C41
Kodak Portra 160
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
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The Linhof Super Rolex III (introduced ~1957; also spelled "Super Rollex") is a 120 roll-film back accessory manufactured by Linhof GmbH of Munich, designed to replace the ground-glass and film-holder system of Linhof Technika cameras with a roll-film transport producing 6×9 cm frames on 120 film. Its defining feature is the revolving back mechanism, which allows the photographer to rotate the film plane between landscape (horizontal) and portrait (vertical) orientation without removing or flipping the back — a significant advantage over competing roll-film adapters that required repositioning the entire camera.
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C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
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Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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About this camera
Linhof's 6×9 revolving roll-film back for the Technika system — the accessory that turned a 4×5 press camera into a versatile medium-format tool.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 6×9 cm on 120 roll film (8 frames per roll) |
| Compatibility | Linhof Technika III, IV, V, Master Technika; Linhof Technika 70 |
| Year introduced | ~1957 |
| Key feature | Revolving back — landscape/portrait without removing back |
| Shutter | Via host camera's lens-mounted leaf shutter |
| Film load | Standard 120 roll |
| Build | Aluminum + steel |
Linhof developed roll-film backs for the Technika system from the early Technika generations, recognising that medium-format economy was an important selling point for press and commercial photographers who did not always need 4×5 negatives. Earlier Rollex backs (I, II) preceded the Super Rolex III with simpler, non-revolving constructions that required the photographer to physically re-orient the camera body to switch between landscape and portrait framing.
The Super Rolex III, introduced around 1957, added the revolving mechanism as its primary advance. The timing coincides with the introduction of the Technika IV (1956), suggesting Linhof positioned the new back as a companion accessory to the updated camera body. The revolving design addressed a genuine practical complaint from photographers who found the earlier backs cumbersome in fast-moving situations.
The back remained in production — with further refinements to the III across serial number ranges — through the Technika V and Master Technika eras, maintaining compatibility with the consistent rear-standard architecture of the Technika family. Late-production examples carry Linhof's modern labeling conventions while retaining the fundamental revolving mechanism.
The Super Rolex III is significant because it makes the Linhof Technika system genuinely dual-format: a photographer can use 4×5 sheet film for critical architectural or studio work and switch to 120 medium format for faster-paced shooting — all with the same camera, lenses, and movements. This versatility is a key argument for the Technika system over more rigid press camera platforms.
For buyers of the 4×5 Technika III, IV, or V, a Super Rolex III back substantially expands the camera's utility. On the used market, backs in good condition are a worthwhile addition to any Technika kit, with prices typically well below the host camera body.
The revolving mechanism specifically matters in architectural and product work where switching between landscape and portrait framing mid-shoot without disturbing the tripod setup is practically valuable. Competing non-revolving roll-film adapters from other manufacturers lack this capability.
As an accessory rather than a camera body, the Super Rolex III does not have its own lens mount. Lenses are mounted on the host Technika body's lensboard. Standard 4×5 Technika lenses with adequate image circles for 4×5 will cover 6×9 with margin; lenses designed for smaller formats should be checked for vignetting at 6×9.
A ground-glass preview insert allows composition before loading the roll-film back. Linhof also produced a 6×7 cm roll-film back (Super Rollex 6×7) as a separate accessory yielding 10 frames per 120 roll, though this is not the Super Rolex III variant.
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