It also has all the disadvantages, quite large and heavy and a load of accessories. It has all the advantages of a medium format single lens reflex camera. I came to the TLR Rolleiflex late in life, I’ve used a Rolleiflex SL66 since 1987, my main camera. This makes a 50 or 60 year old camera feel good and demand to be handled, loved and, most of all, used. These precision instruments were made by craftsmen. Made primarily from metal and glass and covered with leather they feel good and solid to use. The major appeal of the Rolleiflex is the build quality, these cameras were made to last. This has two advantages, you can use slower shutter speeds because there is a lot less vibration and people are a less aware of you using the camera as the shutter is so quiet. Unlike a SLR the mirror doesn’t move and the shutter is inside the lens and makes far less noise. With the Rolleiflex you look and frame the image through the upper lens and take the photograph though the lower lens. Don’t despair, with a little practice, this becomes a lot easier and eventually second nature. So, if the object is moving to the right in the viewfinder and you move the camera to the right the object will move to the left! At first it can also be difficult to hold the camera level.
It does take time to get used to using the camera as the image in the waist level viewfinder is reversed left to right by the mirror.
There is also the different perspective when shooting from a TLR as the horizon and the background behind a subject will be shifted higher because the camera is closer to the ground. As the TLR Rolleiflex uses a square format you don’t need to do this. Another difference is that SLR’s are oriented in a horizontal or landscape format so has to be rotated to make vertical or portrait format images. The TLR uses a waist level finder, which means the camera is held at chest level and you have to have your head down to look through the view finder. The SLR is used at eye level, so you are more aware that the camera is being used. The TLR has a number of advantages over the more common Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera. Many very famous photographers have used the Rolleiflex over the years, Imogen Cunningham, Lee Miller, Robert Capa, Robert Doisneau and David Bailey to name but a few. What makes a Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) Rolleiflex so special? Well, it was THE camera of choice for anyone serious about their photography from the 1930’s right through to the early 1960’s.
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