst others. Two years later, in 1978, the SL35 E was introduced. It had all the functions of the SL35ME but came in a lighter package. Near-identical bodies (with most components from the same production lines) were sold by Voigtlander as the VSL 3E, and their shared QBM bayonet mount meant that lenses and bodies from both ranges could be used interchangeably.ROLLEIFLEX SL 35 SYSTEM ©Carlos M. Freaza 2011
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Lenses

A whole range of lens were made for the SL35 series and the lens were interchangeable between the camera bodies in the series. Most of the lenses were German made Carl Zeiss lenses but apart from the Carl Zeiss lenses, the SL35 range also used the

Schneider Schneider may refer to: Hospital * Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel People * Schneider (surname) Companies and organizations * G. Schneider & Sohn, a Bavarian brewery company * Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, the former owner of th ...

lens, the Rollei lens and the Rolleinar lens.

Carl Zeiss

* 15/3.5 Distagon * 16/2.8 F-Distagon, fisheye * 18/4 Distagon * 25/2.8 Distagon = Color-Skoparex * 28/2 Distagon * 35/1.4 Distagon riangular aperture* 35/2.8 Distagon = Color-Skoparex * 50/1.4 Planar * 50/1.8 Planar = Color-Ultron * 60/2.8 Macro-Planar * 85/1.4 Planar riangular aperture* 85/2.8 Sonnar = Color-Dynarex * 135/2.8 Sonnar = Color-Dynarex * 135/4 Tele-Tessar = Color-Dynarex * 200/4 Tele-Tessar = Color-Dynarex * 500/4.5 Mirotar, mirror lens * 1000/5.6 Mirotar, mirror lens * 1000/8 Tele-Tessar

Schneider lens

* 35/2.8 Angulon * 50/1.8 Xenon * 135/3.5 Tele-Xenar * 35/4 PC-Curtagon, special shift lens * 28/2.8 PC-Super Angulon, special shift lens

Rolleinar

* 14/3.5 Fisheye * 21/4 * 28/2.8 * 35/2.8 * 50/2 * 50/3.5 Macro * 55/1.4 * 85/2.8 * 105/2.8 * 105/2.8 Macro * 135/2.8 * 200/3.5 * 400/5.6 * 500/8 Reflex, mirror lens * 28-80/3.5-4.5 * 28-85/4 * 28-105/3.2-4.5 * 35-105/3.5 * 35-105/3.5-4.3 * 50-250/4-5.6 * 70-210/3.5-4.5 * 80-200/2.8 * 80-200/4 * 2x converter

Cameras

SL35

*Production dates: 1970–1976 *Shutter Type: Focal Plane rubber cloth curtain *Shutter Speeds: 1 – 1/1000s, B *Variants: ** Chrome, made in Germany ** Black, made in Germany ** Chrome, made in Singapore ** Black, made in Singapore

SL350

*Production dates: 1974–1976 *Shutter Type: Focal Plane rubber cloth curtain *Shutter Speeds: 1 – 1/1000s, B *Variants: ** Black, made in Germany ** Chrome, made in Germany

SL35M

*Production dates: 1976–1980 *Shutter Type: Focal Plane *Shutter Speeds: 1/2- 1/1000s, B *Variants: ** Black, made in Singapore

SL35ME

*Production dates: 1976–1980 *Shutter Type: Focal Plane rubber cloth curtain *Shutter Speeds: 4 – 1/1000s (auto), 1/30 – 1/1000s (auto), B *Variants: ** Black, made in Singapore

SL35 E

*Production dates: 1978–1982 *Shutter Type: Focal Plane vertical metal plates *Shutter Speeds: 16 – 1/1000s, B *Variants: ** Black, made in Singapore ** Chrome, made in Singapore

References

sl35