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These are not the cameras for wallflowers.
They're big. They're metal. They're exotic. They look expensive. And they are expensive. They are Rollei's apotheoses of the point-and-shoot, the QZ 35T and its wider-lensed sibling, the QZ 35W.
We've used the term "tank" before, but never with so little exaggeration. The QZ tips the scale at a fraction over a pound and a half, and the accessory flash adds another half a pound. For reference, a typical small SLR, with built-in flash and a compact zoom, might bend your shoulder to the tune of about a pound and a half.
But a lightweight plastic camera this isn't. The body and lens are fully encased in titanium. (Can you imagine what it would weigh if it were, say, stainless steel!) With its rounded corners, and leather-covered finger and thumbgrip surfaces, it has echoes of both classic Leicas and (pre-Kyocera) Contax rangefinders.... but bigger. The size is pretty much the most controversial aspect of the styling; it's not that much smaller or lighter than some of the smaller 21/4 cameras!
Big though it may be, it's built. The metalwork, fit, and finish of the QZ are nothing short of magnificent. The back fits like the door of a German sports sedan; the tripod socket is a beefy all-metal affair; the neckstrap lugs look like small trailer hitches. Inside, the chassis is die-cast aluminum, and what plastic is used (there is some) is also substantial and well-finished. (In case you're wondering, yes, the QZ is manufactured in Germany, with considerable input on design and operation, and no doubt a subassembly here and there, from Samsung, the parent company of Rollei.) The great advantage of big cameras, of course, is grippability. You can get a rock-solid twohanded hold on the QZ, and the attachment of the flash, if anything, gives you still more to hang onto. The damping effect of the metal body reduces vibration of the focal-plane shutter considerably, although no one would ever mistake its ker-chunk for the noise of an in-lens leaf shutter.
In operation, the QZ is very much a hybrid. Like a typical point-and-shoot, it has a permanently mounted zoom lens operated by a toggle switch, and autofocusing (passive, in this case) through a separate...