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

Rolleiflex T

Franke & Heidecke · Fixed lens · 56 × 56mm nominal on 120 film, 12 exposures; 16 exposures of 4×4 and 24 exposures of 4×5.5 with the mask kits (kit contents not confirmed from a fetched manual) · 1958

Known as “Rolleiflex T Grey”

Also known as: Rolleiflex T · Rolleiflex T Tessar · Rolleiflex T Tessar 75mm F3.5 · Rolleiflex T grey · Rolleiflex T gray · Rolleiflex T black · Rolleiflex T1 · Rolleiflex T2 · Rolleiflex T3 · Rolleiflex T Type 1 · Rolleiflex T Model 2 · Rolleiflex T white face · Rollei Rolleiflex T · ローライフレックス T · ローライフレックスT テッサー · ローライフレックス T グレー

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
T1, K8 Rolleiflex TLR 1958–1961 — Not published in any source reached
T2 Rolleiflex TLR 1961–1966 — Not published in any source reached
T3 Rolleiflex TLR 1966–1976 — Not published in any source reached
  1. No serial blocks for the T were found in a reached source; Japanese Wikipedia's Rolleiflex page, which gives blocks for the lettered models, was not re-fetched for the T.
  2. The T1/T2/T3 boundaries differ between en.wikipedia (K-code table: 1958–61, 1961–66, 1966–76) and camera-wiki.org (1958–66, 1966–71, 1971–76). en.wikipedia's model list separately prints 1958–75 for the whole line. The K-code dates are carried; see disputed.
  3. The lanthanum-glass Tessar claim is en.wikipedia's ('a lanthanum-glass Tessar for higher resolution and color correction'); a Photrio contributor says the same. The Xenar substitution on some cameras is Japanese Wikipedia, not re-fetched for this page.
  4. Bay I filter bayonet is standard collector knowledge; the ausgeknipst.de bayonet page that documents it returned HTTP 429.
  5. No weight, dimensions or list price was found in a fetched source.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Tessar 1:3.5 f=75mm (Carl Zeiss) taking lens — or a Schneider Xenar 1:3.5/75 on some late cameras — with a Heidosmat 1:2.8 viewing lens and Bay I bayonets, the smallest Rolleiflex bayonet
  • Grey leatherette and grey trim on most cameras; black also made
  • Rolleiflex T engraved on the nameplate; a grey 3.5 camera with a Tessar and no feeler rollers in the film path is a T, not an Automat
  • Synchro-Compur VX rather than MXV marks a T3 (1966 on); a white-faced nameplate a late one
  • Selenium cell in the nameplate on metered cameras; the meter is uncoupled

T1, K8:

  • Synchro-Compur MXV, 1–1/500 s and B (en.wikipedia)
  • Grey leatherette with grey-painted trim, the finish the T introduced; black also offered (en.wikipedia: 'came in a new color of gray'; black also made)
  • Tessar 1:3.5 f=75mm Carl Zeiss taking lens, Heidosmat 1:2.8 viewing lens, Bay I bayonets

T2:

  • Synchro-Compur MXV (en.wikipedia)

T3:

  • Synchro-Compur VX with self-timer (en.wikipedia)
  • Some late cameras carry a Schneider Xenar 1:3.5/75 in place of the Tessar (Japanese Wikipedia; forum reports)
  • Late examples have the white-faced nameplate and lens rims of the 1970s Rolleiflexes

Specifications

Format
56 × 56mm nominal on 120 film, 12 exposures; 16 exposures of 4×4 and 24 exposures of 4×5.5 with the mask kits (kit contents not confirmed from a fetched manual) · 12; 16 or 24 with masks exposures
Finder
Waist-level folding hood over a ground glass, with flip-up magnifier and sports-finder frame; Heidosmat 75mm f/2.8 viewing lens
Shutter
Synchro-Compur leaf shutter behind the taking lens — MXV on the T1 and T2, VX on the T3 · 1–1/500 s, B · flash sync M and X synchronisation at all speeds (leaf shutter) · self-timer
Film advance
Folding crank that advances and cocks, without the Automat feeler-roller first-frame sensing of the lettered Rolleiflexes (en.wikipedia: 'lacked Automat film transport')
Back
Hinged
Meter
Optional uncoupled selenium meter in the nameplate; cameras were sold with and without it (dealer and forum descriptions; no fetched spec sheet)
Country
West Germany

Viewing lens from en.wikipedia; hood details are the standard Rolleiflex pattern and were not confirmed from a fetched manual.

Where sources disagree

Last
  • June 1961, with T2 July 1961–July 1966 and T3 July 1966–August 1976 — en.wikipedia K-code table
  • 1966, with T2 1966–71 and T3 1971–76 — camera-wiki.org

Better supported: en.wikipedia's month-and-year table

The K-code table carries month precision and a shutter change (MXV to VX) at the T2/T3 boundary; camera-wiki's three bands look like an even split. A Prochnow-based page would settle it.

What reviewers say

History

The Rolleiflex T of October 1958 is the Rolleiflex that was built down to a price. Franke & Heidecke had sold the Rolleicord as its economy twin-lens camera since 1933; the T sat between that and the lettered Rolleiflexes, with a Rolleiflex nameplate, a crank wind and a Synchro-Compur MXV, but without the Automat feeler-roller transport that sensed the first frame on the expensive cameras, and with a four-element Tessar where the 3.5E and 3.5F carried a five-element Planar or Xenotar. en.wikipedia describes the Tessar as a lanthanum-glass recomputation for higher resolution and colour correction, and the camera as more affordable and offered in “a new color of gray” — the grey leatherette and trim that is the T’s signature, although black was made as well.

Prochnow’s typology gives it three types under the K8 code. The T1 ran to June 1961 and the T2 to July 1966, both with the MXV; the T3, from July 1966 to August 1976, moved to a Synchro-Compur VX with self-timer, and some late T3 cameras carry a Schneider Xenar instead of the Tessar. camera-wiki.org draws the same three boundaries at 1966 and 1971 instead, and the two sets cannot both be right; the month-and-year table with its shutter change is the one carried here. Masks for 16 exposures of 4×4 and 24 of 4×5.5 were sold for the camera, the only Rolleiflex of its era offered with a multi-format kit. No serial blocks and no production figures were found in a reached source.

The meter was optional and uncoupled, a selenium cell in the nameplate whose reading is set on the dials by hand; cameras without it are common and are often preferred, since a dead cell adds nothing but a hole. Bayonets are Bay I, the smallest of the Rolleiflex sizes and the one shared with the Automats and Rolleicords, which keeps filters and hoods cheap.

Opinion on the T has always carried a class note. Forum owners call the Tessar “pin sharp” and say the results spoke for themselves against the snobbery the model attracted, while others rate the build a clear step below an Automat, note the Tessar’s softness wide open against a Planar or Xenotar, and warn of separation in the rear cell; what no one disputes is that T prices have stayed high relative to what the camera was. Cem Eren’s 35mmc piece is the typical modern encounter: a first medium-format camera, two rolls of missed focus, a third where he and the camera came to terms, and a verdict that it is “a mechanical marvel boxed in a compact and carefully designed form factor”.

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 Rolleiflex T? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, EUR: a median of €1,200 across 3 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-02 (middle half €400–€1,200). 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 Vb · Rolleiflex 2.8GX · Rolleiflex 3.5E · Rolleiflex 3.5F · Rolleiflex Automat (incl. X, MX / 3.5A, MX-EVS / 3.5B)

Lenses for this body: Tessar 75mm f/3.5 (Rolleiflex) · 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.