However Charlotte and Frits Richter settled in the West in Barntrup where they established their new company Lipca - Lippische Camerafabrik - Richter & Fischer GmbH in 1948. At the moment I don't know anything about Fischer, but hope to be able to shed some light on this soon, and hopefully I will also be able to elaborate much more about the history of the company. Research are being carried out at the moment.

The first prototype that came out of the factory was the Licaflex in 1948, and Richter & Fischer stuck with what they knew best, namely producing affordable and fairly simple TLR's. In the following years they manufactured a range of TLR's in a number of versions such as the Flexo (1950), Flexora (1953), Optimet, and the Rollop, the latter being a range of TLR's with slightly higher quality and finish than the predecessors.

Some sources keep on mentioning some kind of connection with the Plaubel company, but apart from the name resemblance in "Rollop vs Roll-Op" these sources don't elaborate on this subject. I have heard it said, that some Flexoras shares the same film counter and film transport mechanism with the prewar Plaubel Roll-Op cameras, but this remains unconfirmed.

It seems like the Richter & Fischer company went out of business around 1958, the Rollop Automatic being the last TLR to be produced by Lipca. As mentioned earlier, I hope to be able to provide more details about the company as soon as my research is completed.

 

The Rollop I certainly got the good looks, and it is a beautiful TLR. I guess you'll have to actually hold the camera to discover, that it is in fact a mid-range camera, which is not of Rollei quality or standards. Nevertheless the Rollop I are a honest camera, that are capable of delivering what it promises when you look at the specifications. I really don't think, that Lipca had any ambitions of actually competing with neither Rollei or Zeiss-Ikon on the high-end TLR market. I'm pretty sure, that they knew exactly what they were doing when they operated in the mid-level, more consumer oriented, market and appealing to all of those people who didn't have the means to buy an expensive Rolleiflex. This is also what Richter & Fischer did with the Reflecta's in the Tharandt-era. So once again it isn't quite fair to compare it with f.e. Rolleiflex, and it should really be evaluated in comparison with the many other mid-level TLR's that were on the market in the 50's.

The finish are rather good, and the exterior design are stylish and pleasant. The 3,5 Ennagon are not at all a bad lens, but a 4 element lens that is quite capable of producing very nice negatives indeed. The top shutter speed are limited to 1/300 sec, but thats really sufficient for most shots with a TLR. On the right side of the body you'll find the film advance knob only, and on the left side the large focussing knob with a depth-of-field scale, the 2 film spool knobs, and the back cover release button which by the way are a little quirky. It works by securing and locking with a threaded screwing action, and releases by pressing once it has been unlocked. A funny little detail are the two dials on the camera back; one for the film type and one for the film speed. Both can be set by using a coin, which is actually not a bad idea at all.

I would prefer the Rollop I in stead of the Model II or the Rollop "Automatic", because both of the latter are known to have a problems with malfunctioning film advance mecanisms and advance levers, so maybe its better to stick with the good old film advance knob. Like most TLR's the Rollop I also offers a sports viewfinder, and a hinged magnifying glass for precise focusing.  Filmcounter ?. Oh yes, just look through the red window on the back ;-).