page_title: Rollei
section_title: Viewfinder cameras
hierarchical_section_title: Rollei / Historical development / 1964 to 1974 - Peesel era / Viewfinder cameras
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: PocketLine by Rollei
context_page_description: Rollei was a German manufacturer of optical instruments founded in 1920 by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord series of cameras. Later products included specialty and nostalgic type films for the photo hobbyist market.
  Originally named Werkstatt für Feinmechanik und Optik, Franke & Heidecke, the company renamed into Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke GmbH in 1972, Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke GmbH & Co. KG, in 1979, and Rollei Fototechnic GmbH & Co. KG in 1981.
  After being purchased in 1995 by Samsung Techwin, part of the South Korean Samsung Group, it was sold back to its internal management in 1999. In 2002, it was bought by a Danish investment group, and renamed Rollei GmbH in 2004.
  In 2005/2006, the company headquarters moved to Berlin and the company was split into two different companies: Rollei GmbH in Berlin, owner of the Rollei brand and selling various OEM equipment, and Rollei Produktion GmbH in Braunschweig, an equipment factory which became Franke & Heidecke GmbH, Feinmechanik und Optik.
  Following another restructuring in 2007, Rollei was split into three companies.
context_section_description: Rollei made other viewfinder cameras besides the Rollei 16 and the Rollei 35, the best-known of which were the A26 and the A110 / E110. The A26 was the smallest camera that used Instamatic film. It was cleverly designed, folding together to protect the lens and the viewfinder. The A110, a successor to the Rollei 16, was a pocket-sized camera that used 110 film cartridges; it was compact, stylish and highly regarded. Later on, Rollei released a cheaper alternative in silver, the E110. Both models sold extremely well – the A26 achieved sales of almost 140,000 units, while over 240,000 pocket cameras were sold.
  Between 1977 and 1979, Rollei commissioned a little known Japanese company to manufacture a range of three, basic pocket cameras. These were sold under the brand name Pocketline by Rollei. However, sales were poor, although precise sales figures are unavailable.
  From 1974 onwards, Rollei introduced various 35 mm cameras of conventional design, including the Rolleimat and the Rollei 35XF. Some were sold under the Voigtländer brand with different model names, while others were made in Japan.
caption: PocketLine by Rollei
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