Rollei 35 was born in 1966, designed by engineer Heinz Waaske in Braunschweig, Germany, with the mission to create a 35mm camera. smallest in the world but still had top image quality, competing directly with the popular half-frame cameras of that period. The project originated from a personal design by Waaske, then taken up by Rollei leadership and developed into a commercial product – k The most special is that the details are optimized to reduce size while still ensuring durability, convenience with the unique collapsible lens.
The Rollei 35 is strongly communicated as a “pocket camera” (pocket camera legend), the advertising sample image is the camera placed next to a cigarette pack/ pile of money, emphasizing compactness yet professionalism – a popular nickname in both Europe and Asia is “pocket legend” or “compact king”.
Initially manufactured in Germany, in 1971 moved to Singapore to expand scale – production quality was rated on par with the German version. After many variations, the Rollei 35 SE was launched in 1979, noting the only version to use the high-end Sonnar 40mm f/2.8 HFT lens with the light metering system Electronic LED (replacing physical metal), brings a more modern experience, flexible operation speed, high reliability and is sought after by many people.
Image quality of Rollei 35 SE
When it comes to lens quality, the two countries Japan and Germany are always compared and discussed together. And when mentioning Germany, we cannot not mention Rollei. And when it's mentioned Rollei, everyone will know about the company's famous HFT coat (as well as the famous Super EBC coat of Fujifilm from Japan - appearing on Fuji Cardia Tiara Mini...)
Shooting at light
HFT coat lens gives very dark colors, high saturation. When shooting in bright, even with a popular film (like Fuji 400), the colors are bright and rich, the contrast is high, with very good sharpness. At f/5.6 onwards, images are sharp and have good detail from the center to the edges. The edges reduce detail only very slightly at large apertures and are almost unnoticeable at f/8–f/11.
Photos taken at the maximum aperture (f/2.8) still retain good details, suitable for focusing the subject in the blurred background, however, if the background is too dark, there will be a slight “glow” phenomenon in the highlight area. The 40mm Sonnar lens of Rollei 35 SE produces smooth, round, out-of-focus bokeh in bright areas with a quite “dreamy” effect that is favorite by film players.
If you are a fan of black-and-white (BW) shooting, high contrast is a plus point from this camera: shade and highlight areas are clearly separated, the light dark transitions are soft, the image doesn't color color or lose details in the transition area.
The phenomenon of chromatic aberration (chromatic aberration) and distortion are almost non-existent, and the 40mm Sonnar lens on Rollei 35 SE also has little falloff.
Shooting against light
In cases of backlighting that is too strong (the sun points straight at the lens), we can see flares and ghosts in the image. However, dark areas retain details thanks to the famous HFT coat.
And in the case of a simple light difference like the below, the Rollei 35 SE retains good details in both dark and light areas.
Feeling of Holding Rollei 35 SE
When talking about the Rollei 35 series in general, people always talk about the following two factors: compactness and zone focus. Actually, many cameras (from SLRs, rangefinders, etc.) can operate zone focus shooting, not only the Rollei 35 series, but to fit zone focus and meet all the elements With perfect mechanics, full manual adjustment of all speed parameters, collapsible lens, and SUPER COMPACT, the Rollei 35 is the best (and almost the only!)
Inheriting those outstanding points, the Rollei 35 SE stands out with its minimalist, square yet sophisticated design, sturdy metal case n, seamless finishing, extremely “German” grip feeling, fits both men's and women's hands, not too thick or slippery. Compact size, perfect for "pocket", placed next to a cigarette packet or wallet, it still doesn't take up much space, and looks extremely luxurious.
During the "work" process, although many people are aware of taking them, maybe it's because of the size Rollei 35 SE It's so small, it looks like a toy, so people don't frowse or avoid, be wary like when I take pictures with other bigger cameras.
The shutter of the Rollei 35 SE is a leaf shutter. With this type of shutter, you can safely shoot at a slower speed than the focal length of the lens and still limit the blurring image. The shutter sound is quiet, light, but still sharp and firm. Just like Nikon L35AF/ AD good Pentax Espio 120 SW II..., the small shutter sound is a huge advantage for street shooting. And even the Rollei 35 SE doesn't have an automatic filming mode, so you don't need to worry about the noise when it automatically feeds film like other compact cameras. To protect the glass and shutter from the front as well as increasing flexibility in various lighting conditions, the Rollei 35 SE can attach a non-30.5 filter.
Manual Mode of Rollei 35 SE
Because the Rollei 35 SE does not have an Auto mode, users will have to manually adjust the shutter speed and aperture parameters through the 2 rotations on the front of the camera. The rotation rings are very smooth, convenient. As for the aperture ring, at the bottom there is a switch between 2 modes: free rotation and click to rotate.
Viewfinder of Rollei 35 SE
The camera's viewfinder is simple with just the viewfinder (the small inner frame will best match the output image compared to the large outer frame) and the LED light indicator. Despite wearing glasses, the camera's viewfinder is big and clear enough so I can align the frame and composition.
The machine uses a light measuring sensor (CdS) and electronic circuitry, receiving the light passing through the lens and comparing it with the parameters being set (set): ISO, aperture, speed. Next to the viewfinder, on the right side, there will be a column/group of LED lights as follows:
- One low light (under) indicator – at the bottom – red
- One remaining indicator (over) – at the top – red
- A “right light” indicator – located in the middle.
If both the top and bottom red lights light, the current lighting condition exceeds the permissible level of the Rollei 35 SE.
Instructions for Use and Structure of Rollei 35 SE Sides
Structure of the faces of the Rollei 35 SE
On the front, we have the Sonnar HFT 40mm f/2.8 lens with the focus ring, the lens release button (to tuck it in the body), the aperture ring, the speed adjustment ring, the front of the viewfinder.
On the front of the aperture adjustment ring is a smaller circle for adjusting ISO. If you measure your rice, this setting will help you not forget the ISO when using multiple cameras (because the Rollei 35 SE doesn't have a film reading window). And if you use the LED light meter of the machine, this setting will be a parameter for the machine to report the light meter in the viewfinder.
The top of the camera consists of the shooting button, the film loading lever and the battery tray.
The bottom is where the film chamber lock lever, the counter for the number of shots taken and the film rewind lever
Basic shooting operations
To start shooting, you must pull the lens out and rotate the lens mount toward (the left) until you hear a click sound, when not in use, you can press the lever button next to the lens, rotate it towards the reverse to close the lens. The user should note that the film trigger is necessary to start the lens retraction process. You can watch the video above to see the specific operation.
Then, you will adjust the focus according to the distance scale on the lens to achieve the desired focus distance. This operation is called zone focusing. To learn more about zone focus, you can read HERE. Once the lens is in place, the focus is fine-tuned, the lighting is correct, just one more click and you have the film photo of a lifetime!
With the Rollei 35 SE, the trip to film is quite long but sure. The capture button of the machine is made of metal, has threads to attach the capture button (or capture cord) to, and has moderate depth. This moderate depth both avoids the user being robbed (if it's too shallow) and avoids the uncomfortable feeling of having to press the button too deep to take the shot.
When shooting reaches mode number 36 (or more - depending on how you loaded the film from the beginning) and cannot continue on the film anymore, we will Flip the film release lever on the back of the machine up and start turning the film rewind lever clockwise to start winding the film back. You keep turning until 1/ you hear a "click" signaling that the film has left the spool and 2/ the crank becomes significantly lighter, which means the film has been rewinded successfully. The remaining thing for you is to open the back lever to take the film to develop!
Advantages and Disadvantages of Rollei 35 SE
Advantage
- SUPER COMPACT, fits in the palm.
- Beautiful, sturdy, fashionable design. Even if you don't take photos, you can use the camera as an expensive piece of jewelry.
- The design supports fast snapshot operations.
- There is LED light metering in the viewfinder
- Viewfinder is big, easy to see.
- Fully Manual, don't worry about power failure! Because even if the electricity is damaged, you can still control the speed and aperture according to your likes. Electricity is only used to power light metering.
- The famous HFT coat of Rollei.
- Filters can be attached to increase creativity/ serve the specific needs of the photographer.
Disadvantages
- Rollei 35 SE uses PX27 5.6V battery is extinct (for environmental reasons). The Adapter is the solution if the user still wants to use the Rollei 35 SE's light metering. (you can search keyword "battery adapter to PX27" on Google)
- The high-end design is made of metal, so when there is an impact, it will be easily dented.
- FIlter phi 30.5 is not so popular in the market
- Zone Focus requires user experience or distance measuring tools to assist.
- In the case of no battery/power failure, the user needs external light metering or "rice light metering" – following the sunny 16 rule to shoot with correct light.
Rollei 35 SE technical specifications
- Lens: Carl Zeiss Sonnar 40mm f/2.8 HFT (collapsible )
- Aperture: f/2.8 to f/22, 6 blades
- Shutter speed: 1/2 - 1/500 second and Bulb exposure mode
- The light metering is displayed through LEDs in the viewfinder
- ISO range: manual adjustment via the side circle on the front of the camera. Brings more memory value because the machine doesn't have Auto mode.
- Focusing: Dial adjusts distance (scale focus) from 0.9m to infinity
- Use PX27 5.6V battery
- Dimensions: about 97 x 32 x 58 mm, weight ~335g
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