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

Rolleicord Va

Franke & Heidecke · Fixed lens · 6×6 cm on 120 film, 12 exposures; Japanese Wikipedia says the Va accepts the 6×4.5 adapter (16 exposures), and the Rolleikin takes 35mm · 1957

Also known as: Rolleicord Va · Rollei Rolleicord Va · Rolleicord Va Xenar 75mm f/3.5 · Rolleicord Va Xenar 75mm F3.5 · Rolleicord Va Type 1 · Rolleicord Va Type 2 · Rolleicord 5a · ローライコード Va · ローライコードVa クセナー · Rollei Rolleicord Va TLR

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Rolleicord Va Type 1 (K3E) Rolleiflex TLR 1957–1958 — —
Rolleicord Va Type 2 (K3E) Rolleiflex TLR 1958–1961 — —
  1. Dates: English Wikipedia table (K3E Type 1, April 1957–January 1961); camera-wiki.org gives Type 1 1957–58 and Type 2 1958–61.
  2. Weight 875 g is from the Dusty Grain review of one camera; no manufacturer figure was fetched.
  3. Viewing lens: f/3.2 in the English Wikipedia table; the Dusty Grain review says Heidosmat f/2.8. The table is carried in the finder field; the review's figure may describe a later or mis-read lens.
  4. The Xenar on the Va is a four-element Tessar type (antiquecameras.net, Dusty Grain).
  5. The 6×4.5 adapter is from Japanese Wikipedia; the packet's '4×4' mask was not found in any fetched source and is not claimed here.
  6. Self-timer: the V in Synchro-Compur MXV denotes the built-in delay (Vorlaufwerk); no fetched review describes using it.
  7. 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, both in the small Rollei bayonet
  • Synchro-Compur MXV shutter — the V has an MX, the IV an MX without the V (English Wikipedia table)
  • Focus knob on the left side, as on a Rolleiflex; the V and earlier focus from the right (Japanese Wikipedia)
  • Fixed focusing hood — a hood that lifts off means a Vb (Japanese Wikipedia)
  • Listing trap: sellers write 'Rolleicord V' for V, Va and Vb alike; the left-hand focus knob rules out a V, the fixed hood rules out a Vb

Rolleicord Va Type 1 (K3E):

  • Xenar 75mm f/3.5 over a Schneider Heidosmat 75mm f/3.2 (English Wikipedia table)
  • Synchro-Compur MXV, 1–1/500 s plus B, X sync (English Wikipedia)
  • Focus knob on the left of the body, where a Rolleiflex has it (Japanese Wikipedia)

Serial-range notes

1928797 (one Type 2 example)
A single dealer listing surfaced by search, not a published block; no fetched source gives the Va serial range.

Specifications

Format
6×6 cm on 120 film, 12 exposures; Japanese Wikipedia says the Va accepts the 6×4.5 adapter (16 exposures), and the Rolleikin takes 35mm · 12 (16 with the 6×4.5 adapter) exposures
Finder
Waist-level folding hood over a ground-glass screen with magnifier; fixed hood (the removable hood arrived with the Vb) · automatic — moving frame on the screen (Japanese Wikipedia credits the Rolleicord II with it) parallax correction
Shutter
Synchro-Compur MXV leaf shutter in the taking lens; cocked and fired by one lever below the taking lens · 1–1/500 s, B · flash sync X sync at all speeds, M available (Synchro-Compur MXV) · self-timer
Film advance
Knob with automatic film stop and automatic frame counter (Dusty Grain); the shutter is cocked separately at the lens
Back
Hinged; no interchangeable back
Meter
None
Motor drive
Not compatible
Weight
875 g
Country
West Germany (Braunschweig)
Accessories
6×4.5 adapter for 16 exposures (Japanese Wikipedia) · Rolleikin 35mm adapter (English Wikipedia) · Rolleinar close-up lens pairs in the small bayonet · Bayonet lens hood and filters · Ever-ready case

Viewing lens: Schneider Heidosmat 75mm f/3.2 per the English Wikipedia table; the Dusty Grain review gives the viewing lens as f/2.8 (see table_notes).

Where sources disagree

Variants
  • One row, K3E Type 1, April 1957–January 1961 — English Wikipedia table
  • Type 1 1957–58, Type 2 1958–61 — camera-wiki.org

No fetched source says what distinguishes the two types.

What reviewers say

History

The Rolleicord Va replaced the Rolleicord V in April 1957 and ran to January 1961 by the English Wikipedia model table. Franke & Heidecke’s K-code for it is K3E, and camera-wiki.org splits the run into a Type 1 of 1957–58 and a Type 2 of 1958–61 without saying what changed. The specification is the V’s — a Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 75mm f/3.5 taking lens, a Heidosmat f/3.2 viewing lens, knob wind and a separately cocked leaf shutter — with the shutter now a Synchro-Compur MXV and, per Japanese Wikipedia, the focus knob moved to the left side of the body where a Rolleiflex has it. Japanese Wikipedia also notes that the Va accepts the 6×4.5 adapter for sixteen frames on a roll.

The Xenar is a four-element Tessar type, which antiquecameras.net and the Dusty Grain review both record, and the Rolleicord never had anything faster than f/3.5. That is the line’s whole position: the same Braunschweig build and the same 75mm angle of view as a Rolleiflex, without the crank, the self-cocking shutter or the five- and six-element lenses, at a lower price.

Dusty Grain calls the Va “the perfect introduction to medium format”, a camera stripped to the essentials whose lens rewards stopping down, and recommends the Va or the Vb over earlier Rolleicords because they cope better with stray light. The reviewer weighed one at 875 g.

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

Live listings

Asking price, DKK: a median of DKK 3,400 across 3 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-02 (middle half DKK 3,400–DKK 3,400). 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 V · Rolleicord Vb · Rolleicord IV · Rolleimagic

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

Sources (5)

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.