Perhaps "weird" was a poor choice of words. And "odd" may be too strong,
but today, with 40 yrs of technology behind us, it's not in the mainstream
of user ergonomics.
But given it's innovations, you're right-on that it was a groundbreaking
camera. It is amazing that they were able to stuff so much into a small
space. Much like the Pen F/FT's marvels.
But I do find that the bottom-mounted shoe and winding lever a
bit....."interesting". But as with many innovative cameras, that's the
price you pay for sticking your neck out in unconventional designs.
There have been many over the years, as designers strived to break out the
moulds. Ones that have been through my hands recently: The Voigtlander
Vitessa's one-operation, plunger for shutter cocking and winding, the
Konica III's lens-mount-based wind/cock lever, and Canon Dial 35's
spring-driven 1/2 frame.
It shows that good design doesn't always win in the market, but that it is
recognized as good design for years to come, given the state of the
technology.
Skip
Original Message:
-----------------
From: John A. Lind jlind@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 00:37:15 -0500
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [OM] (OM) (OT) Rollei 35
Skip,
I wouldn't go so far as "weird."
The oddity of note is its hot shoe location. There wasn't much other
location for it. Put it into context. The camera was designed during the
early 1960's and was first introduced at the 1966 Photokina, 36 years
ago. Although electronic flash units were around, they were relatively
crude (l_o_n_g recycle times), and flash bulbs were still the norm! Rollei
made a small flash bracket for the camera, but very few were sold (I have
one). At least it *has* a hot shoe (something the XA and Contax T don't
have). It's also completely mechanical except for the meter and will
continue to function in sub-zero-F temperatures when others die from lack
of power (just as the OM-1[n] can).
The designs for the 35[T], 35S-Xenar and 35S are all very nearly the same
(only difference is the lenses) and they were the variants manufactured in
the largest numbers. Production of the 35[T] ran 14 years essentially
unchanged from the original, until 1980 when the T and S were replaced by
the TE and SE with significant metering redesign and they were made until
1982 (Rollei's bankruptcy ??).
I can accept "odd" if you want to call it that. They defined a class of
their own that didn't exist in the mid 1960's. The Rollei 35 and its
variants were the world's smallest full-frame 35mm format for many years,
and only a very few P&S's have challenged that since. I still marvel at
how Rollei managed to package an entire mechanical camera into its very
small envelope.
Want weird? The LOMO is weird!
-- John
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