When the company went out of business, Mr Fleenor bought all the test gear from Rollei of America and set up shop in Manhattan Beach, California—just 15 miles down the coast from where your correspondent resides. With camera in hand, he was round at Mr Fleenor’s repair shop in a trice.

trice (n) 1: a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat) [syn: blink of an eye, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiffy, split second, twinkling, wink, New York minute] – source: Difference Engine: Digital disillusion