Before the selfie, there was the self portrait.
And no other camera demonstrates the golden era of self-portraiting better than the Rolleiflex Automat twins lens reflex (TLR) camera.
From Paul McCartney to Vivian Maier, just about every one who is anyone has snapped a moody portrait with a Rolleiflex, held at chest level so they could look through the “waist-level” viewfinder. An icon on its own right, the last Rolleiflex was produced in the 1960s.
But now, the German company behind the legendary camera is bringing it back with a twist: as an instant camera that shoots Fuji Instax Mini film.
What makes the Rolleiflex TLRs so special are the fact there are two lenses. This allows the photographer to look through the lens to view the reflected image of an object on the focused screen (hence why it made for so many self-portraits).
The new version — funded on Kickstarter in a whopping 22 minutes, according to Digital Trends — maintains a vintage appeal and features the same twins-lens reflex system that requires you to shoot the camera from waist-level while looking down, with the added capability to also control aperture, focus and lighting.
Head on over the Kickstarter for all the details.
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