Rollei

Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke founded Franke & Heidecke in Braunschweig on 1 February 1920. The firm first concentrated on stereo cameras, beginning with the plate-based Heidoscop. The roll-film Rolleidoscop of 1926 provided the first documented use of the Rollei name, conventionally explained from roll film and Heidecke, and supplied the mechanical and optical starting point for a compact twin-lens camera.

Über 100 Jahre Rollei / Unsere Geschichte · Company Time Line - History of Rolleiflex, Franke und Heidecke, DHW-Fototechnik · New Reels: The Rolleiflex Adventure, Press Dossier

A small prototype series was presented in December 1928 and the commercial Rolleiflex reached the market in 1929. The original camera made six 6×6cm exposures on 117/B1 film. The 1932 Standard adopted 120 film and added crank advance and an exposure counter after first-frame alignment. A 4×4 Rolleiflex on 127 film appeared in 1931, and the simpler Rolleicord line followed in 1933. Franke & Heidecke moved into a new Braunschweig factory in 1930.

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The 1937 Rolleiflex Automat sensed the start of the film, eliminated the red-window loading step, coupled crank advance with shutter cocking, and reduced accidental blank or double exposures. During the Second World War civilian camera output contracted as the factory produced military optics. A bombing raid on 15 October 1944 destroyed much of the Braunschweig plant, and occupation restrictions constrained the immediate restart.

Company Time Line - History of Rolleiflex, Franke und Heidecke, DHW-Fototechnik · New Reels: The Rolleiflex Adventure, Press Dossier · The Rolleiflex Guide

Postwar production rebuilt the Automat and Rolleicord lines. The 1945-generation Automat could carry a Zeiss Tessar or Schneider Xenar, and the 1950 models added coated optics and flash synchronization. The first f/2.8 Rolleiflex appeared in 1950; the 2.8C of 1953 offered Schneider Xenotar or Zeiss Planar taking lenses. The Rolleimarin underwater housing entered series production in 1954.

Über 100 Jahre Rollei / Unsere Geschichte · Press Release: Rollei turns 100 · Company Time Line - History of Rolleiflex, Franke und Heidecke, DHW-Fototechnik · New Reels: The Rolleiflex Adventure, Press Dossier · The Rolleiflex Guide

The E and F generations integrated photoelectric meters and, on the F models, coupled them to shutter-speed and aperture controls. The Tele-Rolleiflex of 1959 used a 135mm f/4 Sonnar and the Wide-Angle Rolleiflex of 1961 used a 55mm f/4 Distagon. The company became Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke in 1962. Zeiss Planar and Schneider Xenotar options remained important parallel optical supply paths rather than separate body families.

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Rollei moved beyond fixed-lens TLRs with the modular Rolleiflex SL66 medium-format SLR in 1966 and the compact Rollei 35. The SL35 opened a 35mm SLR branch in 1970 using the Rollei bayonet commonly called QBM. Period literature identifies lenses designed by Zeiss and Schneider, while the SL66 catalog states that lenses could be made by Carl Zeiss or by the Rollei group under Zeiss license. The company expanded into Singapore in the early 1970s and presented the electronically controlled SLX in 1974.

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Continuous series production of the traditional TLR line ended in 1976, though special editions and later revivals followed. The SLX entered production as Rollei's electronic 6×6 platform, and the 6006 and SL2000F developed related electronic and modular ideas. Financial collapse in 1981 broke the old company structure; operations continued from 1982 as Rollei Fototechnic under new ownership. A 1973 factory notice also shows that 2.8F and 3.5F production could change from Planar to Xenotar without changing the camera stock number, a warning against identifying body generation from lens maker alone.

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The 2.8GX of 1987 revived the twin-lens form with modern metering and electronics rather than restoring uninterrupted mass production. The 6008 followed in 1988, and later 6000-system models added autofocus, digital backs, and new controls. Rolleiflex 4.0FW and later FX versions again placed TLR construction beside modern professional systems. These products used different serial conventions from the classic pre-1976 TLR ranges.

Über 100 Jahre Rollei / Unsere Geschichte · Company Time Line - History of Rolleiflex, Franke und Heidecke, DHW-Fototechnik · Rolleiflex 6008 Professional, prova sul campo · Rolleiflex TLR Documents

Rollei Produktion was separated in 2004, and Franke & Heidecke GmbH continued professional-camera manufacture from 2005. Consumer and professional activities were divided among separate businesses. The Hy6 medium-format platform was introduced in 2007, but Franke & Heidecke entered insolvency in 2009. DHW Fototechnik emerged as a production and service successor using the Braunschweig site and inherited technical capability.

Company Time Line - History of Rolleiflex, Franke und Heidecke, DHW-Fototechnik · Rollei (Franke & Heidecke)

DHW later failed, and DW Photo continued a narrower Braunschweig-based manufacturing, repair, and upgrade business. Its current service list includes Hy6, 6000-series, SL66, SL35, and all Rolleiflex TLR versions. Separately, the current Rollei consumer business states that the old camera manufacturer no longer exists in that form and that worldwide Rollei brand rights have belonged to a newer company since 2010; the current retail site is operated by RCP Handels GmbH & Co. KG. These are distinct forms of continuity and should not be merged into one legal manufacturer.

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