Rolleiflex Hy6...One of the last medium format cameras in production

GG12 · Nov 19, 2020

NortheastPhotographic said:
Here are some recent images I shot with my Hy6 Mod 2, all on Ektachrome. Endlessly impressed with this camera and it's lenses.

Shot all basically in aperture program, save for the long exposure at the end. It's a mix of 80mm and 50mm AFD lenses.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/m4rqX7aaWbDSZ6LcA

still selling it off tho?

NortheastPhotographic · Nov 20, 2020

Unless I can find a better way thank bank loans to fund the build out of Northeast Photographic HQ... We are looking into the legality of a raffle and I’m brainstorming other Kickstarter style rewards.

NortheastPhotographic · Nov 20, 2020

The 50/2.8 SA makes an excellent walk around lens. The Hy6 + Ektachrome is just perfection IMHO!

Tom Kershaw · Nov 20, 2020

The contrast of your 50mm lens with the Ektachrome is incredible.

Dave Krueger · Nov 23, 2020

Dave Krueger said:
Thanks for this info.

Your focus issues seem to be identical to mine. In hindsight, I wish I had tried your insert adjustments first and skipped the step of paying* the factory to tell me the camera is working fine. I hope they send it back soon.

[edit] *To be fair I haven't paid the factory anything yet, but they told me how much it will cost to get the camera back.

UPDATE:

I did pay the bill.
I did get the camera back..
I did the pressure plate adjustment.
I now have a usable camera for the fist time since I bought it.

Major kudos to ic-racer for his careful and thorough investigation of this problem.

Pieter12 · Nov 23, 2020

Totally off-topic, but I came across this today from the Rollei (Leica) shop in the Netherlands: A 6008 fitted with a 250-exposure back. I assume it is for 70mm film, but can't really tell.

Dave Krueger · Nov 23, 2020

Pieter12 said:
Totally off-topic, but I came across this today from the Rollei (Leica) shop in the Netherlands: A 6008 fitted with a 250-exposure back. I assume it is for 70mm film, but can't really tell.

View attachment 260090

That really makes the camera look small. I guess that's the film equivalent of a 128 GB memory card.

Anaxagore · Nov 28, 2020

Pieter12 said:
Totally off-topic, but I came across this today from the Rollei (Leica) shop in the Netherlands: A 6008 fitted with a 250-exposure back. I assume it is for 70mm film, but can't really tell.

View attachment 260090

I saw that too, they even have 2 of these listed (at a ridiculously high price, but expensive items are usual for Foto Henny Hoogeveen, although I wonder who would want an accessory supposed to work with an unknown film format...). They also list an old DSP 104, without the necessary accessories to make it work... what is strange about that film magazine is that 1. the 70mm film magazine for series 6000 is completely different (much more reasonably sized) 2. The rolls do say "for Agfa package print lab" (cannot find any information about what this is) and 3) "Made in Germany by Schneider-Dresden" - I suppose this means Pentacon? Schneider did own Rollei/F&H for a while so this could explain why this accessory even exists. If someone has a large amount of money to spend on that "thing", I'd be curious to have a closer look...

To get back to the main topic.. Has anyone ever had light metering issues with the Hy6? One of the main advantages of Rollei vs the competition is to be able to use the waist level finder and still have accurate metering -- and it usually works without any trouble. Nevertheless, I noticed a few times that when the sun is strong and, I suppose, close to its highest point of the day (right above my head..) the Hy6 seems to over-compensate for the light that goes through the finder, and shows me much too large exposure times (I did not check with the 6008). Switching to an eye-level finder (or closing the viewfinder hood...) solves the problem. Is it a known issue, or something I should have DW repair?

NortheastPhotographic · Nov 28, 2020

Anaxagore said:
I saw that too, they even have 2 of these listed (at a ridiculously high price, but expensive items are usual for Foto Henny Hoogeveen, although I wonder who would want an accessory supposed to work with an unknown film format...). They also list an old DSP 104, without the necessary accessories to make it work... what is strange about that film magazine is that 1. the 70mm film magazine for series 6000 is completely different (much more reasonably sized) 2. The rolls do say "for Agfa package print lab" (cannot find any information about what this is) and 3) "Made in Germany by Schneider-Dresden" - I suppose this means Pentacon? Schneider did own Rollei/F&H for a while so this could explain why this accessory even exists. If someone has a large amount of money to spend on that "thing", I'd be curious to have a closer look...

To get back to the main topic.. Has anyone ever had light metering issues with the Hy6? One of the main advantages of Rollei vs the competition is to be able to use the waist level finder and still have accurate metering -- and it usually works without any trouble. Nevertheless, I noticed a few times that when the sun is strong and, I suppose, close to its highest point of the day (right above my head..) the Hy6 seems to over-compensate for the light that goes through the finder, and shows me much too large exposure times (I did not check with the 6008). Switching to an eye-level finder (or closing the viewfinder hood...) solves the problem. Is it a known issue, or something I should have DW repair?

I haven’t seen that. I suppose you could confirm that with a flashlight. Personally I’d just switch to a different finder. If that much light is on your GG how can you see your composition?

ic-racer · Nov 28, 2020

I spent a couple days with the Hy6 and a tripod. I was frustrated by not having exposure hold (other than the release button)

I went back through the manual just now and found I can disable the auto exposure from the release button and this allows one to use the teardrop button like the Nikon AE-L button.
I'll have to go out and try this. This is the analogy to what Pieter suggested for focus; use the teardrop focus button, rather than the release button.
So I should be able to spot an area and lock this exposure with the teardrop exposure button. Then I can use the EV+/- to set the zone (Zone = 5 + EV comp).

Pieter12 · Nov 28, 2020

Has anyone tried the focus trap mode with flash? I would think you could get some interesting shots that way.

Dave Krueger · Nov 28, 2020

For those who have determined the offset for multiple lenses, how much difference are you seeing between lenses. Since the offset is mostly a way to calibrate the camera for variations in sensor/film plane position, I would assume there would only be minor differences between lenses. I am seeing offsets of +8 for the 80mm lens, 0 for the 50mm, and -10 for the 40mm. Notice there is a pattern where the offsets are shifting from positive to negative with wider angle lenses. Is anyone else seeing differences between lenses like that and, if so, do you see a similar pattern with wider angle lenses?

GG12 · Nov 28, 2020

I ve seen between O and 15. Also a difference between digital backs, but then the lenses were consistent. No sense of which lenses were more or less.

Dave Krueger · Nov 29, 2020

GG12 said:
I ve seen between O and 15. Also a difference between digital backs, but then the lenses were consistent. No sense of which lenses were more or less.

Thanks for providing some comparison values, Geoff. I don't think my values are too extreme, but I'll fool around with it some more just to make sure they are real. I may need a bigger target to focus on.

GG12 · Nov 30, 2020

Also noticed on 300 Apo that offset varied if on infinity or close up. Don't be surprised to find some focus shift... Typically tho DOF covered for it - I rarely shoot wide open.

Dave Krueger · Nov 30, 2020

GG12 said:
Also noticed on 300 Apo that offset varied if on infinity or close up. Don't be surprised to find some focus shift... Typically tho DOF covered for it - I rarely shoot wide open.

Yeah, I was thinking that the offset might vary a bit with distance. I started with the 80mm and then moved the camera closer to the target for the 50mm and closer yet for the 40mm. So, I did a new test today with a bigger target, greater distance, and kept the distance the same for all three lenses. The results where similar, but fell into a narrower range of +12, +4, and 0. By today's test, I had already narrowed down the values substantially, so I was basically just fine tuning them. The depth of field is so great with the 40mm that it's hard to narrow down the offset to an exact number.

I don't have any longer lenses and don't anticipate getting any, so I probably won't have to deal with noticeable variation of the offset with distance.

I don't shoot wide open very often as a compositional tool either, but knowing the focus can be tuned this accurately may entice me to do it more often.

ic-racer · Dec 1, 2020

I don't know how the rest of you cope, but ever since I got my first autofocus Nikon, I found the "Manual Focus Assist" somewhat useless. Maybe it is my eyes, but I can't both watch the sensor area and the indicator at the same time. I'm still frustrated that Nikon can't be configured to light-up the focus area of the screen when it is in focus.
All the same applies to the Hy6. For example, if the manual focus is that critical, I notice just a small movement of the camera off the subject changes the distance and, therefore, the focus indicator. So, as soon as I see the focus indicator showing "F" I look back at my screen and I see I have inadvertently moved the camera off the subject.

The system is as crazy as a classic rangefinder camera where the rangefinder window would be blank and only shows two arrows and a central F. How on earth would you know where the lens is pointed unless on a tripod.

NortheastPhotographic · Dec 1, 2020

ic-racer said:
I don't know how the rest of you cope, but ever since I got my first autofocus Nikon, I found the "Manual Focus Assist" somewhat useless. Maybe it is my eyes, but I can't both watch the sensor area and the indicator at the same time. I'm still frustrated that Nikon can't be configured to light-up the focus area of the screen when it is in focus.
All the same applies to the Hy6. For example, if the manual focus is that critical, I notice just a small movement of the camera off the subject changes the distance and, therefore, the focus indicator. So, as soon as I see the focus indicator showing "F" I look back at my screen and I see I have inadvertently moved the camera off the subject.

The system is as crazy as a classic rangefinder camera where the rangefinder window would be blank and only shows two arrows and a central F. How on earth would you know where the lens is pointed unless on a tripod.

Also, the lenses are with a couple exceptions are 2.8 at the fastest. The focusing screen can easily show you 2.8 focus right on the ground glass. I would really only worry a lot about the focus offsets if I was dead set on never checking focus with the magnifier, because you can see where your focus plane is right there on the viewing screen. With telephoto lenses like the 180/2.8, I never use the focus light. It's so easy to see the image snap into clarity. The 50/2,8 is a bit harder to see focus because of the wide angle but the AF also rarely misses, and never when I'm stopped down to 4 or smaller.

GG12 · Dec 1, 2020

NortheastPhotographic said:
Also, the lenses are with a couple exceptions are 2.8 at the fastest. The focusing screen can easily show you 2.8 focus right on the ground glass. I would really only worry a lot about the focus offsets if I was dead set on never checking focus with the magnifier, because you can see where your focus plane is right there on the viewing screen. With telephoto lenses like the 180/2.8, I never use the focus light. It's so easy to see the image snap into clarity. The 50/2,8 is a bit harder to see focus because of the wide angle but the AF also rarely misses, and never when I'm stopped down to 4 or smaller.

My experience is a bit different - in part because I tend to shoot on a tripod, and use manual lenses. I love the focus confirmation, as it takes the load off my (not so good) eyes, and gives great results with manual lenses. But to each their own!

Pieter12 · Dec 3, 2020

Back to the focus offset settings on the camera: does the camera recognize and remember the settings for each AF lens, or does this have to be reset every time the lens is changed? I believe the manual states that the setting is saved for every AF lens type, but I want to be sure, since the manual translation can be misleading sometimes.

Dave Krueger · Dec 3, 2020

Pieter12 said:
Back to the focus offset settings on the camera: does the camera recognize and remember the settings for each AF lens, or does this have to be reset every time the lens is changed? I believe the manual states that the setting is saved for every AF lens type, but I want to be sure, since the manual translation can be misleading sometimes.

I wouldn't trust it to remember until it proves it can do it reliably. Mine seems to remember the offset for my 80mm AF, but if I attach the 50mm AF lens after having used the 40mm manual focus lens, it will set the offset to some very high value (60, 81, 85, etc). Personally, I check it whenever I change lenses. Maybe it's more reliable with AFD lenses. Or maybe if you don't have any manual focus lenses, it will work fine.

Pieter12 · Dec 3, 2020

Dave Krueger said:
I wouldn't trust it to remember until it proves it can do it reliably. Mine seems to remember the offset for my 80mm AF, but if I attach the 50mm AF lens after having used the 40mm manual focus lens, it will set the offset to some very high value (60, 81, 85, etc). Personally, I check it whenever I change lenses. Maybe it's more reliable with AFD lenses. Or maybe if you don't have any manual focus lenses, it will work fine.

I use a mix of MF and AFD lenses. The issue came up when I acquired a 50mm 2.8 AFD lens. Thought the AF on the lens was bad until I checked the offset and it was at some crazy high value. I reset it to 0, and (in the viewfinder) it seems fine. I was just wondering if I'm going to have to check and reset the offset every time I change lenses--that would be a bit of a hassle. One of the reasons I like the Hy6 is I can use it like a 35mm SLR, changing lenses on the fly and get back to shooting relatively quickly.

Dave Krueger · Dec 3, 2020

Pieter12 said:
I was just wondering if I'm going to have to check and reset the offset every time I change lenses--that would be a bit of a hassle. One of the reasons I like the Hy6 is I can use it like a 35mm SLR, changing lenses on the fly and get back to shooting relatively quickly.

On the bright side, one of the things the camera seems to remember reliably is what menu you were looking at last, so if you press the menu button (#26 on page 6 of the manual), it will take you to the offset setting if that's the last menu you looked at. When I'm out taking pictures, I don't really use that menu for much else.

But, you're right. It's one thing for the camera to set the offset to zero when it doesn't remember. It's another for it to set it to some ridiculously high random value. If you're shooting film, I would guess that an offset that far off could result in unusable images which you might not discover until you develop the film.

Dave Krueger · Dec 3, 2020

One thing I noticed about my film insert is that the gear on one side turns very hard in one direction while the gear on the other side turns relatively freely in both directions. As it turns out, the gear that turns easily in both directions has a metal washer, while the gear that turns hard (in one direction) has no such washer. Since, the insert is supposed to be symmetrical, I am guessing that both gears should behave the same way. To prevent any undo stress un the motor, I only use the insert in a way that the gear with no washer turns relatively easily (by mounting the spool with film on that side). Has anyone noticed differences in how easily the gears turn or whether there are metal washers between the gears and the frame (see pictures)?

Pieter12 · Dec 3, 2020

Interesting. I had a problem with one of the film inserts being too tight and shrining the motor so after a few frames it would not advance a full frame at a time, resulting in overlapping frames. Sometimes it wouldn't even wind to the end of the film, resulting in my having to spoil the end of the roll by opening the back and winding the film up by hand. I also noticed that one of the geared sides would only turn in one direction. That insert was returned to the factory and came back seemingly OK. Here are photos of the now repaired insert, and there is a metal washer on one geared side, but not on the other. The other insert I have is in the camera with film. I will check that one when I take it out.

Rolleiflex Hy6...One of the last medium format cameras in production

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