Episode 44 • Eyerolls and Rolleis

After a dive into our prodigious mailbag, bulging with talk of the newly reissued Leica M6, we essay a sweeping survey of the mighty marque known as Rollei. Gabe has nine Rolleiflex TLRs; Jeff has a Rollei 35 and a Rolleiflex SL350. Tune in — it's a gas, gas, gas!

* we skipped Episode № 43, deal with it
* quite a prodigious mailbag! featuring:
* much talk of the newly reissued 2022 Leica M6, which is NOT a limited edition - worth noting: there’s a center dot between the two LED arrows in the viewfinder (à la the M6 TTL); no plastic shields under the strap lugs (‘cause the paint is hardier); the red dot says "Leitz" not "Leica"; it doesn't come in chrome; the only available finder is the .72; and the cost is $5,700. Who is this for?
* how ‘bout those high-end metal cassettes for bulk loading (e.g. FILCA and IXMOO, Shirley-Wellard, etc.) - are they any good?
* Jim Melcher made a video about stainless-steel reels
* Gabe’s Leica assignment / adventure, courtesy of the Leica Store Los Angeles
* Our Rollei show! Gabe has a slew of Rollei TLRs:
* 1938 Rolleicord 2b with Zeiss 3.5 lens
* 1939 Rolleicord 2c with Zeiss Triotar lens
* 1945 Rolleiflex Automat Model 2 which used to belong to renowned photographer Phil Stern
* 1954 Rolleicord 5 with Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 3.5
* 1958 Rolleiflex 3.5C Planar
* 1958 Rolleiflex 3.5F Planar (his favorite)
* 1959 Rolleiflex 2.8E2 with Zeiss Triotar lens (his other favorite)
* ... Jeff has a 1959 Rolleiflex 3.5E … and Gabe also has:
* 1959 Rolleiflex 3.5C
* 1960 Rolleiflex 2.8F
* …and they all have different personalities! - they handle differently, and the hand-ground lenses render differently
* how TLRs change your relationship to the subject when shooting portraits
* next! in non-TLR news, Jeff loves his little Rollei 35 SE
* worth checking out: Zeno Felkl's Rollei 35 Project book
* and the mighty (and mighty hard to find) Rolleiflex SL350 is one of Jeff's favorite SLRs - the 50mm Planar is sublime
* The other Jeff Greenstein stole a quarter billion in a tax fraud scheme, so we will henceforth refer to him as "tax fraud felon"