Comparing the 6008AF to Hy6, yes the 6008AF has some of the finest manufacturing of just about any camera ever made, with better fit-and-finish than the Hy6. But the Hy6 is a much easier to use camera. The light weight is paramount and the AF is better.
If I had the money I'd have two Hy6 and get rid of all the 6008 stuff.
If I had to keep only one, I would find it more difficult to make a choice, for the following reasons. I will begin with the reasons I’d choose Hy6 over 6008 then switch:
- indeed slower autofocus on the 6008 (it’s not uncommon for it to go back and forth so many times I have to move the center point a small bit to get it on something with more contrast)
- the eternal question of the 6008 batteries that age fast, don’t last very long before they need to be recharged, which has to be done with a Rollei charger; Vs the Hy6 more standard batteries that can be charged with many other chargers - but finding a Varta or Sinar V190 battery today is impossible, only compatible ones do exist, and some of the compatible chargers do not perform well.
- the weight when used with film back. With digital backs, these backs are so heavy anyway I don’t notice much difference, even if there certainly still is some.
- the 6008 requires removing the film stage before switching to digital (but I believe that film stage had been discussed enough in this thread).
- the Hy6 takes all AF/AFD lenses without limitations except for some that need to be updated so the PQS does not become PQ... the 6008 has the aperture priority issue when an AFD is used.
- the used market for lenses makes AF lenses much more difficult to find nowadays than AFD versions.
- the Masterware remains an accessory for the 6008 that cannot be found anywhere (maybe staying day and night on auction sites and classifieds would yield an outcome), is anyway outdated (cannot find many computers with a serial port RS232 today) when, if I am not mistaken, most of its functions are integrated into the deep, complex menus of the Hy6.
- the 6060 magazine does both 120 and 220 (just don’t forget to adjust it in the menu or your 220 film will be wound up to the end after the first 12 shots...)
- the focus trap options on the Hy6 may be hard to reach in the menus but are a nice addition.
- the used market makes 120 film magazines for the 6008 (and 220 even more with the demise of the format) much cheaper than 6060 for Hy6, and in general accessories for 6000 are cheaper than for Hy6 when there is an incompatibility between the systems (prisms/viewfinders, film magazines, quick tripod coupler or handle, remotes wired and wireless)
- some fancy accessories for the 6000 are considered outdated do not exist for the Hy6: 220 data back, 70mm magazine, V-finder, wireless remote (Mamiya-based), tripod coupler/gun-like handle, Polaroid magazine. There may be other ones that I am forgetting, given how creative Rollei was. I do regret the wireless remote particularly, maybe DW could work with PocketWizard to make a module for the Hy6.
- the way the magazines are attached to the body with the Hy6 isn’t as practical as with the 6008. You really have to push all corners at the same time. It happened to me once that my film magazine had the left side improperly attached, letting light go through, while the right side (with the body connections) was properly attached, and so it looked like there was nothing wrong until I turned the body to the left side to make some adjustments and realized half of my film would be blank...the change in design (with the magazine adapter now attached to the magazine) makes the magazines bulkier compared to how they were when the 4560 could be shared between 6008 and Hy6. Another drawback of the new film magazines is that there is no way to put a piece of paper with the film name inside the magazine when changing films, so it’s easy to forgot the type of film one had (I use a small piece of plastic glued to the magazine top for that, but the adhesive isn’t strong and it has a tendency to fall off)
- having the film motor in the magazines was a good idea to reduce the weight when using a digital back, but having the batteries inside the magazine was a terrible idea when you infrequently shoot film and find out the batteries have died with some film still inside, unfinished.
- the plastic becomes sticky on the Hy6, like many items done at the same time that had this soft feeling originally and are now all sticky..
- the small screen on the Hy6 handle is very fragile (well, the plastic part around it). The 6008 could be packed tight in a backpack, but with the Hy6 it should not otherwise the plastic around the LCD may break. Plus the Hy6 handle is not removable nor can be turned in all directions like the 6008, which makes it more difficult to pack for a trip.
- all 6008 buttons were properly labeled, on the Hy6, even if I use it often, I never remember which wheel is the one adjusting shutter time and which one adjusts aperture. I also found the bracketing options on the 6008 easier than on the Hy6 where they are buried in the menus.
- the DIN socket on the Hy6 is smaller but that makes it more difficult to connect the remote, especially as the handle has more chances to be in the way than on the 6008.
I won’t discuss the availability of digital backs, the Hy6 of course has more modern and higher resolution backs than the 6008 (the Leaf Afi-II, Credo, sinar eSprit) with possibilities to rotate the backs without removal for some of them, the 6008 on the other hand has some good options (Hassy CF39 with multi shots) but nothing with higher resolution for out of the studio. If someone were looking for a Rollei for digital, I’d advise the Hy6 mod1 to be converted to mod2 by DW with the request to keep Sinar compatibility..
To me all of these pluses and minuses on each side mean it would be really a hard choice if I had to sell one..