Rollei 6008 ?

[Havoc]

I'm thinking about buying a Rollei 6008 after seeing many beautiful images taken with these cameras, any advice/opinions and the pro's and con's from anyone who has owned one or indeed does still own one now ?
Thanks in advance for any help as usual.

John.

 

[MDR]

Pro: - Superb lenses and body
- Rollei Quality
- fastest shutter speed of any camera with leaf shutter 1/1000th not available with every lens
- ergonomic dream

Con: Not as widely available and as common as Hasselblads and Mamiyas not at easy to get repaired
fully electronic
sometimes problems with the electronics

Personal opinion: one of the best MF cameras, prefer them to Hassy. The lenses are mostly the same just with different coating Rollei HFT vs Zeiss T.

Dominik

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I don't own one - I can't comment on features of the camera. But don't assume that it is the camera that took those pictures - it was the PHOTOGRAPHER. The Rollei, like all other cameras, is just a dumb box with a hole in one end to let light in, and a hole in the other to put that light on a piece of film. If the mechanical features/ergonomic design of the camera make it easier for you to put on film what you see in your mind's eye, then yes, get one.

 

[sepiareverb]

The batteries were problematic with my 6000 series. I also dislike the backs, much fussier to load than a Hasselblad.

The battery that came with the body I bought was bad, and finding one at a reasonable price was difficult. I rebuilt one battery with success, but it was a real PITA.

 

[Michael W]

Pro: - Superb lenses and body
- Rollei Quality
- fastest shutter speed of any camera with leaf shutter 1/1000th not available with every lens
- ergonomic dream

Con: Not as widely available and as common as Hasselblads and Mamiyas not at easy to get repaired
fully electronic
sometimes problems with the electronics

Personal opinion: one of the best MF cameras, prefer them to Hassy. The lenses are mostly the same just with different coating Rollei HFT vs Zeiss T.

Dominik

I had a 6008 Pro for about 10 years and agree with the above. The film loading was easy. I'd say that if the camera is functioning well it's a dream to use, but if develops mechanical or electronic problems could be a nightmare these days.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Years ago I considered one. Went with the all-mechanical SL66 instead. No electronics to go bad, much more fixable, built like tanks. GREAT lenses.

 

[dpurdy]

I would like to have one. Would get the 6008-I. I would love to have that HFT coated Xenotar.

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

I'm glad I kept mine. I got mine new back in the day, had an issue fairly quickly, repaired under warranty, then meter went out, (but otherwise camera functioned), Fixed, Battery died, rebuilt it with Ni-Mh cells (2x). Lenses cleaned a few times. I'm happy it works now, the 2nd re-cell brought it to a good state. I use a polaroid back with mine. Used to grind thru the rolls of E-6 shooting bikinis. You can see some shots done with the 6008i at
http://four-silver-atoms.com/2011/03/02/ah-memories/
Yes, sometimes they are fussy.
When they work they work exceedingly well: Great glass, held accurately by a good transport, great meter, easy and fast loading (I know, words not usually associated with any 120 size film), fast motor, fast shutter response, bright finder, easy and fast mirror lock up, vibration-less shutter, 1/1000 flash sync is pretty nice. I really have enjoyed shooting mine, and when it didn't work I was kinda bummed.

 

[stormy_weather]

A 6008 with grip and magazine is quite a beast and needs a big bag, even with only one lens.
What are you prepared to carry - what have you carried until now?

Regards,

Sven

 

[palewin]

Was just using my 6006 today. Excellent cameras, only two downsides I would consider: the battery may need to be rebuilt, which you should be able to have done for <$100, and if you use Ni-Mh cells they are better than the original nicads; the second is simply weight, these are heavy cameras, you pay a penalty for the built-in motor. There are a bunch of plusses, already listed, but the most important, in my opinion, is that the optics are really excellent.

 

[xisbrat]

Optics have already been covered, so wanted to comment on handling. Bought into the 6008 system back in 2008, and think it is ergonomically one of the best MF SLRs to have. It is heavy indeed, and I wouldn't walk around all day with it around your neck, but in your hands it handles well when used with the grip. Because of its automatic exposure meter, it is very quick to expose, compose and shoot. And for those important shots, the mirror lockup and self-timer buttons are at your fingertips. I think the price for the basic body/80mm lens has actually gone down in price since 2008, so they are relatively cheap now, compared to yesteryear. However, the other lens in the lineup, and accessories, have gone up in price (in pace with other brands), so it may take a while to build up your lens lineup. You should determine if you need wide-angle, macro, or telephoto lenses to see whether they fit within your price range.

A comment on the film back loading: my friend bought a Hasselblad 500cm at about the same time, and when comparing his loading of a Hasselblad back to my Rollei 6008 back, there is no comparison -- the Rollei is a snap, the Hasselblad is fiddly (you can see many fiddly examples in Youtube).

 

[tnabbott]

I had one for about a year. Great camera because it incorporates AE without the need for an AE finder. I love the WLF experience and really enjoyed being able to use the WLF with the fully AE functions of the 6008. The downside for me was the ergonomics. It is much heavier than the hasselblad and felt boxy in my hand. I ultimately found that it was not comfortable for me to for walkaround use. I had not problem with the battery. Seemed to go 20-30 rolls between charges. Great camera and system.

 

[Noble]

I rebuilt one battery with success, but it was a real PITA.

Rebuilding the battery is a piece of cake. It is a battery of 8 2/3A cells. I just ordered 8 2/3A NiMH 1600 mAh on the internet for about $24. $10 of that was shipping. Then I went to a local battery plus and had them rebuild the battery for me. I think it was about $10. I would have gotten the cells locally but they only had something like 1100 mAh cells. Just be sure to get NiMH cells and make sure they are 1600 mAh. If you are going to rebuild it might as well go for robust capacity. I believe someone on the internet said he got something like 1,000 snaps on one charge before he stopped counting.

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

I agree. Since I rebuilt the batter with Ni-Mh 1600 mAh cells I've never actually had the battery drop to an unusable level. 15-20 rolls easy, no drop, and then I top up the battery and keep going. I suppose at some point I'll figure out just how far they go.

 

[Talisker]

I own a Rolleiflex 6008 professional and I never had a problem with loading the backs. The ingenious film inserts can be preloaded and make changing film as fast as with a standard 35mm SLR camera. Also the film inserts effectively make a second magazine unnecessary, which saves weight and money. Owning a second magazine is only useful if you tend to change between different film types frequently. You may have used film inserts for the earlier SLX camera which jam into 6000 series backs.
Batteries can be refitted and bought new for e.g. at DHW Fototechnik in Germany.
One of my favorite camera I own.