Magicflex PL 75/3.5

The Condition of Vintage Lenses Today


Before discussing this specific lens directly, I believe it’s important to touch on a broader and very critical issue - the current condition of optics on Rolleiflex/Rolleicords cameras made between the 1950s–1980s (as we are in 2025 now!).

And unfortunately, the picture is grim: the overwhelming majority of these lenses are in catastrophic condition. It’s not even worth explaining to newcomers what they’re up against — it’s absolute horror.

Over the years, I’ve come across countless forum posts from owners asking for help with polishing, re-cementing, cleaning, and adjustments. These days, buying a Rolleiflex or Rolleicord Vb on eBay, unboxing it, shooting a roll or two, and then immediately wanting to resell it—assuming it hasn’t already failed on the very first roll—has practically become the norm. There’s no longer the simple joy of using the camera; it feels more like beating your head against a wall.

Some people send their cameras to repair shops, but the results depend heavily on the quality of the service center. More often than not, the owner ends up with a camera in worse condition (what the irony!) or one that “somewhat works,” but without smooth operation, refined craftsmanship, or thorough recalibration. That’s why people often send their cameras back to the same technician three or four times, yet the camera never gets better. And that’s still the lucky scenario — sometimes you simply lose your money to scammers (that could become an additional topic!)

This brings us to the key question: how can the situation be changed overall? I’m not even touching on the endless debate over Planar vs. Xenotar, or five- vs. six-element Planar 75/3.5 Rolleiflex lenses.

The starting point should be the most basic and crucial thing: simply having a high-quality lens — free from haze, scratches, and defects. That’s exactly the problem I faced and started working on years ago.
Typical lens condition nowadays:
Front glued doublet of the Planar 80/2.8 lens.
To restore this lens, you need to:
  • Separate the elements (risk of cracking during separation, since a very stubborn adhesive was used).
  • Polish off the old coating (no grinding!) and also polish the cemented surfaces.
  • Apply a new coating.
  • Re-cement the elements.
  • Re-adjust the camera.
To much work...
Rolleiflex 2.8F - Planar 80/2.8 lens
Typical lens condition nowadays, presenting front glued doublet of the Planar 80/2.8 lens
Historical Context

For decades, the excellence of Rolleiflex was based not only on its own outstanding manufacturing but also on strong support from Carl Zeiss (both East and West Germany) and Schneider. Together, these companies produced seven versions of symmetrical “double Gauss” lenses for Rolleiflex:

  • Biometar 80/2.8 (Carl Zeiss Jena, Rolleiflex 2.8B)
  • Planar 80/2.8 (Carl Zeiss Oberkochen, Rolleiflex 2.8C)
  • Xenotar 80/2.8 (Schneider, Rolleiflex 2.8C)
  • Planar 75/3.5, 5 elements (Zeiss, Rolleiflex 3.5E)
  • Xenotar 75/3.5 (Schneider, Rolleiflex 3.5E)
  • Planar 75/3.5, 6 elements (Zeiss, Rolleiflex 3.5F type 3)
  • Xenotar 75/3.5 (Schneider, Rolleiflex 3.5F type 3; early samples could still be 5-element).

Magicflex PL 75/3.5 is that very five-element double Gauss design described in U.S. Patent 2744447 (filed June 14, 1954).

The authors were Johannes Berger (creator of the Septon) and Günther Lange.

The choice of glass was simple yet effective: Schott SK16, SF14, SF15, LaK11, SF4. One element, made of LaK11 (containing lanthanum), was originally slightly radioactive, but in the modern version a safe alternative is used — with no loss in optical properties such as Abbe number.

The inventors noted that this arrangement of elements around the aperture achieved a delicate balance of aberrations and delivered outstanding image quality.

Lens construction from the patent
Optical Characteristics of the Magicflex PL 75/3.5

  • Field curvature, astigmatism, distortion: curvature is noticeable but returns at the edges; astigmatism is well controlled; distortion <1%.
  • Spherical aberration: almost fully corrected.
  • Coma: weak at the edges, overall well managed.
  • Chromatic aberration: axial ~147 microns — excellent performance, better than many later lenses.
  • Vignetting: minimal.
MTF (5–10–20–40 lp/mm):
  • f/3.5 — high quality in the center, smooth falloff toward the edges.
  • f/5.6 — center improves further, but field curvature becomes more pronounced.
  • f/8 — nearly uniform across the frame.
  • f/11 — very fine and even performance.
  • f/16 — diffraction reduces sharpness.
At close focus (0.9 m), astigmatism increases, but distortion remains minimal.

Summary


The Magicflex PL 75/3.5, like the original double Gauss for the Rolleiflex 3.5, shows an outstanding level of aberration correction: spherical, chromatic, and coma are all very well controlled.
The five-element version laid the foundation for Rollei’s TLR cameras, while the six-element iteration responded to competition from Hasselblad. But above all, it’s about aesthetics. Images from the five-element Planar possess a unique charm that’s hard to quantify with charts.

Sample Images


All images made with the Rolleiflex Vb or Rolleiflex 3.5B used Magicflex PL 75/3.5 lens, enjoy!
All photo and video materials belong to magicflexcamera.com and are used for demonstration purposes only. Please do not use them in commercial projects.