 Due to its large success, as early as the end of 1967 a luxury and a beginners variant of the Rollei 35 were planned.However, because of the production shift to Singapore, it was not until 1971 that the computation of a five-elements lens was assigned to Zeiss.This Sonnar f 2.8 / 40 mm lens was to be fitted with a front lens focusing control, like the Tessar, providing a similar mounting in the sliding tube.