I got to the previously-stuck 1/30, and found that it now fired just fine. Upon getting it to the kitchen table, I fired the shutter several times at 1/250 (I hadn’t yet figured out the 1/500 trick with this model-you have to make that choice before cranking the film for the next frame), then worked my way down the dial. It looked to be in good shape, although the shutter wouldn’t fire below 1/30.īut by then I’d been overcome by a fever of acquisition, and the camera seemed in good cosmetic condition, so I gave her six fifty-dollar bills and drove home with my new baby. The next day I found myself in the lobby of her workplace giving the camera a once-over. As I wasn’t interested in a box full of mostly junky old equipment, I asked if she’d take $300 cash for the Rollei alone.

I messaged the owner of this Facebook Rolleiflex 2.8C asking about the camera’s condition, and she replied she’d never shot it, that it had been given to her by an elderly neighbor who knew that she loved photography, but hadn’t realized that she shot only digital. I’d been on the lookout for a Rollei for some months, based on their esteemed reputation, and on a photo I’d seen on Instagram that had a certain silky sheen to it that stopped me in my tracks, and which turned out to be shot on a Rollei 2.8F, on Portra 400. I got to number seven and said out loud, “Holy s**t, is that a…?!!” It was, indeed, a Rolleiflex 2.8C, with the Xenotar lens. I couldn’t see much detail of the cameras, so I started clicking through the individual photos.

On this day, I saw one of those “Used camera lot” posts with a bad group photo of a bunch of old cameras, cases, lenses, flash units, and faded boxes of film, with an asking price of $450 for the bunch. Like many of you, I’m in the habit of scanning Facebook Marketplace for interesting old cameras, with an eye towards a loose list I keep in my head. This is a tale of how I made friends with a legend: The Rolleiflex 2.8C.

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