Rolleiflex3.5F/Rolleiflex 3.5F type4
Let me introduce my favorite camera. The first one is a Rolleiflex.
Rollei first introduced its twin-lens reflex camera to the world in 1928. There are still current models available, and it is a camera with a long history that has many secret loyal fans.
The immediately obvious feature of a twin-lens reflex camera is that it has two lenses, one above the other. The lower lens is the take lens for shooting, and the upper lens is the view lens for previewing. The light entering through the view lens forms an image of 56mm x 56mm, the same size as film, on the matte surface at the top of the camera. In a sense, it is a luxurious specification with an additional large lens for the viewfinder.
The photo format is square, which makes it difficult to photograph architecture, but once the composition is right, the image is well-proportioned and tight.
The internal structure is extremely sophisticated. All of its functions are performed by mechanisms. It is a truly luxurious and skilled construction that is impossible to achieve in this day and age of advanced electronic technology.
That being said, this camera is big and heavy. It's a pain to carry around on a daily basis. When you look for convenience, economy, and practicality, the realistic choice is a digital camera. In fact, I use digital cameras far more often. So why do I continue to use this camera?
To put it simply, it's fun. When shooting, you take a bowing posture and look into the focusing hood. The beautiful image that unfolds before you feels more like looking at a painting than like looking through a viewfinder. For me, who had been using a single-lens reflex camera until then, this was a shocking experience. It was so fun that I found myself pointing the camera in all sorts of directions.
The beauty of the medium-format positive film captured with the Zeiss lens is also incomparable to that of a 35mm camera. The click and the tiny sound of the shutter releasing. The feeling of the crank winding the film. The clicking of the dial. It's just so satisfying. You can't experience this with a single-lens reflex camera that has a lot of mirror shock, or a digital camera that makes a fake shutter sound. The operation, mechanism, and functions all feel real.
Perhaps as a reaction to the virtual world I usually immerse myself in, using CAD and CG, this desire for realism feels even more pleasurable. In any case, this is a camera that allows you to enjoy not only the finished photo, but also the act of taking photos itself.