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

Rolleicord III

Franke & Heidecke · Fixed lens · 6×6 cm on 120 film, 12 exposures; the Rolleikin adapter takes 35mm (English Wikipedia) · 1950

Also known as: Rolleicord III · Rollei Rolleicord III · Rolleicord III Xenar 75mm f/3.5 · Rolleicord III Xenar 75mm F3.5 · Rolleicord III Triotar · Rolleicord 3 · Rolleicord III K3B · ローライコード III · ローライコードIII クセナー · Rollei Rolleicord III TLR

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Rolleicord III (K3B) Rolleiflex TLR 1950–1953 — —
  1. Dates: English Wikipedia table (K3B, November 1950–July 1953); camera-wiki.org and the Mr Leica review give 1950–53.
  2. Lens: the English Wikipedia table lists only the Xenar; Japanese Wikipedia lists Triotar 7.5cm f/3.5 or Xenar 75mm f/3.5.
  3. No weight, price or serial block was found in a fetched source.
  4. Filter mount: the small Rollei bayonet (Bay I) is the collector consensus for post-war Rolleicords, but the page documenting the bayonet sizes could not be fetched.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Xenar (or Triotar) 75mm f/3.5 taking lens, Heidosmat f/3.2 viewing lens, small Rollei bayonet on both
  • Compur-Rapid shutter marked with X sync and no M/X switch — a Synchro-Compur MX means a IV or later
  • Hood with a sports-finder opening (Japanese Wikipedia)
  • Right-hand focus knob, fixed hood, knob wind
  • Listing trap: late Rolleicord II models (IId, IIe) also carry a Compur-Rapid to 1/500 and X sync; the sports-finder hood and the Xenar standard lens point to a III

Rolleicord III (K3B):

  • Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 75mm f/3.5 as standard (English Wikipedia table); Japanese Wikipedia says Triotar 7.5cm f/3.5 or Xenar 75mm f/3.5
  • Heidosmat f/3.2 viewing lens by Schneider or Zeiss (English Wikipedia)
  • Compur-Rapid X, 1–1/500 s plus B and T, X sync only — the IV adds M sync (English Wikipedia)

Specifications

Format
6×6 cm on 120 film, 12 exposures; the Rolleikin adapter takes 35mm (English Wikipedia) · 12 exposures
Finder
Waist-level folding hood with a sports-finder (direct-vision) frame over a ground-glass screen with magnifier; fixed hood · automatic — moving frame on the screen (Japanese Wikipedia credits the Rolleicord II with it) parallax correction
Shutter
Compur-Rapid X leaf shutter in the taking lens, cocked by a separate lever under the lens · 1–1/500 s, B, T · flash sync X sync via PC socket, usable to 1/500 (Mr Leica review)
Film advance
Knob with automatic frame stop; the shutter is cocked separately at the lens
Back
Hinged; no interchangeable back
Meter
None
Motor drive
Not compatible
Country
West Germany (Braunschweig)
Accessories
Rolleikin 35mm adapter (English Wikipedia) · Rolleinar close-up lens pairs in the small bayonet (Mr Leica review) · Bayonet lens hood and filters · Ever-ready case

Japanese Wikipedia lists a transparent (sports) finder as the III's feature; the Ia Model 2 of 1937 had already made the finder usable this way. Viewing lens Heidosmat 75mm f/3.2 (English Wikipedia).

Where sources disagree

Id markers
  • Xenar f/3.5 as the taking lens — English Wikipedia model table
  • Triotar 7.5cm f/3.5 or Xenar 75mm f/3.5 — Japanese Wikipedia

Better supported: Xenar as standard, Triotar on some examples

Owners on forums report coated Triotars on early IIIs, consistent with the Japanese Wikipedia note.

What reviewers say

History

The Rolleicord III (K3B) was made from November 1950 to July 1953 according to the English Wikipedia model table. It is the Rolleicord that completed the post-war transition: the Compur-Rapid shutter with 1/500 s and X sync, which the IId and IIe had introduced, became standard, and the Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 75mm f/3.5 replaced the Zeiss Triotar as the listed taking lens. Japanese Wikipedia records Triotar-equipped IIIs as well, and its one listed feature for the model is a transparent sports finder in the hood.

Like every Rolleicord it is wound by a knob and the shutter is cocked by a separate lever under the taking lens; there is no meter and the hood is fixed. The Xenar is a four-element Tessar type, the Triotar a triplet, and the f/3.2 Heidosmat viewing lens came from Schneider or Zeiss.

Matt Osborne’s Mr Leica review treats a Xenar III, bought with Rolleinar close-up sets, as “the perfect introduction to TLR cameras”, liked for its waist-level viewing and its size beside folding 6×6 cameras; the Rolleinars stay on because the camera cannot focus closer than about a metre without them.

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 III? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, DKK: a median of DKK 3,100 across 3 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-02 (middle half DKK 2,900–DKK 3,100). First day tracked.

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

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 · Rolleicord IV · Rolleicord V

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

Sources (4)

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.