Rolleiflex 6008 Integral and 4.0 FW

[jmolligo]

The Rolleiflex 6008 Integral 2 or the 4.0FW are two cameras I had always hoped to own someday (one of the two).

However, it appears that there are things (changes) happening at Franke & Heidecke; and it's difficult to get any information from the company or dealers (Rollei doesn't answer my emails).

Does anyone know if the 6008 Integral System is still in production (and what lenses are still available)?

The same for question for the 4.0 TLR's?

Also - Can anyone recommend a good Rollei dealer in North America?

Thanks for any assistance.

 

[dpurdy]

Dead Link Removed
I bought a 2.8 FX from Kurland in New York. They had an in house service department. You might give them a call and see what they say.
Dennis

 

[jmolligo]

Thanks Dennis: I did email Kurland and (Craig Williams) responded as follows: "Thank you for your inquiry. We bought the last of their stock during the summer.....Rollei has recently sourced some new funding so there may be changes in the near future."
I'm not exactly sure what that might mean.

 

[DanielStone]

I would say "stay away from rolleis at the moment". look at hasselblads. great glass, even the older stuff! just not autofocus.

you could get a 553elx motor body with a 80mm cfe lens for less that 2g's.

just an idea. no cool handgrip, but there are aftermarket ones available

-Dan

 

[jmolligo]

There are good deals on Hassey's these days. Don't want autofocus (that's why I like the Integral). I really like the Rollei though, even though a 500, 501 or ELX is not a bad consolation. I hope F&H won't undergo drastic change; I have time to wait and see, I guess (as I do not have that kind of money at the moment anyway).

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

I've seen some of the Intergal Kits going for very cheap, some don't like investing in Rollei. THat said, I very much love my 6008i, I bought nearly 10 years ago sight unseen, I could not find anyone to rent or loan or even try it, but after shooting with Hassy Bronica RB and RZ the Rollei is another class. Great meter, same or better optics than Hassy with a faster shutter in 1/3 stops, built in motor with fast and kink free loading, and probably a very overlooked feature, simple drop in reversible film inserts that anyone can learn to load in 15 seconds. Try teaching a subsitute assistant how to load an A-12 quickly and *correctly* in the midst of a shoot. I'm in the process of rebuilding the nicad battery pack with Ni-Mh cells, and one of these days I'll find a 60mm Distagon to round out my 80 and 120. AFAIK the independent repair place is still in biz, my main board was NG after the first few months of hard shooting, but fixed under warranty and its been solid except for the batteries. I think you can find a really good deal on a whole kit, I got mine as the kit and I've seen the same whole kit for 12-1700 which is cheap considering what they went for. The comparison to Hassy is not a good one, the Hassy doesn't come close to the features of the 6008. The Zeiss lenses are the same, but the Rollei shutter is electronic with 1/3 steps and is very durable. Its too bad that the 6000 series came kinda late so close to the digital age, really great camera system.

 

[Q.G.]

Thanks Dennis: I did email Kurland and (Craig Williams) responded as follows: "Thank you for your inquiry. We bought the last of their stock during the summer.....Rollei has recently sourced some new funding so there may be changes in the near future."
I'm not exactly sure what that might mean.

The situation is that Rollei gave up making MF cameras a long time ago already. Rollei is now no more but a trademark, licensed by its Danish owners to several manufacturers of consumer electronics and other stuff.

A new company, calling themselves Franke & Heidecke, after the original company, thought they could succeed where Rollei thought they could not.
They tried to continue the 6000-series, but with as much success as Rollei had - none. Franke & Heidecke were thrown a life line by Jenoptik, asking them to build a platform for their (i.e. Sinar) digital backs (the Hy6), Leaf joined them.
They also continued the TLR line.
Franke & Heidecke Mk II however had taken on more than they could cope with when they took over from Rollei, and have now gone bankrupt. They closed shop on september 30th last year.
Jenoptik has withdrawn from digital photography, and Leaf was swallowed up by PhaseOne.

The latest news was that an investor wanted to continue 'something'.
'Something', because it still is not clear what. It was hinted at that the TLR line would continue, marketed as luxury items (of the extreme sort - very high prices, put in a box worth more than a 'regular' camera, and hand delivered to your home). But it could well be that all they are planning to do is get rid of the left over inventory that way, make a bundle out of the ruins, without resuming production, or even keep stocks of spare parts.
Odds are on that they indeed only want to turn the remaining stock into gold.

 

[Q.G.]

[...] Its too bad that the 6000 series came kinda late so close to the digital age, really great camera system.

I'm not sure i understand what you mean exactly, but the 6000-series did not arrive 'late'.
The SLX was introduced in 1974, the first 6000-series camera bearing a 6000-series name (6008) arrived in 1988.
Rollei was also early in having a digital scanning back (1991) and a digital one-shot back (1994) for their 6000-series cameras.
So both the 6000-series cameras and the Rollei company were there in full force right at the beginning of the digital age.

 

[TimVermont]

Don't turn down a 6008AF body if one comes your way just because of the autofocus. Just turn the AF off. A 6008AF will work with all SLX, PQ and PQS (and obviously AF) lenses, and the focus confirmation in the display can be very handy in some situations. Please note that despite what several scam artists on EBay will tell you, the 6000 series cannot control the aperture on Rollei AFD lenses, only a HY6 body can do that. You also get the most-evolved last generation 6000 series electronics with much better flash control and the ability to program several custom functions directly on camera.

 

[jmolligo]

That's very bad news Q.G.: about as depressing as when the Leica M's became digital (M8). I guess there's used, demos, and dealer stock (I was really hoping to buy a new one when the time came - the only new camera I ever had was a Nikon F3 [with 28 & 85 AIS lens] and it is was great; otherwise I've only ever owned used and, somewhat abused, cameras and lenses - although they're fine too, don't need to break them in)

 

[Q.G.]

It is bad news indeed.

Rollei has been one of the few companies that made a difference to photography. Their TLRs really were something that changed the world of photography.
But though they still are very fine cameras, their time had gone, their days were over. Had been since the 1950s - 1960s already, really.

That the SLRs were not doing well was hinted at by the 6008AF needing to be introduced at least two times, a couple of years apart, at major camera shows. At each occassion they were presented as something new.
It turned out that nobody (i.e. too few to matter) was interested. And that was what made Rollei decide to give up.

Franke & Heidecke Mk II tried to prolong the existence of Rolleiflex cameras. But frankly, their enterprise had been doomed to fail from the very start.
Sad indeed.

There are however very many Rolleiflex TLRs around. And it's up to us to keep those alive. Should not be too difficult.

But that does indeed mean that, unless you can find new old stock, there's no new Rolleiflex 6008i for you.
Perhaps you can buy an FW new in a little while. But if so, be prepared to pay very much for it. Considerably more than they were going for before.

 

[jmolligo]

Ah, modern times are not much fun. Thank you for all the info.

 

[jdabir]

Hi John,

After hearing about the financial troubles of F&H, I did purchase a TLR 50 fw from them and some accessories. I have communicated with them in late December so I believe they are still there.

Jim

 

[dpurdy]

Wow. Congratulations on getting the camera. Actually the demise and apparently now non demise of the company makes me glad I got the FX when I did. Of all the (maybe 10) Rolleis I have owned it is my favorite.
Dennis