Rollei’s awards

In 1937, the dual-lens Rollei Rollei won the World Exhibition Award held in Germany in 1937. The booming production and sales of this Rolleiflex camera, which satisfied professional and amateur photographers alike, was interrupted only by the outbreak of World War II.

Rayhav’s character is very charming. He has keener observation skills than ordinary people and is also very imaginative. Due to his solid basic skills, his ideas can be very accurately reflected in the camera he built. At the same time, as a photographer, he also knows very well the requirements that photographers have for cameras. Not only does he put his cameras through extensive testing in high-intensity and harsh environments, he also pays close attention to the opinions and feedback of other photographers on their equipment. This allows Rolleiflex cameras to be continuously improved and strengthened. In 1952 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Technical University of Bruswick and an honorary senator of Bruswick. His partner Paul has been instrumental in the company's growth. Paul doesn't like being in the office. As a senior traveler, he traveled around Germany and the world with the newly produced Rolleiflex S and Rolleicord (simplified version) to show the world the high quality of his precision-made products. Rolleiflex twin reflex cameras can also be called evergreens. From the prototype camera in 1928 to the latest improved 2.8GXH Newton in 1991, it has experienced 63 years of history. There are 13 models in total, becoming a huge 6×6 family, and various models have also become camera collections. home chasing goals.

U Lehav passed away in 1960 at the age of 79, and Paul died in 1950 at the age of 62. Both men experienced the company's first major downturn. This decline was caused by the shift of factories to the production of military equipment during World War II. However, in the early days of the war, the company was able to continue to provide Rollei cameras to neutral countries. During the war, 40% of the factory buildings and more than half of the equipment were destroyed. Like other German factories, patents were stripped away. Thankfully, the Allied forces who captured Bruswick decided within days to rebuild the factory. The company's recovery was very rapid, and by 1950, the number of employees of Frank & Heidecker had reached more than 1,000. After Paul's death, his son Horst inherited his father's business. The company's operating scale continues to expand. The prosperity lasted until the early 1960s. Subsequently, the company's development entered a difficult period. The biggest obstacle was the onslaught of cheap cameras from Japan. In 1962, the company changed its name to Rollei-Werke. In 1964, Dr. Herrlich took over management of the company. Herrrich's rescue strategy was a bold price war, and in the following years Rollei quickly launched new products on the market. The company's operating conditions have improved. In 1966, Rollei launched two important new products: the SL66, an interchangeable-lens single-lens reflex camera with a built-in medium-format conversion device, and the Rollei 35, the world's smallest 35 mm camera at the time. Rollei 35 is small and exquisite, with exquisite workmanship. To this day, it is still being produced, but most people who buy this machine do it for collection purposes. The SL66 is the originator of the contemporary 600× series cameras. The SL66 evolved into the SLX, which is a true Rollei medium format SLR camera, followed by the first-generation entry-level camera 6002 and the professional camera 6006 (I and II). Today, it is the contemporary entry-level machine 6003 and the professional machine 6008.

Herrlich was very optimistic about Rollei's prospects. He established a Rollei branch in Uelzen, Germany, and subsequently built a large production line in Singapore. However, this was not the case. Rollei's heavy financial burden and excessive business expansion made the company weak, and the company had to file for bankruptcy protection.

This incident dealt a very heavy blow to Rollei. To this day, there are still many Bruswick residents who believe Rollei is history. The Rollei era seems to be coming to an end. Things have taken a turn for the better again. A year later, a British company: United Scientific Holding took over Rollei and its patents from the bank and reorganized the new company Rollei Fototechnic. The company abandoned the cheap camera market and refocused on the high-precision manufacturing of professional cameras. The competitor for professional medium format cameras on the market at this time was Hasselblad.

Two years later, Rollei returned to German hands, and Jos. Schneider Optische Werke Kreuznach bought Rollei back from the British. Subsequently, the company resumed production of the Rolleiflex 2.8GX, which had been discontinued in 1981. This classic dual-lens camera has been reproduced with fully updated metering and flash components. Subsequently, the new Rollei flagship 6008 was launched that year. Rollei expanded its market at the same time, producing not only Rollei cameras and slide projectors, but also a full range of professional optical and electronic equipment. The more famous ones are RolleiMetric measuring equipment, which is widely used in industrial surveying, urban planning, construction and police. In the above situations, RolleiMetric can be directly output into photos or directly converted into drawings through multi-image analysis, without the need to use traditional theodolite, tape measure and other tools.

In 1992, Rollei split from its holding company Jos. Schneider Optische Werke Kreuznach and became an independent company again. The president of the company is Wolf, who has worked for Rollei Germany and Rollei Singapore for 26 years. Wolfgang Sass.

Rollei has regained its former sense of success!