Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/11/19

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Subject: Re: Light, portable camera, Rollei Prego?
From: "Charles E. Love, Jr." <cel14@cornell.edu>
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 21:46:47 -0500 (EST)

I guess I have to point out that Rollei Pregos are made by Samsung, a Korean
firm not exactly noted for the best quality.  While Rollei claims the lenses
are Schneider (except for the first Prego), it just so happens that the
"Schneider" lenses have exactly the same focal length and speed as does the
no-name lens in the parallel Samsung model.  To me, this looks like a
con--especially the first Prego, which cost vastly more than a virtually
identical Samsung.  Parallel--Leica's infamous AFC-1, which was identical,
except for cosmetics, to a Minolta model that was half the price.  But
Rollei's partner, Samsung, doesn't even have Minolta's reputation, at least
in the SLR lens department.

At 11:16 AM 11/19/96 -0800, you wrote:

>>>discussion of compact 35mm cameras, Rollei 35s/Minox 35/etc
>>Michael Volow:
>>I entered this thread a bit late. I apologize it has already been
>>discussed. Does anyone hava any experience with the Rollei Prego? How does
>>it compare to the others? 
>
>After I bought my Leica Minizoom, I had the chance to use a friend's 
>Prego Zoom for a day's picture taking (she wanted me to take pictures
>on her camera because she claims my pictures are always better than 
>hers... ah, flattery *will* get you nearly everywhere ... :). I found
>the ergonomics of the Prego Zoom's finder and controls to be just a 
>little less comfortable for me than the Leica Minizoom, but the camera
>has more features, some of which are very nice, and the quality of 
>the lens and images was superb. It's about the only PnS I've tried 
>that has been comparable to the Minizoom. The Schneider lens is 
>excellent and the Prego Zoom has a very convenient Snapshot setting which 
>speeds up the focus and such by using the hyperfocal. It's less 
>expensive than the Leica Minizoom by about $90 (street price).
>
>Since that time, Rollei released the Prego Zoom 90, which I've only
>had the moment to handle at the store. They relocated the viewfinder
>and improved the ergonomics a lot ... the lens is now a 28-90mm
>and there are even more features. It's a bit bigger than the Minizoom
>is, but handling it I found the new viewfinder location and control
>ergonomics to be very nice. It's about the same money as the Minizoom
>is and has more features. 
>
>A friend in NY just bought a Prego Zoom 90 on my recommendation. 
>He's a very good photographer so I'm looking forward to seeing what 
>the results from his work with the camera look like. It certainly 
>looks to be an excellent instrument. I'll get to take some pictures 
>with it when we meet in North Carolina for next week's holiday.
>
>Godfrey
>
Charles E. Love, Jr.
CEL14@CORNELL.EDU