There's a bit of a drama recently, with the newly released Rollei 35AF; the original one came into spotlight again. It never really left it though - as the smallest full frame camera with manual controls and a decent lens. And I remembered I have one too, but I ended up leaving it in Poland. I picked it up after three years, and while the light meter didn't magically fix itself, I still shot a roll of 400D.

Disclaimer: I reached out to MiNT camera to ask to borrow the 35AF for a review as well, as it would've been a neat comparison, and they told me they don't have any. Yeah I won't be buying one myself.

Specs

• Film type: 135
• Frame size: 24x36mm (fool frame)
• Shutter: Leaf shutter
• Shutter speeds: 1/2-1/500s
• Lens: Tessar 40mm f3.5 (4 elements)
• Filter size: 30.5mm
• Minimum focusing distance: 0.6m
• Focusing: Zone
• Viewfinder: 1x with parallax marks
• Metering: CdS cell on the front
• ISO range for the meter: 25-1000
• Exposure control: Manual
• Shoe: Hot
• Batteries: 1x PX625 (for the meter)
• Shutter cable: accepted
• Weight: 382g (with wriststrap, no film)

Handling

My Rollei 35 came with a leather case that makes using the camera a pain - to take it out fully you have to force the strap out, or deal with a swinging case. Not the fastest experience, but I do keep the case on just so it protects the camera in transport.

From the first look it's a quirky camera; it doesn't look like anything else that was on the market at the time. Advance lever is on the left; dials on the front, hot shoe on the bottom... what the hell. But it's all in the name of miniaturization and as much as I have a beef with the Germans, I will have to hand it to them. They've done it. The camera is the size of an Agat 18K, but it shoots full frame.

Before you can shoot, you have to extend the lens; thankfully it's one swift motion of pull and lock, and not like CoLLLapsicron where there are multiple valid positions. Adjust shutter speed and aperture to taste, and press the shutter button. As simple as that. The shutter speed wheel works with distint clicks; the aperture is a bit weirder as there's a lock on the bottom. If you don't press it, the wheel still works, albeit a bit heavily, with clicks. If you press and hold it, it moves smoothly, for easier, bigger changes. Would it be the first declick mechanism?

I'm not a huge fan of zone focusing, but I get it again - for the same of making the camera the smallest it can be. You adjust the distance by rotating the tip of the lens. On top you have the chosen distance and DoF markings in meters; on the bottom - in feet. It probably wouldn't matter much if they kept one, but they still used the space to its limit, to get another feature there. Just like Agat did. It's the little details that matter.

When you're done, you need to cock the shutter before you can fold the lens back in; and you press the other button on top, then twist, unlock, slide it back in.

It does mean that you need two hands to operate the camera, even though it's small. A necessary sacrifice.

Loading the camera requires you to disassemble it. The bottom and back are a separate part. Just unlock it, and slide out. Loading film is simple, just pull back the pressure plate and insert the leader in the given spot; that mechanism is solid and you're unlikely to fail. Sliding the back in is a bit finnicky though. To keep the camera smaller, film travels from right to left; it doesn't matter in practice, but it's a quirk that I would later see in Agfa Optima 1535 (that has an advance lever on the right side still) and point and shoots.

Image quality

Before we get to any judgement, we need to keep in mind that focusing here is based on guessing. For infinity, you can probably guess most of the time pretty easily; for closer or portrait distances, it can be a hit or miss. And on top of that I didn't use the sharpest film on the market either.

But landscapes don't lend themselves too well to 40mm usually, so I haven't shot any. In the city though, it's alright. Generally the details are there but they seem a bit soft; contrast is a bit low, but still far better than you need for casual shots. For portraits it's actually pretty good, if you get the focus right. And frankly with the depth of field even at f3.5 will get you something usable, if you miss it slightly.

Shooting at 400 ISO in daylight didn't let me get any bokeh, really, except for close distances. On the few occassions I did get closer, it looks pleasantly smooth.

However, considering the size of the camera, and simplicity of the Tessar lens, I do have to rate it pretty high. Beats mju-1.

Conclusions

Certainly it was revolutionary for the time. These days I like it, but I wouldn't necessarily choose it over something more modern. However, it still has that charm, as a product of its time. Small prosumer travel cameras of the 90s came with wider lenses, and only recently it seems the 40mm is coming back - whether as Ricoh GR3X or the kit lens for Nikon Zf. And it does suit me better than 28mm.

Despite its quirks and not working light meter, I would rate it as "Excellent beyond original intended purpose".