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

Rolleicord II

Franke & Heidecke · Fixed lens · 6×6 cm on 120 film, 12 exposures · 1936

Also known as: Rolleicord II · Rollei Rolleicord II · Rolleicord IIa · Rolleicord IIb · Rolleicord IIc · Rolleicord IId · Rolleicord IIe · Rolleicord II Triotar 75mm f/3.5 · Rolleicord II Triotar 7.5cm F3.5 · Rolleicord 2 · ローライコード II · ローライコードII トリオター · Rollei Rolleicord II TLR

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Rolleicord II Model 1 (K3) Rolleiflex TLR 1936–1937 — —
Rolleicord IIa (Model 2, K3) Rolleiflex TLR 1937–1938 — —
Rolleicord IIb (Model 3, K3-541) Rolleiflex TLR 1938–1939 612000–858999 (Japanese Wikipedia, 'II-3 1938')¹ —
Rolleicord IIc (Model 4, K3-542) Rolleiflex TLR 1939–1949 — —
Rolleicord IId (Model 5, K3-542) · [object Object] Rolleiflex TLR 1947–1947 — —
Rolleicord II with Schneider Xenar (post-war batches) Rolleiflex TLR 1947–1950 — —
Rolleicord IIe (Model 6, K3-542) · [object Object] Rolleiflex TLR 1949–1950 — —
  1. Serial block from Japanese Wikipedia's Rolleicord II-3 row; no other block for the II was fetched.
  2. Dates and shutters: English Wikipedia model table (month-level); camera-wiki.org agrees except that it runs the IId (Type 5) 1947–50.
  3. Sub-model letters IIa–IIe are collector designations; the factory used Model 1–6 and the K3 codes (English Wikipedia).
  4. Feature-by-model notes (parallax frame, bayonets, die-cast nameplate) are from Japanese Wikipedia alone.
  5. The Xenar f/4.5 and f/3.5 post-war rows exist only in the English Wikipedia table, without model numbers; flagged single-source.
  6. No weight, price or production figure was found in a fetched source.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Rolleicord nameplate with a Zeiss Triotar 7.5cm f/3.5 — the I and Ia carry an f/4.5 or f/3.8 Triotar
  • Compur C00 to 1/300 (Models 1–4) or Compur-Rapid to 1/500 (Models 5–6, and sync only on Model 6)
  • Bayonet count dates the body: none (Model 1), taking lens only (Model 2), both lenses (Model 4 onward) — Japanese Wikipedia
  • Die-cast embossed nameplate from Model 3 (1938) — Japanese Wikipedia
  • Listing trap: pre-war Rolleicord I/Ia bodies with the f/4.5 Triotar are often listed as 'Rolleicord II'; check the lens aperture on the front ring

Rolleicord II Model 1 (K3):

  • Zeiss Triotar 7.5cm f/3.5 over an f/3.2 viewing lens — the first Rolleicord with the f/3.5 Triotar (English and Japanese Wikipedia)
  • Compur C00, 1–1/300 s plus B and T, no sync (English Wikipedia)
  • No bayonet on either lens — push-on accessories (Japanese Wikipedia: the bayonet arrives with Model 2)

Rolleicord IIa (Model 2, K3):

  • Bayonet on the taking lens only (Japanese Wikipedia)
  • Heidosmat f/3.2 viewing lens, Compur C00 (English Wikipedia)

Rolleicord IIb (Model 3, K3-541):

  • Embossed die-cast nameplate replaces the earlier plate (Japanese Wikipedia)

Rolleicord IIc (Model 4, K3-542):

  • Bayonet on both the taking and the viewing lens (Japanese Wikipedia)
  • Compur C00, 1–1/300 s (English Wikipedia)

Rolleicord IId (Model 5, K3-542):

  • Compur-Rapid C00 with 1/500 s top speed, no sync (English Wikipedia)

Rolleicord II with Schneider Xenar (post-war batches):

  • Schneider Xenar taking lens: f/4.5 on the December 1947–June 1949 batch, f/3.5 from July 1949 to October 1950 (English Wikipedia)
  • Schneider viewing lens, f/3.5 then f/3.2 (English Wikipedia)

Rolleicord IIe (Model 6, K3-542):

  • Compur-Rapid C00 to 1/500 with X sync — the first synchronised Rolleicord (English Wikipedia)

Serial-range notes

612000–858999
The only Rolleicord serial block Japanese Wikipedia gives, attached to the 1938 Model 3 (IIb). Blocks for the other five models were not found in any fetched source.

Specifications

Format
6×6 cm on 120 film, 12 exposures · 12 exposures
Finder
Waist-level folding hood over a ground-glass screen with magnifier; fixed hood · automatic — a moving frame on the screen, introduced on the Rolleicord II Model 1 (Japanese Wikipedia) parallax correction
Shutter
Compur C00 leaf shutter in the taking lens (Models 1–4), Compur-Rapid C00 (Models 5–6); cocked by a separate lever under the lens · 1–1/300 s, B, T (Compur C00); 1–1/500 s, B, T (Compur-Rapid) · flash sync None until the IIe (Model 6), which has X sync (English Wikipedia)
Film advance
Knob with automatic frame stop (introduced on the Rolleicord Ia, Japanese Wikipedia); the shutter is cocked separately at the lens
Back
Hinged; no interchangeable back
Meter
None
Motor drive
Not compatible
Country
Germany (Braunschweig)
Accessories
Rolleikin 35mm adapter (English Wikipedia) · Push-on, then bayonet, lens hood and filters · Rolleinar close-up lenses · Ever-ready case

Viewing lens f/3.2 on every II; Heidosmat by name on Models 2, 5 and 6 and Anastigmat on the others in the English Wikipedia table.

Where sources disagree

Last
  • December 1947 — English Wikipedia model table
  • 1950 — camera-wiki.org (IId Type 5, 1947–50)

Better supported: 1947

The month-level table also places the IIe from November 1949, which the camera-wiki span would overlap.

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 II is the pre-war and wartime Rolleicord in its mature form: the budget twin-lens reflex Franke & Heidecke had launched in 1933 as the Rolleicord I, now with a Zeiss Triotar 7.5cm f/3.5 taking lens and an f/3.2 viewing lens. The factory called the six successive versions Model 1 to Model 6 under the K3 code; the letters IIa to IIe are collector shorthand, as the English Wikipedia page notes. The first model appeared in March 1936 and the last, the IIe, ended in September 1950 by the English Wikipedia model table, which puts the II in production for fourteen years across the war.

What changed from model to model is mostly recorded by Japanese Wikipedia: the Model 1 brought an automatic parallax-correction frame to the finder, the Model 2 (1937) a bayonet on the taking lens, the Model 3 (1938) a die-cast embossed nameplate, and the Model 4 (1939) a bayonet on both lenses, which is the configuration that ran through the war to 1949. The Model 5 of 1947 swapped the Compur C00 (1–1/300 s) for a Compur-Rapid to 1/500, and the Model 6 of 1949 added X flash sync, the first on any Rolleicord. The same table also carries two unnamed post-war rows with Schneider Xenar lenses, an f/4.5 from December 1947 and an f/3.5 from July 1949, which look like batches built with Schneider glass while Zeiss supply was short; no other fetched source mentions them.

Throughout, the camera is wound by a knob with an automatic frame stop (introduced on the Ia), the shutter is cocked by a separate lever under the taking lens, and there is no meter. The Triotar is a three-element lens that forum owners describe as soft wide open and sharp stopped down, with a tendency to flare; no published review of a Rolleicord II was found.

Expand Collapse

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 II? 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 I · Rolleicord III

Lenses for this body: Triotar 75mm (Rolleicord) · Xenar 75mm f/3.5 (Rollei)

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.