Rollei is a German manufacturer of optical goods founded in 1920 by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord series of cameras. Current products also include specialty and nostalgic type films for the photo hobbyist market.
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 in 2005 was split into two different companies: "Rollei GmbH" in Berlin, owner of the Rollei brand and selling various OEM equipment, and "Franke & Heidecke GmbH, Feinmechanik und Optik" in Brunswick, an equipment factory.
In early 2009, Franke & Heidecke GmbH, Feinmechanik und Optik declared itself insolvent.
Currently Rolleiflex medium format cameras, Rollei 35 and Rolleivision slide projectors are being produced by DHW Fototechnik - a company founded by former Franke & Heidecke employees. DHW Fototechnik presented two new Rolleiflex cameras and a new electronic shutter at Photokina 2012.
Rollei cameras typically use Carl Zeiss or Schneider Kreuznach lenses, as well as lenses manufactured by Rollei based on designs by Zeiss, and occasionally lenses made by Japanese manufacturers.
Read more about Rollei: Classic Examples — Medium Format, Classic Examples — 35 Mm, Modern Examples — 35mm, Modern Examples — Medium Format, Modern Examples — Digital, Modern Examples — Slide Projector, Accessories — TLR