Nice money saving camera - a rebranded Rollei!

macutmore

Aldi's nice new model flagship Camera available on Thursday...

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_16036.htm?WT.mc_id=2010-10-25-16-31


little does anyone know that it is actually a rebranded ROLLEI, but for that name, you would of course have to pay DOUBLE that amount!

The ALDI one...

http://www.traveler-service.de/cms/index.php?id=traveler-detail-uk&no_cache=1&tx_ewcamerasheet_pi1[view]=detail&tx_ewcamerasheet_pi1[id]=241

The ROLLEI one...

http://www.rcp-technik.com/typo3/index.php?id=122&no_cache=1&L=1&tx_ewcamerasheet_pi1[view]=detail&tx_ewcamerasheet_pi1[id]=111

Nothing like paying for the name is there?

penrhyn

The cynic would say that both cameras are knocked out by Chinese child labour, as is most of the stuff we buy today.

Donnie

Your links are broken.

ROLLEI The ROLLEI is £94.23 at Pixmania.

Aldi Traveler

So not really the bargain imagined.

I think Penrhyn is on the right track.... though maybe not on the child labour.

penrhyn

Perhaps using Karl Pilkington as a source was a mistake.:D

aarrgghh

Not quite the brand they were, but what is. You could have bought an Alpha Romeo car for £8k last year with the £2 scrapage allowance.

macutmore

I managed to get hold of their previous Traveler XS400, and am impressed by its build quality. A better model than this one as it does HD video.

Actually the Cameras themselves are made in Japan. Rollei cameras typically use Carl Zeiss or Schneider Kreuznach lenses, or lenses manufactured by Rollei based on designs by Zeiss, and occasionally lenses made by Japanese manufacturers and if you look more closely (check out the manuals too) you will find that the traveller range of cameras are exactly the same – just rebadged, repackaged and sold exclusively by ALDI stores!

Rollei themselves have only just began marketing their cameras in the UK. Their recent triumphs include the durable waterproof sports X8 (also sold by ALDI as a traveller UW8), and the latest ultra compact flexline model.

The perception of course is always...oh... a cheap chinese camera, sold at a cheap supermarket. The truth is they are actually well made for a reputable european based manufacturer / distributor, no different to any other japanese made tech.

JJ_Egan

Was that not an old brand name from the sixties that went bust after mass selling of a cheap product .

jje

Donnie

macutmore wrote: »

I managed to get hold of their previous Traveler XS400, and am impressed by its build quality. A better model than this one as it does HD video.

Actually the Cameras themselves are made in Japan. Rollei cameras typically use Carl Zeiss or Schneider Kreuznach lenses, or lenses manufactured by Rollei based on designs by Zeiss, and occasionally lenses made by Japanese manufacturers and if you look more closely (check out the manuals too) you will find that the traveller range of cameras are exactly the same – just rebadged, repackaged and sold exclusively by ALDI stores!

Rollei themselves have only just began marketing their cameras in the UK. Their recent triumphs include the durable waterproof sports X8 (also sold by ALDI as a traveller UW8), and the latest ultra compact flexline model.

The perception of course is always...oh... a cheap chinese camera, sold at a cheap supermarket. The truth is they are actually well made for a reputable european based manufacturer / distributor, no different to any other japanese made tech.

Does your camera actually say Made in Japan?

This company(RCP-Technik GmbH & Co. KG) only acquired the brand name three years ago.

Successful relaunch of Rollei digital cameras
In May 2007, RCP-Technik GmbH & Co. KG, a company based in Hamburg, acquired the Rollei brand licensing rights for the sale of digital cameras and accessories throughout Europe. The current Rollei product portfolio includes digital cameras in the following three product lines: “Flexline”, “Compactline”, “Sportsline“, the camcorder “Movieline”, and digital picture frames and photo/slide film scanners.



The ongoing development and high quality of the products is ensured thanks to the company’s own firmware and team of engineers. The after sales service offers a 24 month care-free package, which provides customers with the possibility to exchange the camera for a new device within 8 days, in the event of damage. The Rollei Service and Call Centre guarantee a high level of service quality and customer support throughout Europe.


Outlook – quote from Thomas Güttler, Managing Director of RCP-Technik GmbH:
“We look back with pride at the first two successful business years and expect our market share in the compact camera sector to increase by eight to ten percent by the end of 2009. We are continuously working to optimise the features provided by our models, so that we can continue to offer high quality Rollei products to consumers for a very reasonable price. The low failure rate, which is well below one percent, confirms our high expectations with regards to quality. At this year’s IFA we successfully presented numerous new products, including digital cameras, camcorders, digital picture frames and photo/slide film scanners. The “Rollei-Flexline” series has also been expanded consistently – one of the highlights is the “Flexline 250” with 12 megapixels, optical image stabiliser and 5x optical zoom. Besides our national activities, we are also strengthening our sales team throughout Europe, in addition to Switzerland and Austria.

macutmore

Other than the German serial label there appears to be no indication of exact manufacture location on the camera itself, but it is obvious that it is not manufactured in Europe. Korea of course is the only other candidate. Given that Rollei usually source lenses from Japan.

The press release links the likes of Technika to Rollei, but the product line names like "flexline" and "Compactline" are not actually used by Traveler. The build quality is excellent. I can't remember Rollei ever selling (or making) a cheap product or going bust, but then Aldi does claim to sell cheap products.

You just can't go wrong on this quality for the price though. Rollei's 24 month warranty is surpased by Aldis 36 month one to boot!

Donnie

macutmore wrote: »

Other than the German serial label there appears to be no indication of exact manufacture location on the camera itself, but it is obvious that it is not manufactured in Europe. Korea of course is the only other candidate. Given that Rollei usually source lenses from Japan.

The press release links the likes of Technika to Rollei, but the product line names like "flexline" and "Compactline" are not actually used by Traveler. The build quality is excellent. I can't remember Rollei ever selling (or making) a cheap product or going bust, but then Aldi does claim to sell cheap products.

You just can't go wrong on this quality for the price though. Rollei's 24 month warranty is surpased by Aldis 36 month one to boot!

The company that makes this 'consumer' product is not the same as the one that makes the professional product.

It may well be a quality product, but it is just the case of a brand name being purchased. I hardly believe that there is a Rollei technical specification.
But if they produce good cameras then there is no issue.

spaceboy

I had never head of Rollei until I read this thread. I'm sure I'm not the only one.