Winning twins
John Wade takes us into the fascinating world of twin lens reflex cameras dating from 1934 to 1967
John Wade takes us into the fascinating world of twin lens reflex cameras
The twin lens reflex (TLR) was once one of the most popular types of camera for amateurs and professionals alike. Most conform to a rigid body design made for 120 film with two fixed lenses, one above the other. The lower lens takes the picture, and the upper one reflects a same-size image onto a focusing screen under a hood on top of the body. The lenses are coupled to focus in tandem.
Exceptions to this style include some that allow interchangeable lenses and others made for 127 or even 35mm film. Photographic history has also seen TLRs that had viewfinder images smaller or larger than the film image, a few folding designs, and a small number that placed the lenses side by side.
The most popular TLR design began life as the Heidoscop, a stereo camera made by the German Franke and Heidecke company in 1921. It took glass plates and used three lenses: two for the stereo image, and one between them to reflect its image to a viewfinder on top of the body. In 1926, a rollfilm version called the Rolleidoscop was made. In 1928, the company took that camera, turned it on its side, removed one of the lenses and shifted the viewfinder to the top of the now upright body. So was born the Rolleiflex – the first truly compact rollfilm TLR.
This style was copied by manufacturers around the world. Today, there are secondhand TLRs available to suit every pocket, from super- expensive Rolleiflexes that still demand in excess of £1,000, to budget models such as the Chinese Seagull or the Russian Lubitel, which can be bought for £20-£50.
Choosing and using a TLR
Before buying a TLR, keep a couple of things in mind. Choose one that takes 12 6x6cm pictures on 120 film, and check that the viewing and shooting lenses move together for coupled focusing. To shoot, hold the camera at waist level to view the whole scene on the screen. Then, use the flip-up magnifiers found in most TLR hoods close to the eye for fine focusing.
Keep in mind that the image on the focusing screen is laterally reversed: objects that move left to right in front of the camera will move right to left on the screen. Allow for parallax differences between the two lenses; this means the shooting lens sees less at the top and more at the bottom of the picture than the viewing lens sees.