Ran over my Rollei. Woe is me!

[P C Headland]

Oh dear.

I bet that's what you said too when you found out what you'd done  :p

[edthened]

Och Les, thank God it's chust the Camera that's bin damaged an nae yoo, cos remember, a camera can be replaced but wee cannae replace yoo, an as long as yoor OK am shoor re camera situation will be sorted oot in re neer fyootyoor !!!!
Tak care o' yersell,

Edwin

P.S.   Tell Claudia a wis askin verie kindly efter her :-) :-)

[Madrigal]

Oh gosh Les! I can only imagine how you must have felt when you saw what had happened.

Sorry about that.

You'll get back up and running, no doubt.

[melek]

As I mentioned to you in a note, at least you did the job properly and ran it over twice.

Ah well, better a camera than a human being that ended up under your tire.

[Ben]

As I mentioned to you in a note, at least you did the job properly and ran it over twice.

Ah well, better a camera than a human being that ended up under your tire.

Wow sorry to hear about your tragic loss Les.  Have to go along with Mike on this; I've been on several calls where people (mainly children) were the victims of backing accidents, and not cameras.

[lesged]

Working backwards, I want to thank each one of you for your valued comments.

Ben,

My next door neighbor, Andy McIntyre, told me only years later after the incident that he nearly ran over my son Danny on his tiny tricycle. As Andy backed his big muscle car out his driveway, Danny had just cleared his car as he rode across the McIntyre’s driveway. Danny had no idea of the danger he was in. Andy had no way of seeing our 3 year old son on a tricycle.  Andy told me he sat a long time in his car in a cold sweat horrified at what he nearly did.


Mike Elek,

As I wrote in a note, I won a twin of your Rollei on eBay. Last night  the seller emailed me the serial number which starts with 1233xxx, yours is 1226xxx. Close enough to put both in the classification of  Rolleiflex Automat MX  aka  Model 4 type 1. I will send yours back after  the insurance claims man sees it,. Maybe your magic touch can restore it to a working camera.  If not, it can always be used as a parts camera. I say this with my head hung low.  Once again I apologize for my blunder.

Colpe mea!

Rose,

The Rollei Automat should have stayed with you where it was completely safe for some time. Passing it on to me disturbed its photo karma. It became vulnerable to an absent-minded old geezer of a photog.

Edwin,

Your Scottish accent rings clarion clear. I hear it well and the sentiments it brings. It
tolls for we. I raise a glass to thee and down the draft and cry out in my best Cheltik dialect, “L’chiam!”

Paul,

What flew from my lips after seeing the Tiltall in pieces and the wounded camera  bag with its bottom split open was either, ”Holy Toledo!” or “Santa Cleopatra!” or maybe something more profane than that, which might require the label NSFW attached to meet our NFF etiquette code.

Wayne,

I already wrote such a long a response to your comment, but would like to correct one of those sentences..

“In fact, I have two chest of drawers full of 35mm cameras and batteries of lenses in them and cardboard boxes,” 

What I meant to say was:

In fact, I have a bureau with two drawers full of 35mm cameras and a battery of lenses, and other cameras and lenses in cardboard boxes.

Mike K,

Which of the two interpretations did you mean by “it sounds like a complete write-off to me. “ that the Rollei is “a total loss?” Or, do both apply?

1) As there is a $500 deductible in my house insurance, the value of the Rolllei Automat, Konica C35, Tiltall tripod, Gossen Sixtomat electronic meter and camera bag won't reach that sum? Claim form asks how much did I pay for each item, when
did I buy or get it as a gift and what is replacement value. I only made one claim with Hanover in 27 years. It was a ceiling damage caused by a freak roof leak in our single story (ranch) house after a torrential storm or was it a hurricane?

2) Considering the damage my Honda inflicted on the Rollei, its repair to a state where it will make Rollei standard photos is remote, or so arduous and time consuming?

In the spirit of your recent visit to Sweden, I raise a glass of Aquavit and say, "Skol!"and "tak so mukke!"

James,

I hope to have the auction replacement Rollei tested and found in the good working order the seller described, by the time you come to MA. If so, I won't need to take up your generous offer of a loaner Minolta Autocord.  However, I still would like to meet you and one day do a Yankee foray with you, as you have done with Dennis and Reed down in Dixieland. I'll send a PM with follow up info.


Sebastion,

It's just such a well made little camera with a dynamite lens. This one has to be my 5th or 6th Canonet QL-17. Btw, it's true they do replicate in dark closets.

Open Waters,

Or a Viking funeral with martolod or Craig shooting the flaming arrow at the straw basket I place my baby Moses of cameras in, launched from a Massachusetts fjord. How's that for a few mixed metaphors?

Larry,

Don't Cry for me, Larry! I just listen to Madonna sing , "Cry for me, Argentina!" 

Glenn,

Once when I tried avoiding a squirrel, I nearly drove my car off the road.

Philip,

The woe is almost gone. There is a Rollei with the same DNA  coming my way.


Sandeha,

Before I had bid on the Rolleiflex, I bid on two Rolleicords. Their winning bids were much higher than I spent on the Flex., which I won with $185 with a Rollei case. included.

Fortunately, the Obama stimulus check for $250 was deposited in my bank and I can't think of a better way to stimulate our economy than spending part of it on a classic camera. 

All your comment reinforce the truism that Nelsonfoto has a bundle of nice people
as members. Hip. Hip. Hooray! for Craig our supreme leader. He leads by example.

[LarryD]

LOL Less that song makes me throw up...... Now I am crying because I am laughing so hard Dad.

 BTW sorry I am late ... I did not have your # Happy Fathers day.

[lesged]

Larry,

Don't think Hallmark has any Happy Adopted Father's Day cards in their inventory.

Thanks for belated greetings, sonny boy. There's an Al Joelson song about that, too:

It's the title I believe "Climb upon my knee, Sonny boy," but I forget the words. The next line ends with the rhymed word  joy

[Dennis Gallus]

Lester,

Please let me add my belated condolences.   I've done things that were just as bad (but perhaps a little less flamboyant than your two trips over the camera case).  If I can offer one cheery note, you will enjoy meeting James McK, he's a good man and a cherished friend.

Best wishes,
Dennis

[Raid Amin]

Dear Les,
There isn't much to be said other than things are replaceable, but people are not. I hope that things work out so that you can put behind you the accident. Thank God nobody was hurt.

Raid

[Graham Serretta]

Les - Just seen this thread.  Never mind - we all have senior moments.  You could use the experience to go into the destruction testing business.....

[lesged]

Raid and Graham,

You are both right as rain. No human, pet, or any animate being was hurt.

Hmmm, maybe I ought not go quite that far, for there are enough fotogs who worship their favorite cameras as if  they had a beating heart. They have their pet names for them, in secret fondle them, put them up on pedestals or in glass cabinet. Some get designer cases for them (Luigi) yet complain when a wife or partner spends excessive amounts of money on designer accessories. Luckily, I'm free of most of these excesses,  but have been guilty of winking at a camera or two, even if it were hung around another person's neck.

But I now have a Rollei replacement of the same name, rank and almost  the same serial number (1226XXX vs 1233XXX) The new one came with a Rollei case in tip- top shape, just needs a new strap.

The key reason  I was so upset was because it was a gift. It is at the same magnitude of chagrin order as another incident that happened ~60 years ago.  It was a Christmas gift  from my art school girl friend, Carol Reasoner, who lived in Belmont. She presented me with a beautiful pair of ski mittens that she designed and knitted  for my large hands. I lived in the West End of Boston in a loft which I shared with Arthur Glazier, another Museum school student. We each had  studio.

Carol and I  rendezvou'd at Kenmore Square not far from Fenway Park. When we  took some  coffee and dessert at a lucheonette counter, she gave me my Christmas gift which I opened and was so pleased to have something so beautifully made with her skillful hands. After walking along Commonwealth Avenue a short distance, I realized I didn't have the mittens and we both dashed back to the luncheonette only to find no mittens or box on the counter. The waitress said no one turned anything in. I left my name and telephone number and returned several times in person, but the gift was gone forever.

That was not a senior moment,  but matches my feelings after mangling Mike's Elek's Rollei Automat. I didn't have the mittens more than an hour and don't remember if I even tried them on. They probably were left in the opened gift box. That was in the late 1940s, yet it stands out vividly in my mind.

The mortally wounded Automat will be sent back to Mike Elek, shortly. When my eyes no longer focus, the newer Automat will be also be sent to Mike.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have a new thread in DIY forum discussing the task of swapping Rollei screens. Mike's has the brighter screen and has the split r/f spot in the center of the GG, which makes focusing a lot easier.

[alan chin]

Les,

Actually, if the taking lens (the Tessar) wasn't damaged, it is quite valuable as a replacement for a camera that is otherwise in perfect condition but has a scratched or hazy lens. Unlike cameras with interchangeable lenses, Rolleiflexes are only as useful as their lenses. Lots of people used the cameras without filters, or stored them poorly. Mechanics can be lubricated, the lenses are more delicate. So at some point that Tessar will come in very handy for somebody. Because no one will ever make them again.

Also, if you post a photo of the camera we'll be able to see if it is in fact repairable. Might cost $400-500, maybe equivalent to the cost of the camera, but again, no one will ever make them again.

All best,

Alan

[lesged]

Alan,

Thanks for responding and offering your helpful suggestion. I returned the Rollei Automat to the gentleman who gave it to me, i.e. Mike Elek. Swell condition to return a gift. huh?

I presume Mike will do, if not already did,  just what you recommended. I believe the Opton Tessar 75/3.5 lens was undamaged except for the superficial front thin metal ring that bore the name of the lens. The glass looked undamaged and the viewing lens wasn't affected at all.  I was hoping Mike would use it as a spare parts camera, though he said it didn't look as bad as I described it.

Turns out my home insurance covered the accident, which damaged more than the Rollei. In the leather case, there was another camera, a Gossen meter and my favorite Tiltall tripod.  After the deductible, there was enough to get a replacement Rollei Automat on eBay and new handles for my Tiltall tripod . 

The new Automat was very close to the same serial number and Mike's and is in as good condition as his, which was extra clean. The new one came with the Automat's original case which is in tip top condition. Mike let me take the better  ground glass from the damaged one, which the FO had cut down from a very bright  Mamiya GG.  That was my silver lining to a dark cloud of an accident. Hey! it was only metal and glass not flesh and bones as someone sensibly noted above. Naturally, I feel badly about ruining the Automat and the minty Konica 35.  The latter was so badly crushed it was beyond using it as a parts camera. RIP!