Out of curiosity, I bought a Rolleimat AF (new old stock) cheap from a collector abroad. Weeks later the parcel arrived from Canada. Inside the perfect original packaging is a chunky, plastic camera with a really cheap look. Discouraging even as being brand-new with such a brand name.
Given the fact that Rollei was struggling by the time Rolleimat AF was made, in the early 1980s, I feel sad rather than disappointed with its obvious lack of quality "feel"...
Fortunately, there're still some old "virtues" on this camera, such as the traditional winding crank, traditional metal release with socket, and manual ASA setting. All are very welcomed features. Rolleimat AF is Rollei's first autofocus camera. Function-wise it's quite alright, if a little primitive. It's nice to have AF lock by depressing halfway the shutter release. Built-in flash has its own control switch so the shooter is in control.
I was relieved to see all the photos from my test shooting turn out OK, for I got little encouragement from the suspicious autofocus and strange shutter noise (which actually echoes in the camera body!) during shooting. The shutter release has extra long travel. It takes getting used to. The AF information in viewfinder helped avoid a few out-of-focus shots. Another nice little discovery is that, due to the camera's bulky size, the lens has sufficient distance from the VF. The frame remains not blocked even with filter & step-up ring on.
Image quality from Rolleimat AF is decent, as long as its AF doesn't miss. Although without the famous HFT coating, the lens seems a good performer. I personally find the lower contrast and higher saturation quite pleasing. Compare with pics from my Ricoh R1s, I must say I prefer the rich & subtle colour from the Rolleimat!
Silvermoon, 2003/08
