Seagull 4B-1 Review: Pros and Cons
Pros and Cons
As with any camera, there are both pros and cons associated with this camera:
Pros:
—–inexpensive: I got mine for $125 new from a merchant on ebay
—–medium format: Larger negative size, much better resolution that a 35mm camera
—–multiple fomats: shoot either rectangular or square images in 6×4.5 or 6×6 format
—–twin lens reflex design: no camera shake from a spring action mirror like on SLR’s
—–fixed focal length lens: the Haiou SA 85 75mm f3.5 has greater resolution and is faster than many zoom lenses
—–all metal body construction: the only plastic parts on the camera are the focus knob, film advance knob and the back locking knob, the rest is solid metal.
—–no batteries: your camera will never run out of juice, only film
Cons:
—–seperate shutter cocking and film advancing levers: it can sometimes be easy to forget to advance the film before taking an exposure, resulting in double exposure
—–no built in light meter: for some this adds an extra piece of equiptment, a handheld light meter, to their camera outfit
—–leaf shutter: relatively slow shutter speeds, plus you cannot adjust the shutter speed once you have cocked the shutter
—–parallax error: although this is more uncommon unless you take very close up shots with your waist level viewfinder, or shots closer than 10ft with the “sports finder” this is a realistic concern
—–only takes 120 format film, not 220: 220 film gets twice as many pictures as 120, but the roll is roughly the same size mainly because of an absence of paper backing on the film. The most picures you can get from a roll of 120 film is 16 exposures.
—–medium format film processing: if you are the person who will only take your film to the pharmacy to be developed (you know who you are, I was once one of you) you will not like developing this film. Only specialty photolabs will develop medium format (even living in the image capitol of the world it took me a little time to find a lab that would develop my film) for those living in rural areas often times mailers are the best ideas. Processing medium format black and white film in the home darkroom is no harder than processing 35mm film, and may enlargers are medium format capable. You may need a different negative carrier or enlarger lens to do so.
—–quality control in manufacturing: for the price this camera is an excellent investment as a first step into medium format photography, however because the cost of the camera is relatively very low to other medium format cameras keep in mind that the quality control is not on the same levels as brands like mamiya, canon or nikon. If you search the web I’m sure you can find horror stories of consumers who purchased a defective seagull, but you can find such stories for any camera, a friend of mine had a brand new rebel 2000 die in his arms. In the same way, keep in mind that you are purchasing a camera from a foreign company, and that returning a defective seagull for repair will certainly not be as easy as going to canon to get your camera repaired.
Source: Photosig
Rolleiflex 3.5F Review
This article was originally published in ‘PHOTONpro’ – ‘Kitchen’s Cupboard’ and is reproduced here by kind permission of the Author.
Over the years I have owned four 6 x 6cm Rolleiflexes… and for reasons which at the time seemed sensible. I sold them. Each time, suffering withdrawal symptoms, I bought a replacement, the last being the subject of this article. If I had to settle for but one camera of the many I have owned, it would be a metered 2.8F Rolleiflex.
So what is it about a Rollei that affects me this way? There are several reasons. I like the square 6 x 6cm format, allied to looking down into the viewfinder screen showing, effectively, a bright clear ‘transparency’ of the subject. Eye up against the focusing magnifier, I become absorbed in what I see, almost completely isolated from my surroundings. The psychology of all this is hard to explain to those who use only 35mm SLRs, but in practice, where it matters, it works superbly well.
Quality is apparent as soon as you pick up a Rolleiflex. Even well-used models possess this intangible quality. The results, provided focusing and exposure are correct, are superlative. It is possible to use a Rollei at shutter speeds impossible with a medium format SLR. Why? Minor vibration. Yes, even the best vibrate be it ever so little, as the mirror hits its stops. In practiced hands a Rollei is safe at 1/30th, and usually safe at a 1/15th, which is more than can be said of any roll film SLR.
The Zeiss Planar and Schneider Xenotar were the best lenses available. It has been claimed that the Planar was the better lens, but in my experience this is not demonstrable by taking photographs. The one lens one rarely hears about is the f 2.8 80mm Tessar fitted to the Rolleiflex 2.8A of 1951: Clan Rollei glosses over duff lenses as readily as Clan Leica! This highly unsatisfactory lens, one definitely best left to collectors, was soon replaced by a f 2.8 Zeiss JenaBiometar, the model being designated Rolleiflex 2.8B. 2.8A introduced the new bayonet III filter mount. The Rolleiflex2.8Cof 1953 with Schneider Xenotar restored confidence in the 2.8 series, the 2.8 Zeiss Planar completing the job in 1954.
My ‘model 5’ Xenotar-lensed 3.5F is of 1979 vintage. The focusing hood lifts up at the rear edge, and can be collapsed by squeezing the sides. It can also be removed in order to fit an eye level prism. The focusing screen has a 1cm grid and provides a bright contrasty view of the subject. A split image rangefinder assists precise focusing. A moving mask under the screen provides parallax correction. The front flap holds flat to provide direct vision viewing, with focusing (of an inverted image) via a mirror attached to the flap.
The Synchro-Cornpur shutter provides speeds from 1 second to 1/500th, and enables electronic flash to be used at all speeds, bulbs with the customary 18-20mS delay, plus delayed action. A sliding switch permits multiple exposures. Moving the shutter beyond the 1 second mark brings into view figures in green, doubling from 2 seconds to 60 seconds. These are not shutter speeds. Instead they are all the `B’ setting of the shutter, and act as metered times for exposures longer than 1 second.
The Rollei’s exposure meter is set into the focusing knob, which also bears a unique and most effective DOF indicator: a white band expands and contracts in accordance with the aperture set.
The exposure meter needle and ‘follow’ pointer appear in an arc on top, clearly visible in use. Coupled to both shutter and aperture knobs, it is calibrated for film speeds from 12 ASA to 1600 ASA. Along with their DIN equivalents these appear in the filter factor setting knob, by means of which filter factors up to three stops, can be set in half stop increments. For incident light work a diffuser can be clipped over the meter’s cell.
Film loading is automatic, assisted by a removable back. Thread the leader under the film sensing feeler roller, attach it to the take up spool, close the hack, operate the lever wind forward until it stops. Reverse the lever to cock the shutter and you’re in business. Photographers who also use 120 SLRs can forget the loading sequence and ignore the feeler roller. The result is a wasted film and a feeling of utter foolishness.
The early SLR Hasselblad with its TTL viewing, interchangeable lenses and film magazines, offered versatility the Rolleiflex could not. When Victor replaced his quirky focal plane shutter with time-proven Compur Rapids, then Syncho Compurs to provide flexibility to users of flash, the TLR Rollei’s fate was inevitable.
Despite changes to company name, reorganisation, and the acquisition of Schneider, ownership finally passed from German to Korean hands. The new Samsung-led Rollei puts 35mm first with new £1,500 compacts, and all 6 x 6cm Rolleiflexes are collector’s items for the future.
Rolleiflex 4.0 FW Review
The example of the Rolleiflex 4.0FW I brought with me to the November 2006 Club Rollei meeting attracted a fair amount of interest from members present, and I felt it might be useful to provide some information for a wider audience. This camera seems to have attracted very little coverage in the general photographic press apart from quite a good review in the British Journal of Photography some time ago. In some ways this is surprising, because the introduction of a new TLR model is not exactly commonplace in the 21st century.
It is essentially the same body as the Rolleiflex 2.8GX but fitted with a 50mm f4 Schneider Super Angulon lens (and a matched Heidosmat viewing lens). As such, the exposure metering is the same with the red/yellow/green LEDs in the focusing hood and the sensor in the viewing lens. Flash synchronisation is ‘X’ type only for electronic flash via the traditional socket on the lens panel or using the ‘hot shoe’ adjacent to the focusing knob. In the latter case, through the lens flash sync. can be obtained by using a suitable flashgun such as a Metz 45CL4 and a SCA 356 adaptor.
Finish of the camera largely follows Rollei TLR tradition, but the leathers are a dark brown type rather than the more usual black or grey. How does this model compare with the previous 1961 Wide Angle Rolleiflex? Well, I have been using mine on a regular, but not intensive, basis for 18 months or so now and have found it generally very satisfactory. The metering is a very considerable improvement on the rather fiddly, uncoupled meter of the earlier model. Apart from this, the operational use of the 4.0FW is almost identical to its predecessor. There appears to be little practical difference in performance between the current Schneider lens and the Zeiss Distagon previously used, but although the Schneider is claimed to have a focal length of 50mm as compared with 55mm for the Zeiss there is no discernible difference in the field of view and I suspect both are in the 52-53mm range. Presumably one manufacturer chose to ‘round down’ and the other to ‘round up’.
Bosham Sailing Club, Rolleiflex 4.0FW, Fuji RHP III
Film loading is the same as for the Rolleiflex 2.8GX or the Rollei T with winding to a red dot to position correctly for the first exposure rather then the film feeler system. The focusing hood is simply the standard 2.8GX type but with the rear ‘eye hole’ not punched through so that there is no sports finder facility. This arrangement avoids the considerable cost of the special optical sports finder used on the earlier Wide Angle model. I have found it no drawback as a pentaprism (new type or old type) can be fitted for eye level use on the odd occasions this is required.
Like the 2.8GX, the 4.0FW does not offer the option of using a Rolleikin or the optical flat glass. The lenses have the identical Bayonet IV fittings to the earlier wide angle model, so all accessories are interchangeable. Rollei have reintroduced a slightly shallower version of the lens hood (which allows the ERC to be closed with it in situ). Neither Rollei nor any other German maker, so far as I am aware, is now manufacturing the Bayonet IV filters, but this is no problem as SRB Film Services of Luton can produce them to order in just about any colour or strength.
Bosham Church from Quay Meadow, Rolleiflex 4.0FW, Fuji RHP III
There is a smart black leather ERC for the 4.0FW which will fit the earlier camera equally well because both have the same centrally positioned scissor strap mountings on each side. It could also be used for the similar Rolleiflex 2.8E2 but will not fit the Rolleiflex 2.8F well due to the 2.8F’s filter dial. So far, the only problem with the 4.0FW has been the fact that the brown leathers are prone to damage and thus the new appearance does not last long (whereas the more usual black leathers generally stay good for years). Perhaps I would more truthfully say this is the only ongoing problem – when received from Robert White, the film transport was wrongly set up so that the first exposure did not occur until the film was halfway through the camera. Whilst RW’s were very helpful, it took the UK repairer, Johnsons Photopia, the best part of three months to decide they could not carry out the warranty repair and send the camera to the factory who promptly fixed the fault!
TLRgraphy 