Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Rolleicord I

Franke & Heidecke · Fixed lens · 6×6 cm on 120 film, 12 exposures; red-window loading on the first model (Japanese Wikipedia) · 1933

Also known as: Rolleicord I · Rolleicord Ia · Rollei Rolleicord I · Rolleicord I Art Deco · Rolleicord Art Deco · Rolleicord Nickel · Rolleicord I Triotar 7.5cm f/4.5 · Rolleicord I Triotar 75mm F4.5 · Rolleicord Triotar f/3.8 · Rolleicord 1 · ローライコード I · ローライコード アールデコ · ローライコード トリオター 4.5

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Rolleicord I 'Art Deco' (Model 1, nickel-plated metal faceplates) Rolleiflex TLR 1933–1936 — —
Rolleicord I leatherette (K3-511) Rolleiflex TLR 1934–1936 — —
Rolleicord Ia Model 1 (K3-520) Rolleiflex TLR 1936–1937 — —
Rolleicord Ia Model 2 (K3-530) Rolleiflex TLR 1937–1938 — —
Rolleicord Ia Model 3 (K3-531) Rolleiflex TLR 1938–1947 — —
  1. Dates, lenses and shutters: English Wikipedia model table (month-level); camera-wiki.org agrees to the year.
  2. Feature notes (red-window loading, manual counter reset, automatic frame stop, f/3.2 viewer on the Ia Model 2, die-cast nameplate) are from Japanese Wikipedia alone.
  3. Viewing lens on the Ia Model 2: f/4 in the English Wikipedia table, f/3.2 in Japanese Wikipedia — recorded in disputed.
  4. The 'Art Deco' body has a K-code only in the 'Model 1' form in the English Wikipedia table; the leatherette model is K3-511.
  5. No weight, price, serial block or production figure for the I or Ia was found in a fetched source.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Patterned nickel metal panels on the body = Art Deco Model 1; black leatherette with a Triotar f/3.8 = the K3-511 of 1934–36
  • Zeiss Triotar 7.5cm f/4.5 or f/3.8 — an f/3.5 Triotar means a Rolleicord II
  • Heidosmat Anastigmat f/4 viewing lens, smaller than the f/3.2 of the II
  • Compur C00 to 1/300 with T, no sync, no bayonets
  • Listing trap: Ia bodies built to 1947 are often listed by their serial era as post-war Rolleicord IIs; the f/4.5 front ring settles it

Rolleicord I 'Art Deco' (Model 1, nickel-plated metal faceplates):

  • Embossed nickel-plated metal panels instead of leather on the body (English Wikipedia: 'metal faceplates'; Japanese Wikipedia: gold art-deco finish)
  • Zeiss Triotar 7.5cm f/4.5 taking lens over a Heidosmat Anastigmat f/4 (English Wikipedia)
  • Compur C00, 1–1/300 s plus B and T, no sync (English Wikipedia)
  • Red-window loading; the frame counter is reset by hand and the wind is stopped by watching the counter (Japanese Wikipedia)

Rolleicord I leatherette (K3-511):

  • Black leatherette covering in place of the metal panels (Japanese Wikipedia)
  • Zeiss Triotar 7.5cm f/3.8 — the only f/3.8 Rolleicord (English and Japanese Wikipedia)
  • Heidosmat Anastigmat f/4 viewing lens, Compur C00 (English Wikipedia)

Rolleicord Ia Model 1 (K3-520):

  • Triotar f/4.5 again, Heidosmat f/4, Compur C00 (English Wikipedia)
  • Automatic frame stop on the wind knob replaces counting by eye (Japanese Wikipedia)

Rolleicord Ia Model 2 (K3-530):

  • Viewing lens enlarged from f/4 to f/3.2, and the hood usable as a direct-vision finder (Japanese Wikipedia; the English Wikipedia table still lists f/4)

Rolleicord Ia Model 3 (K3-531):

  • Embossed die-cast nameplate (Japanese Wikipedia)

Specifications

Format
6×6 cm on 120 film, 12 exposures; red-window loading on the first model (Japanese Wikipedia) · 12 exposures
Finder
Waist-level folding hood over a ground-glass screen; fixed hood · none on the I; the automatic parallax frame arrived with the Rolleicord II Model 1 (Japanese Wikipedia) parallax correction
Shutter
Compur C00 leaf shutter in the taking lens, cocked by a separate lever under the lens · 1–1/300 s, B, T · flash sync None
Film advance
Knob; frame stop by watching the red window and counter on the I, automatic frame stop from the Ia Model 1 (Japanese Wikipedia)
Back
Hinged; no interchangeable back
Meter
None
Motor drive
Not compatible
Country
Germany (Braunschweig)
Accessories
Push-on lens hood and filters (no bayonet on the I or Ia) · Ever-ready case

Viewing lens Heidosmat Anastigmat f/4 (English Wikipedia table for every I and Ia row); Japanese Wikipedia says the Ia Model 2 enlarged it to f/3.2 and made the hood usable as a direct-vision finder.

Where sources disagree

Id markers
  • Viewing lens f/4 — English Wikipedia model table (every I and Ia row)
  • Viewing lens enlarged to f/3.2 — Japanese Wikipedia (Ia-2, 1937)

Japanese Wikipedia's note is specific to this model and reads as a deliberate change; the English table may simply carry the earlier figure forward.

What reviewers say

No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.

History

The Rolleicord I is the camera that created the Rolleicord line. Franke & Heidecke introduced it in November 1933, by the English Wikipedia model table, as a cheaper and simpler Rolleiflex for amateurs: film advance by a knob instead of the Rolleiflex’s crank, a shutter cocked by its own lever under the taking lens, and a three-element Zeiss Triotar 7.5cm f/4.5 in a Compur C00 (1–1/300 s, B, T) in place of the Tessar. The first model is covered not in leather but in embossed, nickel-plated metal panels, which is why collectors call it the Art Deco Rolleicord; Japanese Wikipedia describes the finish as gold and records that it loaded by red window, with a counter reset by hand and the wind stopped by watching the counter.

A black leatherette version with a slightly faster Triotar f/3.8 (K3-511) joined it in December 1934 and ran beside it to 1936; it is the only f/3.8 Rolleicord. The Rolleicord Ia then carried the f/4.5 lens on in three models from March 1936 to October 1947, gaining an automatic frame stop on the first (Japanese Wikipedia), a larger f/3.2 viewing lens and a hood usable as a direct-vision finder on the second, and a die-cast embossed nameplate on the third. Through all of this the I and Ia were the entry model under the Rolleicord II, which from 1936 offered the f/3.5 Triotar and, later, bayonets and the Compur-Rapid; the Rolleicord was never sold with anything faster than f/3.5.

No published review of a Rolleicord I was found. Forum owners describe the f/3.8 Triotar of the leatherette model as the soft one of the family, and the uncoated pre-war Triotars generally as portrait lenses that flare readily and sharpen up stopped down.

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This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Rolleicord I? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Rolleicord II

Lenses for this body: Triotar 75mm (Rolleicord)

Sources (3)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this camera, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.