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

Rolleicord IV

Franke & Heidecke · Fixed lens · 6×6 cm on 120 film, 12 exposures; the hood carries three pin holes for the Rolleikin's metal mask (Japanese Wikipedia) · 1953

Also known as: Rolleicord IV · Rollei Rolleicord IV · Rolleicord IV Xenar 75mm f/3.5 · Rolleicord IV Xenar 75mm F3.5 · Rolleicord 4 · Rolleicord IV K3D · ローライコード IV · ローライコードIV クセナー · Rollei Rolleicord IV TLR

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Rolleicord IV (K3D) Rolleiflex TLR 1953–1954 — —
  1. Dates: English Wikipedia table (K3D, August 1953–September 1954) and camera-wiki.org (1953–54); Japanese Wikipedia gives 1952 — recorded in disputed.
  2. Features — larger knob, internal anti-reflection baffle, M/X switch, automatic counter reset, double-exposure prevention, Rolleikin mask holes — are from Japanese Wikipedia alone.
  3. Lens: Japanese Wikipedia says Xenar only, where the III could carry a Triotar or a Xenar.
  4. No weight, price or serial block was found in a fetched source.
  5. Filter mount: the small Rollei bayonet (Bay I) is the collector consensus for the Xenar Rolleicords, but the page documenting the bayonet sizes could not be fetched.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Xenar 75mm f/3.5 taking lens, Heidosmat f/3.2 viewing lens, small Rollei bayonet on both
  • Synchro-Compur MX with an M/X sync switch but no EV coupling — the V adds the light-value lock (Japanese Wikipedia)
  • Enlarged wind knob, right-hand focus knob, fixed hood
  • Listing trap: a Compur-Rapid shutter (no M/X switch) means a III; coupled EV levers mean a V

Rolleicord IV (K3D):

  • Xenar 75mm f/3.5 over a Schneider or Zeiss Heidosmat f/3.2 (English Wikipedia table)
  • Synchro-Compur MX, 1–1/500 s plus B, with an M/X sync switch — the first Rolleicord with M sync (English and Japanese Wikipedia)
  • Larger winding knob than the III (Japanese Wikipedia)

Specifications

Format
6×6 cm on 120 film, 12 exposures; the hood carries three pin holes for the Rolleikin's metal mask (Japanese Wikipedia) · 12 exposures
Finder
Waist-level folding hood over a ground-glass screen with magnifier; fixed hood with three pin holes for a Rolleikin mask (Japanese Wikipedia) · automatic — moving frame on the screen (Japanese Wikipedia credits the Rolleicord II with it) parallax correction
Shutter
Synchro-Compur MX leaf shutter in the taking lens, cocked by a separate lever under the lens · 1–1/500 s, B · flash sync M and X, selected by a switch on the shutter (Japanese Wikipedia)
Film advance
Enlarged knob with automatic frame stop, automatic counter reset and double-exposure prevention (Japanese Wikipedia); 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 with its metal mask on the hood (Japanese Wikipedia) · Rolleinar close-up lens pairs in the small bayonet · Bayonet lens hood and filters · Ever-ready case

Viewing lens: Heidosmat 75mm f/3.2, by Schneider or Zeiss per the English Wikipedia table.

Where sources disagree

First
  • August 1953 — English Wikipedia model table (K3D); camera-wiki.org 1953–54
  • 1952 — Japanese Wikipedia

Better supported: 1953

Two sources with month-level dating against one year figure.

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 IV (K3D) is the shortest-lived post-war Rolleicord: August 1953 to September 1954 by the English Wikipedia model table, though Japanese Wikipedia dates it from 1952. It replaced the III’s Compur-Rapid with a Synchro-Compur MX, which brought an M/X flash-sync switch, and Japanese Wikipedia lists the rest of what changed: a larger winding knob, an anti-reflection baffle inside the body, automatic counter reset, double-exposure prevention, and three pin holes on the hood to locate the Rolleikin’s metal mask. The taking lens is a Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 75mm f/3.5 only; the III could still be had with a Zeiss Triotar.

It remains a Rolleicord in operation — knob wind, with the shutter cocked by a separate lever under the taking lens, no meter and a fixed hood — and it is the last Rolleicord without light-value coupling. The V that followed in October 1954 is otherwise the same camera with the EV lock added, so a IV in a listing is identified by its M/X switch together with independent aperture and speed levers.

No review of the IV was found; the reviews of the V and Va describe the same lens and handling.

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 IV? 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 III · Rolleicord V · Rolleicord Va · Rolleicord Vb

Lenses for this body: 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.