Rolleiflex SL66 Help needed

iulian · Oct 11, 2014

Hi guys!

I just bought a largish lot of cameras (most of them Pentacon Six) and I am now the proud owner of a Rolleiflex SL66. I had to fix the infinity focus (quite easy fix) but I have three film magazines and no dark slides for them.
Can anyone measure one and tell me the dimensions? Width and thickness mainly. If I can improvise something to test the magazines with I can decide how many originals to buy.

Thanks in advance!

john_s · Oct 11, 2014

Can do when I'm back home tomorow. The bottom edge is curved concave a little, maybe to ease insertion into the light trap. Also, a back off the camera without darkslide might have some interlock trouble. I might be able to find some info. The camera has a most particular set of interlocks and they can get out of sync. There is a design for a home made darkslide with a small notch cut out to facilitate rectification. I have (or at least had) one. Since I had to use it my cameras and backs have been faultless.

iulian · Oct 12, 2014

Thanks! I look forward to it.

k.hendrik · Oct 12, 2014

in inches thickness: 0.0011, width: 2.4385, length: 3.4565(sl66se)
don't do anything with the slide if the crank is 'halfway'

Happy shooting with the best camera ever made

whlogan · Oct 12, 2014

I happily concur in the evaluation... the very best, but they want tender loving care at all times in all situations. They deserve it and demand it.

Logan

iulian · Oct 13, 2014

Thanks for the measurement k.hendrick. I will look for someone to lasercut a pair of darkslides until I find some cheap ones on ebay.
I managed to fix what the previous owners wrecked by tinkering with the camera. 1/1000 speed won't let me arm the shutter but if it's armed at 1/500 and later switched to 1/1000 it's OK. Tested it with film and 1/1000 f2.8 and 1/500 f4 look the same.
Someone said (I think on this forum) that it doesn't like Acros and I saw that the last frames overlap a bit so that doesn't scare me yet. Plus I have two extra film backs to test so maybe those are better. Matching inserts on all three anyway.

No leaks, no other issues so far. It came with 80mm Planar, WLF, prism, three backs, lens shade, shylight and yellow filter, 80mm extension tube. I still need a strap and a few more filters or an adapter from bay VI to 86mm. Maybe a brighter screen as well but I still suffer from sticker shock

I will be selling the Arax 88 and moving on

DanielStone · Oct 13, 2014

Nice "upgrade"

john_s · Oct 13, 2014

Some info about jamming and unjamming.

http://photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/00KYCy

And some info about the notched slide, from photo.net years ago:

"I have an SL66 with a number of backs. I had one jam on me so I took it to the local Rollei repairman. He said that the biggest cause of jams was that the backs were not tensioned correctly. This is done by moving the gear indicated by the little finger on the back. He also said, when loading film and replacing the film insert into the back, wiggle the insert a little bit to gently get the gears to mesh. You can also turn the winding knob on the back as you put the insert in place. You can then tension the external gear by the finger.
If the back is stuck on the body, you will need a special dark slide with a 1 mm wide * 4 mm high notch cut out of the corner opposite the winding knob. The bottom edge of the slide will release the latch while the notch allows the slide to be inserted past the interlock.

Cheers, Duane"

Once you get settled and treat the camera according to the rules, it's an absolute joy to use. The first rule is "Always cock the shutter. Leave the shutter cocked all the time. Cock the shutter before film loading (else you will lose a frame)."

artobest · Oct 14, 2014

john_s said:
Cock the shutter before film loading (else you will lose a frame).

This is great info. I would just add that if you do load the film without the shutter cocked, you can retrieve the lost frame by winding on with the film transport disengaged. This involves pressing the little lever on the winding crank whilst turning the crank.

iulian · Oct 14, 2014

Thanks for all the help guys. I have read the manual and I'll try to buy the tilt distance charts if I find them for a reasonable price. The camera has so many nice features I'm still processing all the info and thinking about things I can do with it.
Another question: How good is the Sonnar 150 f/4 with the leaf shutter? And how does it actually work? You set a longer time on the camera shutter and a short one on the sonnar or what?

Richard S. (rich815) · Oct 14, 2014

iulian said:
Another question: How good is the Sonnar 150 f/4 with the leaf shutter? And how does it actually work? You set a longer time on the camera shutter and a short one on the sonnar or what?

As good as any other Sonnar. No need to buy or spend the extra money unless you're sure you'll need the faster flash sync ability.

Enjoy the SL66. Bought mine years ago after idolizing Barry Thornton and his books. Great camera and lenses.

Albany roof garden macro SL66 80Planar(old) Neopan400 Rodinal 1-50 9min30sec 22C 1minAg 2008-06 ES 4990 001 by rich8155 (Richard Sintchak), on Flickr

Presidio Rolleiflex SL66 80Planar Delta100 DiXactol 24C 9min ES 10-2006 002 by rich8155 (Richard Sintchak), on Flickr

Slixtiesix · Oct 14, 2014

The 150/4 is a very good lens, sharp and beautiful bokeh. It is the same as the Hasselblad 150/4. The lens works the following: Mount it to the camera (nothing special, it mount´s like all the other lenses. Does not matter if the lens is cocked or not), then set the camera to 1/4 or longer. This is not your actual exposure time, it only guarantees that the focal plane shutter, which only serves as an auxiliary shutter in this case, stays open long enough. Then cock the lens and set the needed speed and aperture (you can also set the speed before cocking, does not matter). Then take your picture as usual. The central shutter is activated by the stop-down mechanism. So pressing the DOF lever will release the lens! So if you want to check DOF, better do it first and cock the lens afterwards. After the exposure, the central shutter opens again, so you keep all the benefits of the instant-return mirror. This is not the case with Hasselblad, where the view finder stays dark if you use a central shuttered lens.

Mike Evangelist · Oct 14, 2014

Richard, that flower image is fantastically beautiful!

baachitraka · Oct 14, 2014

Richard always use that beautiful example to show the strength of Rodinal ;-)

Richard S. (rich815) · Oct 14, 2014

baachitraka said:
Richard always use that beautiful example to show the strength of Rodinal ;-)

Or the Planar lens, or Neopan 400, or the SL66 system or how beautiful echinacea flowers are....

john_s · Oct 14, 2014

Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:
......Enjoy the SL66. Bought mine years ago after idolizing Barry Thornton and his books.........

My experience exactly.

Rolleiflex SL66 Help needed

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