Toronto Photography Meetup Group

just got this Rolleicord from my dad. Dont know how it works or if it works. any tips?

I've got a Rolleiflex T - wonderful camera - if you just got this from your Dad you may want to get it looked at before using it (if it hasn't been used in the past year or two); you know, get a good CLA on it from Gerry up at Kindermann or David Yau.

The camera takes 120 film and you can find out a ton about it over at: http://www.rolleiclub.com

Cheers,
Dave

Well, if you plan on getting into medium format and using that camera a lot by all means send it in. If you just want to know if it works and maybe try one roll of film just for the heck of it and then put it on the shelf--

You can google a user manual for that, actually there are a few Rolleicord manuals on butkus.org that you can browse in PDF. Once you've found one that looks like your model you can go through a few steps like winding the film advance, changing the aperture, cocking and tripping the shutter to see if anything is stuck etc. If something is wrong at this stage you can send it in if you actually want to use the camera.

If things seem to be working though, you can then test the different speeds, usually 1sec or slower have the biggest problems as grease or oils in the gears dry up over the years and slow things down. If so, send it in. At this point if things seem to be working the way you think, and you just want to try it for the heck of it you can run a roll of film through and get it processed, worst case is a wasted roll and processing which is a lower investment than sending it in and then running only one roll of film through it. Oh and if you don't have a light meter you can bring along your digital, fire off a shot and if it looks right put the same settings on the Rolleicord.

So, I guess it depends on whether you want to actually use it or just put one roll through and then let it sit on the shelf.

My 2c...

Let me borrow it to test.. =)

I will keep that in mind when I buy a Ferrari

After you buy a 120 film at Vistek or somewhere, take off the yellow filter; all it does is makes blue sky white in B&W.
I would run a roll first rather than send out the camera to a repair station, because it looks to be in good condition, and these cameras were well built.
If you like your first film results, learn to develop 120 B&W in your bathroom, scan the negs, and you'll have really fine photos.
One other thing: you will need a light meter, but you can get really accurate guidance from a DSLR to get you going.

thank you for all your inputs. I will test it with a roll first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oAaf4R4jxQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vccKXWWrtQ

You'll need a light meter eventually but meantime I'd suggest some 100 - 125 ISO film and after loading the camera properly.. Rolleis load differently from a lot of TLRs .. then follow the exposure instructions on the film box.

Ilford Delta or FP4+ are good films for shooting during the day in normal light conditions. Post some images when you can