Clueless on How to use lens

[RJSPHD55]

Hello, I just purchased a Rollei SL66 and the 150mm lens with the build in leaf shutter and flash syncs.

I have never used such a lens (or this camera for that matter) and a not clear how to coordinate the curtain shutter in the camera with the leaf shutter in the lens.

Any explicit direction on how to use this lens would be appreciated. So far I haven't found anything online to help me figure it out.

Also, there are two sync ports on the lens X and R. Please what are the differences?

Clearly I am a newbie and will be grateful for any help.

Rob

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Sounds like an obvious question, but have you checked the manual ?

Rolleiflex SL66 instruction manual, PDF user manual

Rolleiflex SL66 camera instruction manual in PDF format.

butkus.org

In general, with leaf shutters, you don't have to coordinate anything.

 

[BrianShaw]

Never heard of “R” synch. Are you sure? X is for electronic strobe. The other should be for flash bulb and should be FP or M.

It’s a really nice camera. You should sincerely execute Alex’s recommendation rather than just fiddling and pondering. Enjoy!

EDIT: Welcome to the forum. Please keep posting on your adventures with that SL66 (or any other cameras you use).

 

[abruzzi]

I think the issue is that the SL66 uses a focal plane shutter, but the lens has a leaf shutter that you can use instead. The trick (which I don't seen in the instructions) is how you setup the camera and lens to use the leaf insteal of focal plane. For the leaf shutter lenses on the Pentax 67, you have to set the FP shutter to a very slow speed like 1/8sec so the FP is wide open when the leaf shutter triggers, I expect the Rollei is similar, but I've never used an SL66.

I assume this is the lens you have?

Carl Zeiss Sonnar 150mm F/4

Short telephoto prime lens. Announced: 1966. Production status: Discontinued. Maximum format: Medium format 6x6. Mount: Rolleiflex SL66. Slow speed. Built-in leaf shutter. Manual focus only. Automatic diaphragm. Bayonet-type filters.

lens-db.com

I'd probably start like I said and just run the FP shutter very slowly and try some test shots.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

I think the issue is that the SL66 uses a focal plane shutter, but the lens has a leaf shutter that you can use instead. The trick (which I don't seen in the instructions) is how you setup the camera and lens to use the leaf insteal of focal plane. For the leaf shutter lenses on the Pentax 67, you have to set the FP shutter to a very slow speed like 1/8sec so the FP is wide open when the leaf shutter triggers, I expect the Rollei is similar, but I've never used an SL66.

I assume this is the lens you have?

Carl Zeiss Sonnar 150mm F/4

Short telephoto prime lens. Announced: 1966. Production status: Discontinued. Maximum format: Medium format 6x6. Mount: Rolleiflex SL66. Slow speed. Built-in leaf shutter. Manual focus only. Automatic diaphragm. Bayonet-type filters.

lens-db.com

I'd probably start like I said and just run the FP shutter very slowly and try some test shots.

From what I understand, it's only if you want to use the flash sync.

Here's the camera-wiki entry:

There are a couple of lenses with leaf shutters built in. This allows more flexibility in higher flash sync speeds and are capable from 1/30 to 1/500 of a sec. To use the faster flash sync speeds, the shutter speed on camera body must be set to 1/30 or below. Cock the lens shutter and attach the sync cord to the lens.

Rolleiflex SL66 - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

camera-wiki.org

 

[reddesert]

Sounds like an obvious question, but have you checked the manual ?

Rolleiflex SL66 instruction manual, PDF user manual

Rolleiflex SL66 camera instruction manual in PDF format.

butkus.org

In general, with leaf shutters, you don't have to coordinate anything.

The camera has a focal plane shutter, so the user has to get the focal plane shutter to open longer than the leaf shutter, and get the camera to trigger the leaf shutter to close/open/close.

I don't have an SL66, but I suggest the OP visit: http://www.sl66.com/pg/lens_index.shtml
and click on the little ">>" links for more info that are at the right hand side of the table rows for 80/4 and 150/4 leaf shutter lenses, or direct link: http://www.sl66.com/pg/sl66_lenses/80mmlf.htm From there:

"With the 80 and 150 leaf shutter lenses, no special procedure is needed to use the camera's focal plane shutter as usual.

In order to use the leaf shutter for flash, cock the leaf shutter on the lens before the exposure, attach a flash to the sync connector on the lens, and set the camera shutter time to 1/30 of a second or shorter [sic]."

IMO, the "shorter" is almost certainly an error and the camera shutter needs to be set to 1/30 sec or longer (1/15, 1/8 sec, etc).

 

[RJSPHD55]

Sounds like an obvious question, but have you checked the manual ?

Rolleiflex SL66 instruction manual, PDF user manual

Rolleiflex SL66 camera instruction manual in PDF format.

butkus.org

In general, with leaf shutters, you don't have to coordinate anything.

Thanks Alex, I have been through the manual/guide a couple of times and there is no mention of this lens. But there sure are enough "quirks" to make me take my time when I do get the camera in my hands. Thanks for the advice.

 

[RJSPHD55]

Never heard of “R” synch. Are you sure? X is for electronic strobe. The other should be for flash bulb and should be FP or M.

It’s a really nice camera. You should sincerely execute Alex’s recommendation rather than just fiddling and pondering. Enjoy!

EDIT: Welcome to the forum. Please keep posting on your adventures with that SL66 (or any other cameras you use).

Thanks, Brian. I will update the forum when I have shot my first roll or two.

 

[RJSPHD55]

The camera has a focal plane shutter, so the user has to get the focal plane shutter to open longer than the leaf shutter, and get the camera to trigger the leaf shutter to close/open/close.

I don't have an SL66, but I suggest the OP visit: http://www.sl66.com/pg/lens_index.shtml
and click on the little ">>" links for more info that are at the right hand side of the table rows for 80/4 and 150/4 leaf shutter lenses, or direct link: http://www.sl66.com/pg/sl66_lenses/80mmlf.htm From there:

"With the 80 and 150 leaf shutter lenses, no special procedure is needed to use the camera's focal plane shutter as usual.

In order to use the leaf shutter for flash, cock the leaf shutter on the lens before the exposure, attach a flash to the sync connector on the lens, and set the camera shutter time to 1/30 of a second or shorter [sic]."

IMO, the "shorter" is almost certainly an error and the camera shutter needs to be set to 1/30 sec or longer (1/15, 1/8 sec, etc).

Thank you so much, very very helpful.

 

[RJSPHD55]

I think the issue is that the SL66 uses a focal plane shutter, but the lens has a leaf shutter that you can use instead. The trick (which I don't seen in the instructions) is how you setup the camera and lens to use the leaf insteal of focal plane. For the leaf shutter lenses on the Pentax 67, you have to set the FP shutter to a very slow speed like 1/8sec so the FP is wide open when the leaf shutter triggers, I expect the Rollei is similar, but I've never used an SL66.

I assume this is the lens you have?

Carl Zeiss Sonnar 150mm F/4

Short telephoto prime lens. Announced: 1966. Production status: Discontinued. Maximum format: Medium format 6x6. Mount: Rolleiflex SL66. Slow speed. Built-in leaf shutter. Manual focus only. Automatic diaphragm. Bayonet-type filters.

lens-db.com

I'd probably start like I said and just run the FP shutter very slowly and try some test shots.

Thank you so much. Helpful.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Welcome to Photrio!

Read your manual before using your camera. Free manuals are available at https://www.butkus.org/chinon/, and if you find that the download is useful please donate $3US to keep that free website going.

 

[Arthurwg]

Just curious, but is the Rollei FP shutter reliable? Is it more robust than the Hasselblad 200-Series cameras?

 

[MattKing]

Working from very distant memory here, but I seem to recall that for the Mamiya 645 camera line, the instructions for use of the leaf shutter equipped lens options were specific to those lenses, and that when using the leaf shutter instead of the focal plane shutter, they specified that one should set the focal plane shutter to 1/4 second or longer.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Hello, I just purchased a Rollei SL66 and the 150mm lens with the build in leaf shutter and flash syncs.

I have never used such a lens (or this camera for that matter) and a not clear how to coordinate the curtain shutter in the camera with the leaf shutter in the lens.

Any explicit direction on how to use this lens would be appreciated. So far I haven't found anything online to help me figure it out.

Also, there are two sync ports on the lens X and R. Please what are the differences?

Clearly I am a newbie and will be grateful for any help.

Rob

don't worry about the shutter coordination. Set the leaf shutter on the lens to control exposure; the camera does the rest. X sync is for electronic flash and R or M are for old-type flash bulbs, which need more time to get to their full light output.

 

[john_s]

Some of what is written above is incorrect.

I will attempt to attach four files of scans from The Mannheim book about the SL66. I hope they are readable. Read them in order 1,2,3,4.

 

[Taylor Nankervis]

In general, with leaf shutters, you don't have to coordinate anything

It is the focal plane shutter of the camera that requires to be set to a typically slower sync than the leaf shutter, which in turn can be set to any speed marked on it. On some cameras the FP sync speed is around 1/4 to 1/8 sec.-- the sync speed varies widely across cameras. The user manual for the Rollei/LS lens should have particulars of setting LS and FP speeds.

I see a lot of new users in the Pentax 67 ecosystem, for instance, coming to frustration and grief with LS lenses. Apart from studio strobe/flash use, they are also useful for multi-exposures - - but that hat trick is a subject for another day and plenty of time!

 

[MattKing]

It is the focal plane shutter of the camera that requires to be set to a typically slower sync than the leaf shutter, which in turn can be set to any speed marked on it. On some cameras the FP sync speed is around 1/4 to 1/8 sec.-- the sync speed varies widely across cameras. The user manual for the Rollei/LS lens should have particulars of setting LS and FP speeds.

I see a lot of new users in the Pentax 67 ecosystem, for instance, coming to frustration and grief with LS lenses. Apart from studio strobe/flash use, they are also useful for multi-exposures - - but that hat trick is a subject for another day and plenty of time!

In the excerpt posted by @john_s I believe it says 1/4 second or slower for the SL66 - similar to my experience with the Mamiya 645.
It is an issue that arises because of how the mechanisms in the camera and the leaf shutter lenses are sequenced - which opens first, and when the second one opens in relation to the other. The 1/4 second or slower timing for the camera's focal plane shutter provides a sufficient "window" for the leaf shutter to go from closed, to fully open, and then back to closed again all within that period of time.
If you intend to take time exposures with the camera - longer than 1/4 second - it may make more sense to use the focal plane shutter only.