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  #1  
Old 17th March 2020, 05:32 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Default Rolleiflex Mutar attachments - any good?

Has anyone ever used the Mutar wide angle or tele attachments for Rolleiflex TLRs? I am considering buying one of these (the 0.7x wide) to expand the versatility of my cameras. They are expensive, yes, but if there is little or no loss of sharpness or contrast it might be worth it as the image quality from those old Planar and Xenotar lenses are simply unbeatable and the cameras themselves are a joy to use.

Thanks in advance!
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Last edited by Svend; 17th March 2020 at 05:52 PM.
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Old 17th March 2020, 07:28 PM
John King John King is offline
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If they are the genuine article they should be fine. I have never used them or a similar optic on other TLR's I have owned but considering the quality lenses used by Rollie, they will be up to a standard which they would approve.
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Old 17th March 2020, 09:35 PM
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John - yes, one would think that Rollei wouldn't have put out something that didn't perform to their high standards. I did some reading on a couple of other forums before posting here, and comments were mixed about these devices. But it wasn't clear if the negative remarks concerned the authentic Rollei ones or aftermarket units, hence the question here. It seems there were a few made by Yashica and some 3rd-party makers for the many Bay I lens TLRs of the day (Yashica Mat, and the like).

I will keep digging....
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Old 18th March 2020, 09:14 AM
Paulographic Paulographic is offline
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I have the wide and tele supplementary lenses for my Yashica 124 and have been happy with them though I sometimes got vignetting using the tele lens on my Microcord (which is Bay 1 fitting). This may have been due to using the wrong aperture recommended for these attachments. There is a suggested narrow range of f stops (which I can't remember off the top of my head) and the front element on the Microcord seems to be recessed deeper which would cause that too.
I've tried third party lenses and did notice some loss of image quality, sharpness mostly.
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Old 18th March 2020, 06:08 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Thanks Paul. Good to know about your experience w 3rd party attachments. I will stick with a genuine Rollei Mutar then. I've since done a bit more web searching and have found most users of the latter were very happy with their performance. Will try to find one at an affordable price at some point. However, given the economic uncertainties at the moment, all of my discretionary spending on such things is on hold as of today (some heavy stuff coming down from our PM). Things are getting dire here now, so best put all this sort of thing on the back burner for the time being. Time to be content with the kit that I have, tap into the film stocks in the fridge, mix up some fresh chems, and go enjoy the great outdoors!
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Old 19th March 2020, 07:40 AM
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The Mutar was made by Zeiss and is one of their trade marks. I have one for my Contax/Yashica Zeiss lenses and it works well. They made three different types to match up with the different focal lengths.

Nick
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Old 19th March 2020, 12:20 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Collas View Post
The Mutar was made by Zeiss and is one of their trade marks. I have one for my Contax/Yashica Zeiss lenses and it works well. They made three different types to match up with the different focal lengths.

Nick
I've seen those types of Mutars out there -- a single attachment to the front of an SLR lens...correct? I suppose the TLR ones are the same, except for the addition of the second viewing lens. Good to know they work well, and that Zeiss was behind their manufacture for Rollei. I will put my feelers out for a reasonably-priced one in a few months after this virus thing settles down.
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Old 19th March 2020, 01:43 PM
Collas Collas is offline
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No, they normally go between the lens and the body on a Yashica/Contax 35mm SLR as they have a male and female bayonet.
I can't find a picture of one in use, but the images here should show that it has bayonets at both ends.

https://sunrise-camera.com/product/c...teleconverter/

Nick
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Old 19th March 2020, 01:50 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Ah, I see. So totally different from the ones for the TLRs. Those, of course, sit in front of the lenses. As far as I can ascertain Rollei made a 1.5x tele and a 0.7x wide angle version. I sure hope the prices on ebay are no reflection of what they sell for locally here -- I could buy a whole Hasselblad with Distagon lens for the same price as one puny little Rolleiflex Mutar!
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Old 19th March 2020, 10:49 PM
John King John King is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Collas View Post
No, they normally go between the lens and the body on a Yashica/Contax 35mm SLR as they have a male and female bayonet.
I can't find a picture of one in use, but the images here should show that it has bayonets at both ends.

https://sunrise-camera.com/product/c...teleconverter/

Nick
They sound like normal tele converters, although I have never seen one for converting to wide angle, They can still be bought new to fit a Nikon Canon, sony and I think Pentax AF slrs
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