Received my 2 Rolleiflex 2.8 cameras todays.
The good:
One of the Rollies looks in good working order, the glass seems clean, the shutter and f stops work, the camera seems ready to shoot. The only thing wrong I can find with the camera is the small plastic clear housing on the meter is missing. The meter seems to be functioning but not for long without the clear plastic housing.
The bad:
The second camera from the WWII vet is in poor shape. The glass seems good, clear etc which is the most important thing. The shutter and f-stops are not functioning. This could be a $938USD paper weight!
The ugly:
I will need to send one, possibly both cameras in for repair and CLA to Harry Fleenar (Rollie expert repairman) in California. I already sent Harry an email with links asking for advice and a repair estimate. I might be sending both cameras out next week to him.
I might manage to repair both cameras or at worst get Harry to take the best from both cameras to make one super F Rolleiflex. Buying these 2 Fs is costing me to much money and was probably a bad mistake on my part. How can I quit my job and photograph in Asia when I am doing stupid shit like this?
What is weird is that the 2nd Rollie the one that is not working had a perfectly beautiful ever ready leather case. I was able to put the case on the working Rolleiflex F.
These things are quite valuable on eBay, if I can get them both up to snuff again. If Harry Fleenar can work some magic on them, I still might be able to sell them and break even or get a good portion of my money back. I paid about 1/2 of the fully working price for these Rolleiflex F 2.8 cameras, so if they can be repaired I might still be OK.
I would like to get the WWII Alzheimer suffering veterans camera back online, it seems right to do that. It seems right to use his tool to do documentary photography. At least the glass on both cameras seem OK, that is the most important part. I feel disappointed but this is also a good lesson for me. Something I might still recover from.
A fool and his money are soon parted:
I am being foolish on eBay again. Time to shut it down, it gets shutdown tonight, no more buying. I will work and pay off these cameras and start saving again for November. I will try to repair what I bought, try to get at least 1, 100% working Rolleiflex F 2.8 and move on.
Note* I also got a eye level style viewfinder from the better camera purchase. It is a heavy unit but 100% authentic Rollie product that seems to be in great working order without damage. I think I will be able to use this finder on my GX or on 1 of the working Fs.
The good:
One of the Rollies looks in good working order, the glass seems clean, the shutter and f stops work, the camera seems ready to shoot. The only thing wrong I can find with the camera is the small plastic clear housing on the meter is missing. The meter seems to be functioning but not for long without the clear plastic housing.
The bad:
The second camera from the WWII vet is in poor shape. The glass seems good, clear etc which is the most important thing. The shutter and f-stops are not functioning. This could be a $938USD paper weight!
The ugly:
I will need to send one, possibly both cameras in for repair and CLA to Harry Fleenar (Rollie expert repairman) in California. I already sent Harry an email with links asking for advice and a repair estimate. I might be sending both cameras out next week to him.
I might manage to repair both cameras or at worst get Harry to take the best from both cameras to make one super F Rolleiflex. Buying these 2 Fs is costing me to much money and was probably a bad mistake on my part. How can I quit my job and photograph in Asia when I am doing stupid shit like this?
What is weird is that the 2nd Rollie the one that is not working had a perfectly beautiful ever ready leather case. I was able to put the case on the working Rolleiflex F.
These things are quite valuable on eBay, if I can get them both up to snuff again. If Harry Fleenar can work some magic on them, I still might be able to sell them and break even or get a good portion of my money back. I paid about 1/2 of the fully working price for these Rolleiflex F 2.8 cameras, so if they can be repaired I might still be OK.
I would like to get the WWII Alzheimer suffering veterans camera back online, it seems right to do that. It seems right to use his tool to do documentary photography. At least the glass on both cameras seem OK, that is the most important part. I feel disappointed but this is also a good lesson for me. Something I might still recover from.
A fool and his money are soon parted:
I am being foolish on eBay again. Time to shut it down, it gets shutdown tonight, no more buying. I will work and pay off these cameras and start saving again for November. I will try to repair what I bought, try to get at least 1, 100% working Rolleiflex F 2.8 and move on.
Note* I also got a eye level style viewfinder from the better camera purchase. It is a heavy unit but 100% authentic Rollie product that seems to be in great working order without damage. I think I will be able to use this finder on my GX or on 1 of the working Fs.
