RolleiPrego 90

The Rollei Prego 90 comes out of the late 1990s — panorama switches, dated LCDs, and a few genuinely brilliant lenses hiding inside plastic shells. Catalogued as a zoom compact, it pairs the Rollei Apogon 38–90mm f/4–8.2 with a 35mm film path. A bit of background: german engineering meets Singapore manufacturing — peak 90s Rollei.

Format

35mm

Year

1995

Lens

Rollei Apogon 38–90mm f/4–8.2

Min. focus

0.6 m

Flash

Built-in

Battery

1× CR123A

The Rollei Apogon 38–90mm f/4–8.2 covers wide-to-short-tele in one barrel — one lens, no decisions, point and shoot. Standard 35mm keeps it compatible with whatever Kodak, Ilford, Fuji or CineStill stock you find on the shelf today. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.6 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. One thing worth knowing before you load a roll: The Apogon zoom is sharper than a zoom compact has any right to be. Built for family events, holidays and anything where you'd rather reframe than walk.

Zoom compacts are still the bargain corner of the film market — pick up the Rollei Prego 90 cheap, run a roll through it and judge whether the convenience outweighs the slower aperture. Worth remembering: came in a brushed metal finish that still looks fresh on a desk.

• §1German engineering meets Singapore manufacturing — peak 90s Rollei.
• §2The Apogon zoom is sharper than a zoom compact has any right to be.
• §3Came in a brushed metal finish that still looks fresh on a desk.