Let me share something exciting with you guys today
I will introduce a dream camera of mine
the Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex (TLR)
It's first-hand and in great condition
Today I went back to an old place
The place in Melbourne for film enthusiasts
Film Never Die
It's still alive
I would like to talk with you guys again about film cameras
Welcome to this episode
I'm Brian
First let's talk about this Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) in my hand
It is very distinguishable in the photography community
It's too famous
In the 1950s
This camera renounce the world splendidly
with its breathtaking and delicate design
it became the go-to camera for almost all of the professional photographers
It has developed different models in different eras
too many to figure out
What we see is mostly 28 and 35 series
Mine is a rolleiflex 3.5C
It's produced around 1956
75mm f3.5 planar lens Twin Lens Reflex camera
so what is Twin Lens Reflex
As the name implies, it has two lens
The upper lens reflects the image to the focus plane for view finding and focus
the lower lens is for capturing the image on the film inside
this was an expedient under the technology limit at that time
it used the most compact method to achieve the accurate focus and image preview
How successful was the Rolleiflex at that time
You can tell by the number of imitation products
Ricoh, Minolta, Olympus, Seagull, etc.
they basically filled the entire 60s-80s
I bet that in your family album
there must be pictures taken with these imitations
Raise your hand if there is
But in the end, the imitation is not the original product
The Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) not only looks good
but you can also feel its pride from many details
How should I describe the feeling of using it to you
it feels like a very delicate design
with smooth operations
loading film, winding, focusing, adjusting exposure
Click the shutter in one go
This camera in my hands is fully functional
other than the degrading of the Selenium Photocell due to its old age
let me show you a detail
to feel the dope design and manufacturing technique of this camera
the dial to adjust aperture and shutter on the Rolleiflex are on the left and right side of the lens, respectively
The window for adjusting exposure is on top of the lens
This design allows photographers to easily see the exposure settings
when they are using the viewfinder
When holding the camera with two hands
the two thumbs can naturally be placed at the place to adjust exposure
human-machine interaction may not be a word at that time
but we can see that the designer understands the user
this is not the most important point
There is one feature may not be known to many Rolleiflex users
you can lock the shutter and aperture together
This is the smartest part
look, there is a button at the center of the dial for aperture
if you spin it and let the markers on the plate align
the center will pop out
now, the exposure EV settings will be fixed
spinning the dial for aperture or shutter speed
you will see the aperture and shutter values moving in synchronization
displaying different aperture and shutter speed combinations under the EV value
all of this is achieved through pure mechanical synchronization
I really admire the effort of the Rolleiflex designers
When finish focusing, just spin the aperture dial
the synchronization mechanism will move the depth of field meter on the focus dial
showing a straightforward range of depth of field
therefore allowing photographers to quickly confirm the range of depth of field
these designs are similar to the aperture priority/shutter priority/depth of field priority
that appeared 30 years later
which uses the measured EV value to decide different exposure combinations
I just want to ask you, isn't this dope?
Speaking of what to shoot with these two cameras
To be honest, I rarely use them
Mainly just pet them
Looking at the external environment
The situation of film photography is not optimistic
Films are getting more and more expensive
Less places for printing
In Australia, Michaels Camera store closed
One less place to print
Let me do the math for you
120 film, one roll of film including printing and scanning
The cost per photo is $3.5
Such high cost can't be used daily
Rolleiflex can only take 12 photos in one roll
This makes it easy to be restrained
Reluctant to press the shutter
Instead, missing valuable snap opportunities
Fortunately, the shutter between the mirrors has no reflector
The camera has low shutter vibration, and good for handheld shooting
It's suitable for natural light documentary photography where not a lot of photos are taken
Rollei 35 uses 35mm film, the cost of film is low
Not that painful when you press down the shutter
The small size make it possible to be carried with you everywhere
it's the first choice for street photography and daily recording
These two cameras are complementary to each other, perfect
I just got the Rolleiflex the day before yesterday
I put films in it
wandering around in the city with my camera for a while
I ended up taking only two photos, I really don't think there is anything worth shooting
120 is using 6 x 6 square frame
Just like instagram
I'll post Ins as soon as I print them out in a few days
Hope you can check it out
The purpose of this episode isn't to encourage everyone to buy a film camera
This time I got Rolleiflex
I feel that I am the kind of people who love photography
because of the love for mechanical cameras
In fact, film photos are not more valuable than digital photos
It is said that the film will last forever
But in terms of safety, storage of films are not as safe as digital photos
Which can be saved on cloud
Besides, nothing lasts forever
We just extend the feeling of the moment when we press the shutter a little longer
In terms of dissemination, digital photos must be more efficient
Film cameras are now toys for self-entertaining
Just like an old man playing walnuts
We don't need reasons to like something
Fortunately there is still a place where you can play film in Melbourne
Film Never Die
You can buy variety of films for 130 and 125
They also have printing and scanning services
Friends who are in a hurry can do express service
You can also make friends here who are still sticking to film
Face-to-face communication between film enthusiasts is particularly important
Because from choosing film, shooting
to printing, scanning and magnifying technology
There is a lot of personal experience in each step worth learning
Another advantage of film cameras is that they preserve value
Price of plastic cameras dropped dramatically
I remember Nikon F4s that I envied years ago
In 1996, the price was￥18,000
Now, you can buy one in good condition with ￥2,000
Digital cameras are even worse
Kodak flagship Digital SLR Camera DCS 560
When the Beijing house price was ￥3,000 per square meter, the price of this sh*t was ￥200,000
Now, you can get it for ￥4,000 and there is still room for bargain
Only film mechanical cameras
not only preserve value, but also appreciate
I remember the same camera as mine in 2016
It was only ￥5,000, how much is it now?
Please tell me if you know the price, thanks!
Don't worry if you want to shoot film
For film cameras, there will never be no film to shoot
It's just the price issue, or whether it is convenient to print or not
Even if you don't take photos
Those who like to play with machinery can feel the bite of the gears
Those who like the metallic texture
can put it on the shelf as a handicraft
Even if you don't load the film, hold it and dial the button for loading film
Listen to the shutter sound
This is also the fun that others can't experience
Do you feel the same?
Hope you like this episode
Thank you for watching
See you in the next video