C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Rolleiflex 2.8B (1952) is the second generation of Rollei's f/2.8 TLR line, introduced to address the optical limitations of the Tessar formula at wide apertures. Where the 2.8A used a four-element Tessar 80mm f/2.8, the 2.8B adopted either a **Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar 80mm f/2.8** or a **Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8** -- both six-element double-Gauss designs with substantially better correction at f/2.8 than the Tessar could achieve. The body and film advance system are essentially unchanged from the 2.8A: crank advance, waist-level finder, Bay II filter fitting, 12 frames of 6x6 cm on 120 film.
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Recommended film stocks for the — format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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About this camera
The 2.8 line's first six-element upgrade: Rollei replaces the Tessar with Biometar or Planar glass for better wide-open performance.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 120 (6x6 cm) |
| Taking lens | Carl Zeiss Biometar 80mm f/2.8 OR Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8 (6 elements) |
| Viewing lens | ~ 80mm f/2.8 Heidosmat |
| Years | 1952-~ |
| Shutter | 1s - 1/500s + B, Synchro-Compur leaf |
| Flash sync | X-sync |
| Meter | None |
| Film advance | Crank |
| Lens mount | Bay II |
The 2.8B arrived in 1952 as Rollei refined the f/2.8 concept it had introduced with the 2.8A three years earlier. The transition from a Tessar to a double-Gauss formula was the central change; the Synchro-Compur shutter also replaced the older Compur-Rapid. The body was otherwise a direct evolution of the established Rolleiflex design.
The distinction between Biometar and Planar variants complicates secondhand identification. Both are marked on the taking lens barrel; a Biometar barrel will read "Carl Zeiss Jena" while a Planar barrel reads "Carl Zeiss Oberkochen" or simply "Carl Zeiss." Optically, blind tests between the two at equivalent apertures show negligible differences for most practical purposes.
The 2.8B was succeeded by the 2.8C, which made the Planar/Xenotar combination standard and updated further body refinements.
The 2.8B marks the moment the Rolleiflex f/2.8 line became optically mature. The Tessar formula is a capable four-element design but its performance advantage over simpler formulas diminishes at wide apertures; the double-Gauss Biometar and Planar show substantially better center and corner sharpness wide-open. From the 2.8B onward, the Rolleiflex 2.8 series offered genuinely competitive wide-open performance that justified its premium over the 3.5 line.
For collectors, the Biometar-equipped variant is an unusual artifact of the split Zeiss situation after World War II, produced at the nationalized Zeiss Jena works in East Germany and used by the West German Rollei firm.
C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
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