Thin Blue Line: Rolleiflex

Monday, 24 December 2012

Rolleiflex

Anyone can sell used photographic equipment, but old cameras can have hidden issues, and when there is a problem, you get to test the seller's integrity and customer service. My dad used a twin lens reflex Rolleiflex camera to photograph my childhood, and using his camera is one of my earliest childhood photographic memories. I never did find out what happened to his camera, and after searching for it for years, decided that it was time to buy another. So I purchased an "excellent" Rolleiflex 2.8E2 with an 80mm Zeiss Planar lens from KEH, Inc. with the knowledge that their reputation is for grading very conservatively, so people are often favorably surprised by the condition of the camera being even better than expected. When the Rollei arrived, I did a cursory check that the focus worked, and that the shutter fired, but then put it aside because of a family emergency, and didn't get back to the camera for three months. At that time, I discovered that the aperture mechanism was jammed. So I sent it back to KEH under their six month warranty. Here's where it gets interesting: Instead of doing a quick and dirty repair that probably would not have lasted, KEH sent the camera for repair at their considerable expense to one of the world's premier Rolleiflex repair specialists, Harry Fleenor at Oceanside Camera Repair, in Manhattan Beach, California. KEH also extended their warranty for the time that the camera was away for service.