Tune Up Your Rolleiflex TLR

by Patrick Umlauf, March 2001

Classic Rollei TLRs give a feel of quality and a mechanical precision that are hard to find in today's cameras. Even the lenses, the Planars, Xenotars, Tessars and Xenars are stunning performers.

Their only drawback in my opinion is the matte screen. It's so dim I can hardly focus indoors or in all conditions but bright sunshine. In addition used Rolleiflexes almost always have heavily scratched screens from excessive cleaning. So does mine. This is why it wasn't any fun to use this otherwise near perfect camera.

I looked at the local photo swaps and other places for like-new screens but without success. The new ones from Rollei are not cheap. Third party parts are equally good or better (Maxwell) but even more expensive. I decided the only way to get a good screen on a budget is making it by myself. I planned to get a screen from a different make and cut it down to fit the Rolleiflex. Problem is the Rolleiflex screen is rather large due to the parallax shifting mechanism. Spare screens from Mamiya TLRs, Bronicas, Hassies are just to small. Indeed we have to look for a 6x7 camera's screen...

Inserting a New Screen

The RB 67 screen is marginally greater than the Rolleiflex'. So I got one in like-new condition at eBay for € 30.

First remove the Rolleiflex screen: Hold down the two release buttons beside the waist level finder and take off the viewfinder. Then slide the screen holder frame back a few millimeters and lift it back. Now the screen can easily be removed.

The RB 67 screen is a smart construction. It's held by a metal frame and underneath a glass plate. The glass plate has the markings for the Mamiya's revolving back and it protects the soft matte screen surface from excessive cleaning sessions by professionals who ususually don't care for their equipment. This is why chances are high you get a perfect sample.

Removing is easy. Loosen four tiny screws and lift up the screen.

Now you have to cut down the RB screen. First I cleaned the screens carefully with canned air and a soft brush, then I placed the Rolleiflex screen in the middle of the RB's. With a (very) sharp knife I scored a deep line along the edges of the Rollei screen.

With a pair of pliers break off the borders, then flatten the edges with sandpaper. I didn't take any pictuers as a record because my manual skills are not so great. During the process the RB screen edges looked rather odd but finally I succeeded. ;-)

Have a go, it is not as difficult as it sounds.

Now insert your brand new screen into your Rolleiflex with the matte surface down.

Stop!

Before you shoot away this is the opportunity to realign your camera's focus. First remove the back of your camera, holding down the small release lever at the right hinge. Stick your old matte screen, matte side down, with some tape to the film rails behind the taking lens and make sure there is no play. The two screws (red arrows) which hold the reflex mirror are also used to adjust the focus point. Always adjust both sides likewise! Screwing out moves the focus plane nearer, screwing in moves the focus plane farther away.

Point your Rolleiflex at a target with good structure, preferably at infinity. Open the shutter in bulb position with a cable release. Focus with the matte screen behind the taking lens. Check focus with the viewfinder screen. Pinsharp? Finished! Otherwise adjust the mirror and check focus in turn. Possibly you have to add a thin washer to each screw.

Bottom line: The RB 67-screen makes a world of a difference! Now it is easy for me to focus in dim lighting conditions or to assure precision focus with the magnifier loupe. And this at a ridiculous low price and an hour of workmanship.

Added March 2006: The procedure for adjusting focus might not be correct. Please see Jochen's and Job's comments below. When your Rolleiflex was perfectly aligned before there will be no need for adjustments after the replacement.

Text and pictures copyright 2001-2004 Patrick Umlauf

Great article on tuning up your Rolleiflex. After reading it, I bought a RZ67 screen and sorted out the dim screen on my Rolleicord Va. So easy, it took about 10 minutes and cost only £20 (rather than the £160 for a bright screen). Keep up the good work !! Thanks Mick

Mick Webb (15.10.02)

Did the same, got an RZ screen, performed the operation....30 min later the dim and heavily cleaned screen in my Rolleiflex was no longer a problem.. Superb idea...works like a dream.

Peter Zak (15.01.03)

I change my Rolleicord V screen to RB67's screen, it is brighter and focus easier than Rolleiflex 2.8E use original screen. I check the focus side by side with 2.8E , the focus is correct , no need to adjust. ( I don't know why, the RB67 screen is thicker than Rolleicord's).

Yuwen Huang (20.10.03)

A very good idea to take a Mamiya screen. But I think your method to readjust the focus (if necessary at all) is not correct. The two screws you use are just for fixing the mirror in an exact angle of 45 degrees against the screen or the film plane. If you loosen these screws and change the angle, the picture will not be projected correctly by the finder lens onto the screen. In addition to this the mirror could loosen. The correct way to adjust the focus would be to turn the finder lens and adjust the focus to infinity after removing the front panel of the camera and loosening the securing screw.

Jochen Mühlemeier (05.12.2005)

I think Jochen is right - i had a Rollei with a broken mirror, so rather than adjusting the mirror because i was replacing the focusing screen anyway, I was replacing the focusing screen because i had to replace the mirror anyway. Initially I made a mistake in how i installed the springs behind the mirror which gave me heaps of room to adjust the mirror angle but i could not focus the viewing lens properly. once i realised what i was doing wrong and installed the mirror correctly there was almost no room for adjusting the angle, but also no need as viewing and taking lens were now in perfect sync. i like your idea of taping the old screen behind the taking lens to check, and my $20 mamiya screen is huge and unbelievable improvement. probably worth pointing out to other neophytes like me that the mamiya screens are not glass but plastic, hence the odd instructions for scoring with a knife and breaking off with pliers - works a treat! thanks for the suggestion.

Job Rustenhoven (25.03.2006)

I got an RZ-67 standard screen for $16 shipped on ebay. I used an exacto knife and scored the RZ screen, using multiple cuts, going a little deeper each time. Then I used a vise grip plyers with a wide-flat jaw (the type used for bending sheet metal) to hold the cutaway part and snapped it off in one quick motion. I then cleaned up any imperfections with an exacto-knife and some very fine sandpaper...the kind used for cleaning metal parts. It works great. There is no need to adjust focus. The image focuses on the bottom of the screen which lies flat in the same position the original screen was in. Thickness of the screen is irrelevant. Does anyone know where I could find information of RB67 screens...like what the letters stand for? I can see the various RZ screen on the Mamiya site, but RB screens are A, B, C type of ID and I can't find a refference.

Tony Zoccolillo (14.04.2006)

I received a question from a reader about screen thickness and the need for shims. According to this reader, he was told my Maxwell... "Bill Maxwell, who makes the famous Maxwell screen advises me that because there is a difference in thickness between his screen and the original Rollei, shims need to be used in order to maintain the same distance between the mirror and the matte screen"

For the Rolleiflex 3.5F (and similar models with interchangeable finders, such as the 2.8F and Rolleimagic) the screen is pressed down into a fixed position against metal tabs. The spring frams is atop of the screen, not below it. This, the focal plane (the bottom of the screen) is pushed down into a fixed position. No additional shims are needed. Mr. Maxwell might have been refering to older Rolleiflexes that have scring clips below the screen and are screwed down fron the top. For the 3.5F (and similar) screen thickness is irrelevant!

Tony Zoccolillo (14.08.2006)

I just examined my 3.5 E2.....It has a plastic screen in it, from the beginning. I have bid on two or three of the Mamiya lenses on Ebay and intend to follow through. BTW, RB appears to stand for "revolving back"

David Woodward (13.12.2006)

I bit the bullet (dollar-wise) and bought the matte screen from Bill Maxwell. From a camera I hardly used to one that I use every time I get a chance - that's what the new screen has done for me. When the screen arrived, I sent it and my 1956 Rolleiflex 2.8E directly to Ross Yerkes in L.A. for the installation (plus a CLA)and I now have a camera that's a joy to use.

Ted White (15.11.2007)

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