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Total Recall
 If you’ve ever said, “they don’t make ’em like they used to,” then rejoice! They do! Or, at least Rollei does.
The new $4,900 Rolleiflex 4.0 FW is a wide-angle twin-lens reflex (TLR) that, in design, operation, and spirit, is anything but 21st century. It’s almost identical to the current limited-production Rolleiflex 2.8 FX, except the 4.0 FW is fitted with a 50mm f/4 Schneider Super-Angulon lens in lieu of the 80mm f/2.8 Zeiss Planar.
Like its stablemate, it is exquisitely made and finished, clad in brown imitation-snakeskin-pattern leather, and sports a vintage-logo nameplate.
It’s a classic Rollei TLR all the way, with a flip-up waist-level viewing hood with hinged magnifier, shutter-speed- and aperture-setting wheels inset between the viewing and taking lenses, right-hand, single-stroke film-wind crank, and left-hand focusing knob. The sole concessions to modernity are the centerweighted dual-silicon-diode metering system, located ingeniously behind the viewing lens, and TTL off-the-film flash metering by means of a rearward-pointing silicon cell behind the taking lens. An array of five LEDs reads out the meter at the front of the viewing screen and proved very accurate in our field tests on narrow-latitude slide film. The three-contact, dedicated hot-shoe uses an SCA 356 adapter for OTF TTL flash with Metz and other units.
With its excellent balance and ergonomics, this Rollei is a joy to shoot with, and all its controls operate smoothly and decisively. However, the shutter-release button, which also turns on the meter, requires a firm push during the first few millimeters of travel. All numerical scales are large, clear, and legible. The viewfinder is very bright and contrasty (despite the 50mm f/4 viewing lens) and the central split-image rangefinder is large enough to be an effective focusing aid. Like all waist-level-viewing TLRs, the Rollei’s viewing image is reversed left to right, and there’s no sportsfinder on this model. The (expensive) solution is to slide off the focusing hood and install a 90-degree eye-level prism ($1,400 street). Happily, the 4.0 FW retains the classic Rollei TLR feature of automatic parallax compensation over the entire focusing range (two feet to infinity) by means of a sliding mask under the viewing screen that’s coupled to the focusing mechanism. But like its predecessor, it accepts only 12-exposure 120 film, not the longer 220 roll.
Perhaps the nicest thing about the Rolleiflex 4.0 FW is how little it has changed from the classic Wide Angle Rollei of the ’60s (for which collectors now pay about $4,000). It’s still a mechanical masterpiece that performs splendidly. Its metering and flash systems have been upgraded, and its renowned lens benefits from being slightly wider (30mm, rather than 34mm, equivalent in 35mm format) than before. Missing: auto first-frame positioning, a minor omission on this easy-to-load machine. In abundance: the feel of quality. The tab: $4,900. Think of it as a twin-lens Mercedes.
What's Hot
Great handling. No flipping mirror. Excellent meter. Fine wide-angle lens. Superb construction.
What's Not
Reversed viewing image. Only takes 120 film. Not adaptable to digital.
Specifications: Rolleiflex 4.0 FW
Camera: Twin-lens reflex with noninterchangeable 50mm f/4 Schneider Super-Angulon taking lens, 50mm f/4 Heidosmat viewing lens, providing 21¼4 square (6x6cm) format on 120 rollfilm.
Focusing and viewing: Manual waist-level focusing with parallax compensation, interchangeable focusing screens. Accepts 90-degree and 45-degree prism finders.
Shutter and exposure controls: Interlens leaf shutter with speeds of 1–1/500 sec plus B, apertures f/4–22 with half-stop detents.
Metering and range: Dual SPD cells behind viewing lens provide manual centerweighted metering via diodes in finder, EV 4–18 range at ISO 100.
Loading and winding: Manual loading, single-stroke crank wind, automatic frame counter with provision for multiple exposures.
Flash sync: X-sync at all speeds.
Other features: 6-volt lithium battery in focusing knob housing powers metering and autoflash systems.
For info: www.rollei-usa.com; 973-244-9660
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