Near Mint! 1937 Rolleicord with Original case, CLA'd, Freshly Serviced!

Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use!

If you’re familiar with the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord cameras you’ll know that they are considered a cult classic by many fans. They are also often mentioned by photographic websites as an excellent way to get into medium format photography. The Rollei TLR is a very famous design that just like Leica, inspired countless copies over the decades.

This is an exceptionally fine Rolleicord which was built by Frank & Heidecke in prewar Germany. Ther serial number of the lens (1966170) indicates that it ws produced in 1937. Its condition is near mint and it’s one of the finest example I’ve seen in 50 years of collecting cameras. I seriously doubt you’ll ever find a finer example.

This 87 year old camera is ready to use and it’s been carefully cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. The quality Compur shutter works smoothly and all speeds (T, B & 1 Sec-1/300^th) are appropriate. The slow speeds buzz along nicely and the faster ones are clean and snappy. Focusing is accurate. Also good to know is that it uses normal 120 roll film.

This camera has a sharp Carl Zeiss 3.8/75mm Triotar lens which is a classic Cooke design with three elements in three groups. It’s well known for the attractive rendition and bokeh it produces. There are no scratches, just some light cleaning wisps (but you’ll need a magnifier to see them) and it’s capable of producing very lovely photos with modern color and black & white films.

Great lenses are not simply defined by high resolution. What artists and photographers love about certain lenses is the beautiful rendition in the fore and background. It’s something the Japanese refer to as bokeh. This Zeiss lens has an excellent reputation in Europe for a lovely bokeh and its soft smooth backgrounds.

All in all, a very enjoyable vintage camera. Load it with your favorite film and keep it handy for that perfect shot you’ve been looking for. You know the one... the one with the perfect Ansel Adams light breaking through the dark storm clouds that leaves you wishing that you had a vintage camera with you.