I’m always intrigued when a new Rollei camera is announced, even in these digital days — my first camera was a Rollei twin-lens 2 1/4″ square, and it still remains my favorite.

Imagine my surprise then, when investigating the new Rollei da 6324 and finding it virtually identical in every visual respect to a point-shoot camera I bought recently.

The Advent MP8 is a very nice camera, made in China and, with 8 mega-pixels and many good features, a classy product for its price range (I paid £130 GBP).

The new Rollei da 6324 is identical, front and back, in a way that can’t be simple coincidence. The Advent does have a couple of extra megapixels and part of the lens spec differs too, but the case and presentation are the same.

Did Rollei go to China, pick out a nice camera, and rebadge it with the Rollei imprint?

I’d love to know. Just think, for the same price I could have sported a Rollei. Bah!