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A Tip for Buying a Rolleiflex Online or
From Photographs
An excellent indicator of a
Rolleiflex’s amount of previous
use is the condition of the original
paint on the crank side of the camera.
The circular rim around the crank, and
on later models, the small
“button” are two spots to
check to judge a Rolleiflex's general
condition. The yellow box below indicates
the area. The red arrows highlight
typical wear points on a Rolleiflex to
look for.
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Area to Examine
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Below is a camera that has seen heavy use.
It took a lot of cranks to wear all that
paint off.
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The wear below shows modest to moderate use
of the camera. I would suggest that
cameras graded as being in "EXCELLENT"
condition should look similiar to this, but
no worse than this.
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Below is a camera that has been barely used
and would likely grade at least EXCELLENT
PLUS if not MINT-
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As a Rolleiflex is "cranked," the
user's hand, thumb, glove – whatever -
rubs up against the “button” and
the crank's edge. Over time, that repeated
friction and abrasion cause paint wear and
eventual loss. A minor amount of paint loss
can also come from the camera being taking
in and out of the leather case. In any
event, I have found a large correlation
between the condition of the paint finish in
these two areas and the camera's overall
condition. The more wear on that paint, the
more likely the camera has been heavily used
more and correspondingly, the lower value
the camera should be as it will likely need
work/repair/CLA or should be avoided.
A “minty” camera will have
absolutely NO paint loss in these areas - in
fact, the paint shouldn't show ANY marks
or abrasions in the paint at all.
The paint should have an unbroken,
beautiful, soft gloss, enamel paint
finish.
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A professionally used Rolleiflex will
reveal complete “brassing of the
button ” and significant paint loss
on the crank edge.
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I’d recommend staying away from these
purchases as they usually require
significant tune up costs that can run $
300-400 ! Unless sold at a dirt cheap price
– walk away. There is a large supply
of used Rollei’s – be patient
and look for a camera with clean paint and a
fair price. Lastly, also look for signs that
these areas may have been re-painted over to
conceal previous paint losses.
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Here is an example of a photo from an
ebay auction where the seller calls the
camera “mint.” I disagree,
the paint loss on the button, while
relatively modest, does not qualify it
– in my eye – as
“mint.”
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All this isn�t rocket science,
but it is a reliable and simple way to judge a
Rolleiflex just by looking at some photos of
this area.
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