Rolleiflex SL35 – A Review of a West German made 35mm SLR

This is a review of a camera (or cameras) I once had. As with most of what I had I sold on a knee jerk and regret it ever since. The Rolleiflex SL35 was Franke & Heidecke first 35mm SLR, and the original SL35 (and the far more rare and expensive SL350) were Rollei’s best.

There are three versions of the SL35; the German-made SL350, German made SL35 of 1970 – 1972 and the later Made in Singapore SL35 version 1972- 1976 – both identical on the surface, but not the same underneath. Sure they are made using the same looking parts, but the Singapore versions aren’t built with the same love, care and precision as the German-made ones. I have had both examples and you can feel the difference.

The German made one is superior in build, feel and the VF which is always brighter in my experience. (I’ve had 2 Singapore SL35 and 2 German).

The German-made SL35 and SL350 are collectors items, a mint example is a camera to keep. The SL350 differs, it came later and released in smaller number, it solves the stop down metering method and is a better purchase.

Later SL35E and SL35M aren’t in the same class as even the Singapore built SL35 and to be honest, aren’t worth bothering with as collectors items (though they are worth it if you want to use the nice optics and the more advanced features they have).

The SL35 is very nice  to behold, it has a simple, totally spartan but elegant bauhaus like design, devoid of superfluous switches and dials, even the hotshot is an after market accessory. The simple lines are difficult to date, 50ies? 60ies? 70ies? the design is timeless.

The Rolleiflex SL35 I had was the stealthy black, and the attention to detail on it makes one smile and it begs to be used. It is crafted of solid metal, and feels dense, weighty. Ken Rockbuster describes a Leica as feeling like a well oiled revolver, this isn’t quite like that but using it did bring that quote to mind. I also had a Mint German-made SL35 Silver body which is also a lovely piece of work. Ok, I have heard that the Leicaflex is a better made camera but I have yet to handle one.

Comparing it to the redoubtable Olympus OM2n, the Olympus looks and feels sort of similar in comparison but the Rolleiflex SL35 seems to have a more quality feel – Sure the Olympus is a better camera, by better I mean it has Aperture priority and a user-friendly light meter plus the very nice bright finder, The Rolleiflex doesn’t need any extras, its simplicity is its strength.

The Film wind crank winds forward with a precision mechanical zip and it’s released to be eased back with a nicely damped slide. The shutter emits a satisfying thunk as it trips.

Looking at top of the camera, the only controls we have are the Film wind crank, shutter release with the stylised “R” situated on top of the shutter speed dial, the button near the shutter release is the stop down/ depth of field preview button. On the other side we have a solitary film rewind knob/ dial.

At the front we have the self timer lever and that’s about it! Basic as it gets!

The Rolleiflex SL35 has a built-in light meter, powered by a small watch size battery and this is activated by pressing the Stop Down Button, it manifests itself in the form of a needle, visible through the big bright viewfinder (almost as big and bright as the VF on an Olympus OM2n)

The meter isn’t the highlight of this camera, as it’s annoying pressing the stop down button, then having to control aperture and shutter speed to get a correct exposure. I have used it, and it’s fairly accurate but only to test it out – I find it easier and thus tend to use a hand-held incident Minolta Autometer III which is pretty good, but the internal meter is there if ever required.

The lenses, well, there are some nice lenses available for this camera, lenses made by Zeiss with the HFT coating (HFT is Rollei trademarked T*) Schneider Krueznach, Voighlander and Rollei Rolleinar lenses. They render tastefully, they probably aren’t as sharp as more modern equivalents but that doesn’t matter, as they manifest a lovely feel in the photographs.

The Zeiss and Schneider lenses are expensive, some more than others, the Voightlanders are rebranded Zeiss and Rolleinars, the Rolleinars can be bought for peanuts, but that doesn’t mean the Rolleinars are crap – on the contrary they’re superb lenses, made by Mamiya in Japan, well built and of very high quality, in fact tests show they’re to a hairs breadth of the Zeiss and Schneider in terms of quality. I had the Schneider 50mm f1.8 and the Rolleigon 135mm f2.8 portrait lens.

To sum it all up, the Rolleiflex SL35 is a very nice piece and a classic, if you can find a mint German made example with a clear bright Viewfinder – go for it, if you find an SL350 you’ll be even happier but lighter of pocket.

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