Rollei SL66 owners, I need help

campy51 · Mar 22, 2019

I just picked up one of the earlier models with an 80mm, waist level and prism for good price but I think the lens has a problem. I can't get the aperture to stop down either with the lens unmounted or when I take a picture with the back removed and the the camera set to B and holding the shutter button. Is the lens broken or can it be the body?

jvo · Mar 22, 2019

i'm a rollei fan, but only have a tlr... i keep looking at an sl66, but always stop at the price and also it reputed battery problem - and only an after-market replacement available. might a weak battery be the case with your camera?

k.hendrik · Mar 22, 2019

Have a SL66SE; maybe the "price was too good" Could be both; body or lens malfunctioning.
http://www.rolleiclub.com/ or
http://www.sl66.com/
oh,& about battery; if you don't shooting get it out of the camera. Since 2012 shooting this (very expensive)baby flawless

campy51 · Mar 22, 2019

It doesn't have a battery like the SL66E

naaldvoerder · Mar 22, 2019

I have an SL66 aswell as a repair manual. In mount of the lens is a little tab with a small hole in it. If you stop down the unmounted lens, you should be able to open the aperture if you move this little tap. If you can, I should think the lens should be fine. When you need more info, just pm me.

campy51 · Mar 22, 2019

naaldvoerder said:
I have an SL66 aswell as a repair manual. In mount of the lens is a little tab with a small hole in it. If you stop down the unmounted lens, you should be able to open the aperture if you move this little tap. If you can, I should think the lens should be fine. When you need more info, just pm me.

Thanks, that did the trick. I was playing with that but didn't want to force anything. I did put a couple of tiny drops of sewing machine oil on it and it seems to be working fine now. I will check it periodically.
Thanks for the info, now I can get some film tomorrow and test it out. This is an early version with the serial number 290xxx so I hope I won't have the mirror lockup I read about in the early versions. It looks to be in at least an 8+ condition for it's age. It came with waist and 45 prism finder.

naaldvoerder · Mar 22, 2019

Congrats. Don't know of the problem of mirror lock up. Most lock ups in the 66 are caused by user error. Read the manual first. One thing to remember is to always cock the shutter before doing any doing anything else with the camera, like attaching or removing the film back. It is also a good idea to dry fire the camera ones in a while when not in use for longer periods.

campy51 · Mar 22, 2019

I read about cocking the shutter before doing anything and so far I have. I will post a picture of mine tomorrow.

RauschenOderKorn · Mar 23, 2019

Taking pictures without the back mounted is possible, but operation of this camera is tricky. The back needs to be in synch with the body, and you should only remove and put it on with the shutter cocked. Make sure you read the manual, I messed up mine once by playing around. Unfortunately, this camera is not fool proof, and repair is expensive.

campy51 · Mar 23, 2019

Here are some pictures of what I bought.

campy51 · Mar 25, 2019

Here are a couple of test shots I took yesterday. It seems harder to focus this camera compared to the 500C/M, it doesn't seem to snap into focus. The close focusing is interesting.

Neil Grant · Mar 26, 2019

it's a nice looking camera - but i don't think you really show it off on your improvised 'product table'. It's worrying to hear how careful you need to be to avoid jamming it. Hope you get on well with it - love the tilting bellows unit on these cams.

campy51 · Mar 26, 2019

Neil Grant said:
it's a nice looking camera - but i don't think you really show it off on your improvised 'product table'. It's worrying to hear how careful you need to be to avoid jamming it. Hope you get on well with it - love the tilting bellows unit on these cams.

These were just some quick shots without much thought put into them. After shooting a roll and then picking up my Hasselbald the 500C/M seems so much better. I have another roll in the camera and will take some outdoor pictures now that it's warming up here.

Johnkpap · Mar 26, 2019

Your SL66 looks to be in nice condition, I have also a Early version SN 2907xxx I bought mine at a local auction a few years ago, a local well known camera camera collector was down sizing (The auction went for 2 days !!!) I got mine at a good price and it is like new with original box and papers.and has never had any issues, it is my most prized camera. The quality of the images it can produce is amazing, I have compared it to a hasselblad ...... it is bigger and heaver but the more you use it the more it grows on you. The only problem is the some accessories are hard to find, if you do alot of flash/ studio work the 150mm lens with leaf shutter is good investment the cameras slow sinc issue goes away once you have this lens, another worthwhile item is a second film back, all the accessories for this camera are incredibly well designed.

Enjoy

Johnkpap

bags27 · Dec 27, 2021

Hi--
I just received my SL66. Lovely condition. But the crank seems to be stuck in the forward position (I didn't do anything, knowing that you have to follow the steps carefully). If anyone is still looking in on this thread, I'd really appreciate some help. Thanks so much!

Arthurwg · Dec 28, 2021

campy51 said:
These were just some quick shots without much thought put into them. After shooting a roll and then picking up my Hasselbald the 500C/M seems so much better. I have another roll in the camera and will take some outdoor pictures now that it's warming up here.

I'm glad you said that.

naaldvoerder · Dec 28, 2021

campy51 said:
Here are a couple of test shots I took yesterday. It seems harder to focus this camera compared to the 500C/M, it doesn't seem to snap into focus. The close focusing is interesting.

The SL66 does benefit enormously from replacing the focusing screen with a Maxwell bright screen.

Sirius Glass · Dec 28, 2021

It is a matter of stock on hand and fate that I ended up with a Hasselblad rather than the Rollei SL 66. With either of them one must carefully follow all the cocking, winding, ... steps to avoid jamming the camera. Take your time to get familiar with the camera and lenses. From my Hasselblad repairman, every three months remove the film back and fire each lens 10 to 15 times at 1 second to keep the lenses lubricated and moving freely and correctly.

You have come to the right place for suggestions, guidance and lens buying enabling. Enjoy.

Welcome to ~~APUG~~ Photrio!!

campy51 · Dec 28, 2021

I stupidly sold this camera for the profit from what I paid for it. I would buy it again in a heartbeat for what I sold it for. I am trying not to make the same mistake with my Hasselblad, 2 Rolleiflex 2.8's and others, but it's hard to justify keeping them when I only shoot a couple of rolls a month.

Sirius Glass · Dec 28, 2021

campy51 said:
I stupidly sold this camera for the profit from what I paid for it. I would buy it again in a heartbeat for what I sold it for. I am trying not to make the same mistake with my Hasselblad, 2 Rolleiflex 2.8's and others, but it's hard to justify keeping them when I only shoot a couple of rolls a month.

Since COVID hit and my travels are limited, I am not even shooting several rolls a month. Just hold on to your cameras and wait it out. It might seem like it will last forever, but it will not. Just hang in there. Meanwhile, can I buy you a drink?

k.hendrik · Dec 29, 2021

bags27 said:
Hi--
I just received my SL66. Lovely condition. But the crank seems to be stuck in the forward position (I didn't do anything, knowing that you have to follow the steps carefully). If anyone is still looking in on this thread, I'd really appreciate some help. Thanks so much!

As a happy & privileged owner of a SL66se I don't really understand what the problem is ! "stuck in the forward position" ? is the darkslide in or out ? when 'in': nothing will do. When 'out' everything must work.Try to remove the filmback(with darkslide 'in') DON'T use any force!!!!! Shutter release maybe "locked"; red dot ??

Rollei SL66 owners, I need help

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