Reflex actions

John Wade looks at the Rolleiflex, its legend and its legacy

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The idea of a camera with twin lenses, one to take the picture, the other to reflect its image up to a viewfinder on the top of the body, goes back to the days when cameras used glass plates and/or individual sheets of cut film. The cameras were consequently quite cumbersome. The Rolleiflex was the first twin lens reflex (TLR) to use roll film in a small, compact, hand-holdable body. It was a success that inspired countless other manufacturers worldwide to produce their own versions of the classic design. Most were true TLRs, though some were far simpler cameras without the coupling between taking and viewing lenses. Even so, they still resembled, and took inspiration from, the iconic design of Rollei TLRs.

A bit of history

The concept for the Rolleiflex began with a camera designer named Reinhold Heidecke who worked for prestigious German camera manufacturer Voigtländer. When he came up with the idea for a compact TLR, it was turned down, the company preferring to stick with models with proven popularity, in particular stereo cameras that were in vogue at the time. So, in 1920, Heidecke left Voigtländer to link up with businessman Paul Franke to form a company they called Franke and Heidecke.