Rollei SL66 beater

campy51 · May 27, 2018

This came with a couple of boxes non working cameras and lenses which could from a camera repair person. All the functions appear to be working so I decided to put a roll through it. The film is drying but some of the negatives look pretty good with the exception of about 6 shots I screwed up. I will scan them after drying and see what you think. I have it up on ebay right now as for parts or non working but I may pull the ad and maybe have the leatherette replaced and use it myself.

campy51 · May 27, 2018

Here are a couple of scans. I am new to scanning so these may not be the best. Any thoughts on quality?

k.hendrik · May 27, 2018

https://www.japancamerahunter.com/2018/01/camera-geekery-rolleiflex-sl66-review/
have fun

itsdoable · May 27, 2018

I don't see it on eBay, but I'm in Canada, which won't show items for sale in the US only.

If you are amicable to shipping up here, let me know, I've always wanted to pick up a SL66 beater to fix up and work on.

campy51 · May 27, 2018

I wasn't expecting this to work at all so I am pleased it does. Anyone know how the front elements comes out? The ring around the rear element is dented so there is no way of taking the rear element out and I wanted to clean it from the front.

campy51 · May 27, 2018

itsdoable said:
I don't see it on eBay, but I'm in Canada, which won't show items for sale in the US only.

If you are amicable to shipping up here, let me know, I've always wanted to pick up a SL66 beater to fix up and work on.

I may end up keeping it. I am waiting for Morgan Sparks from cameraleather.com to get back to me on the cost of new leather.

shutterfinger · May 27, 2018

The Zeiss Planar f2.8 was made in several versions, 3 6glass versions and a 7 glass version.

Looking at your pictures there are spanner slots in the innermost ring of the front but taking out the front elements may not get you the access you want. On the rear is a ring with 4 screws. I would remove the screws and lift the ring off as it may release the rear lens group from the assembly. Those bends in the rear outer rim should be easy to straighten also.

cooltouch · May 27, 2018

Those scans look very nice to me. If I were you, I'd keep that camera. The SL66 is such a cool machine.

Slixtiesix · May 28, 2018

Once you have put a new set of leatherette on the camera, this will be a fine machine. I can see no damage to the camera´s "structural" parts on any of these pictures. Is the focus going continuously smooth? (Mind however, it´s never as smooth as with the TLRs).

campy51 · May 28, 2018

Slixtiesix said:
Once you have put a new set of leatherette on the camera, this will be a fine machine. I can see no damage to the camera´s "structural" parts on any of these pictures. Is the focus going continuously smooth? (Mind however, it´s never as smooth as with the TLRs).

The focusing hesitates a little when focusing but doesn't seem to be mechanically binding. I think it's the grease being old and dirty.

Sirius Glass · May 28, 2018

When I went to trade in the Mamiya C330 with three lenses and every known accessory in the known world, I was interested in both the Hasselblad and the Rollei SL-66. The sales man at Samys said the Rollei did not have as many cameras or lenses [used or new] available at their store while they did have many Hasselblad et al regularly coming available. Furthermore, they had a full time Hasselblad repairman at the store. I chose Hasselblad and have been very happy.

Thank you for the back story and a detailed description of the SL-66's operation.

Enjoy your gem of a camera.

campy51 · May 29, 2018

I am having a hard time determining if the shutter speeds above 1/60 are changing speeds. Usually I can tell by the sound and looking through the back. Is there a way to check?

itsdoable · May 29, 2018

The old CRT TV's and monitors were great for that, you could measure the shutter speeds with them. You can still see differences using the current LED monitors. Fluoecent and neon lights will show variations when you look at then through the shutter.

Rollei SL66 beater

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