Talk me out of a Rollei 6000 series camera

bags27 · Sep 18, 2023

It is a fabulous camera. I owned the 6008(i) for 24 hrs and shot among the most pleasing photos IQ-wise I've ever taken.

Alas, for 24 hrs. Then I shipped it back. I would need to spend a lot of time in the gym to carry that sucker around. Not to mention the difficult battery issues.

Every camera I own has passed the 5 mile test: would I feel comfortable walking with it and a couple of lenses for 5 miles. I'm not sure the Rollei passed the 50 yards test.

Oleg_A · Sep 18, 2023

Pieter12 said:
You have an early model, and it seems a buggy one at that. The 6008i and AF are excellent, reliable cameras with a very nice grip that makes handling quite good. After a while the original NiCad batteries do have a short life, but there is a battery-level icon in the viewfinder so it shouldn't catch you by surprise. The original packs are easily rebuilt with more modern batteries that hold a charge much longer and have a longer useful life. A lot of photos posted on Flickr are crap no matter the lens or camera used, I wouldn't use internet photos to judge a lens or camera. And the 6000 does not meter off the film plane, it meters on the mirror.

My 6001 Professional (to name it exact) meters off the film and this feature is called "flashmeter" on the camera body (can be switched on and off). It actually measures flash light, when a connected flash fires. This is the only valuable feature for me. It means, when you have a "dumb" flash, you sacrifice one frame for measurement in ME mode, you fond the right aperture, and your film is correctly exposed. I verified it and it works as advertised. Good feature. I also meant that ALL photos at Flickr which were made with the Rolleiflex 6000 series are only good for their respective owners and carry no artistic interest. And I have seen myself the images made with original Voigtlander Bessa (produced in the 50-ies of last century) which exhibited higher detail resolution than your average standard lens for 6000 system. How. Can. That. Be?

CJG · Sep 18, 2023

Really guys, the battery issue is a non issue with a new battery. I don't charge mine more than 2x a year.

Oleg_A · Sep 18, 2023

CJG said:
Really guys, the battery issue is a non issue with a new battery. I don't charge mine more than 2x a year.

But the battery you have is not the one I have. We all have different batteries today. I hate the fact that the camera circuitry is kept secret. Man can't event have a good advise of an electronic engineer whether the scheme will work, or whether it will always "float in uncertainty".

Pieter12 · Sep 18, 2023

Oleg_A said:
My 6001 Professional (to name it exact) meters off the film and this feature is called "flashmeter" on the camera body (can be switched on and off). It actually measures flash light, when a connected flash fires. This is the only valuable feature for me. It means, when you have a "dumb" flash, you sacrifice one frame for measurement in ME mode, you fond the right aperture, and your film is correctly exposed. I verified it and it works as advertised. Good feature.

It only meters flash that way. Through the lens metering is otherwise done by sensors on the mirror. And if you have a second back, there is no need to waste a frame using the flash metering feature. Just have one back loaded with the same emulsion and set the camera to not advance the film, take a metering exposure and change backs to make the final exposure--just remember to reset the film advance button. There was in fact a pair of dedicated metering backs (spot and average) made specifically for that purpose if you can find them.

Pieter12 · Sep 18, 2023

Oleg_A said:
But the battery you have is not the one I have. We all have different batteries today. I hate the fact that the camera circuitry is kept secret. Man can't event have a good advise of an electronic engineer whether the scheme will work, or whether it will always "float in uncertainty".

I believe all the 6000 cameras use the same battery pack, and they can all be recelled easily. Why do you need to know the circuitry?

bags27 · Sep 18, 2023

Oleg_A said:
But the battery you have is not the one I have. We all have different batteries today. I hate the fact that the camera circuitry is kept secret. Man can't event have a good advise of an electronic engineer whether the scheme will work, or whether it will always "float in uncertainty".

I think guy who runs the Rollei website can fix you up with a new battery.

The official US dealer of Rolleiflex Cameras and Lenses including the new Hy6 Mod2 and FX-N TLR

Authorized dealer of Rolleiflex cameras and lenses including their newest flagship camera, the Rollei Hy6 Mod2, 6008AF and Integral cameras. We carry all four

rolleiflex.us

CJG · Sep 18, 2023

Oleg_A said:
But the battery you have is not the one I have. We all have different batteries today. I hate the fact that the camera circuitry is kept secret. Man can't event have a good advise of an electronic engineer whether the scheme will work, or whether it will always "float in uncertainty".

I imagine you can find a current battery. I'm sorry you had so many issues with your camera. I'm not trying to persuade or dissuade anyone. I honestly don't care what camera somebody else uses. Just wanted to give my experience as somebody that has also shot thousands and thousands of rolls with both the Hasselblad and RZ67 systems.

BTW if I'm walking for 5 miles I'd take my Minolta Autocord. But I can carry the camera/90/some film in a small Tenba bag (snug!) without really complaining.

Pieter12 · Sep 18, 2023

bags27 said:
I think guy who runs the Rollei website can fix you up with a new battery.

The official US dealer of Rolleiflex Cameras and Lenses including the new Hy6 Mod2 and FX-N TLR

Authorized dealer of Rolleiflex cameras and lenses including their newest flagship camera, the Rollei Hy6 Mod2, 6008AF and Integral cameras. We carry all four

rolleiflex.us

Eric or Key Camera in Colorado should be able to recell or maybe sell you a refurbished battery. As well as this fellow on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2351110384...TykoHjQ8mMd1k8KzjUBMMVXtg=|tkp:Bk9SR4LL_6HVYg

Be aware the upgraded battery requires a different charger than the original NiCad.

OrientPoint · Sep 18, 2023

I bought my 6008i for $500 from KEH 18 months ago. The battery was toast. I rebuilt it with a $40 set of NiMH cells off of Ebay. Since then absolutely no problems. I charge the battery every few months with a cheap standard charger from a hobby store. The meter works very well, the backs are reliable and easy to use. Yes, it's not light, but it's not terribly heavy either and it's just very pleasant to work with. It's one of my favorite cameras, a real keeper.

The prices for these cameras tend to be high for some reason on Ebay, but if you wait for one to come up on KEH or Roberts they're often much more reasonably priced. The same is true for the more common Rollei/Zeiss lenses (80mm f2.8, 50mm, 150mm), which are probably the ones one would use the most anyway. The 80mm is quite compact and extremely sharp.

Pieter12 · Sep 18, 2023

Oleg_A said:
My 6001 Professional (to name it exact) meters off the film and this feature is called "flashmeter" on the camera body (can be switched on and off). It actually measures flash light, when a connected flash fires. This is the only valuable feature for me. It means, when you have a "dumb" flash, you sacrifice one frame for measurement in ME mode, you fond the right aperture, and your film is correctly exposed. I verified it and it works as advertised. Good feature. I also meant that ALL photos at Flickr which were made with the Rolleiflex 6000 series are only good for their respective owners and carry no artistic interest. And I have seen myself the images made with original Voigtlander Bessa (produced in the 50-ies of last century) which exhibited higher detail resolution than your average standard lens for 6000 system. How. Can. That. Be?

Interesting enough, I looked up the specs for the 6001 Professional, and it seems an odd duck. It only has flash metering, no TTL reflected-light meter on the mirror and it lacks the auto-bracketing feature of all the other 6000 cameras. Yet it dates from 1998, about half-way through the 6000 series production life. It also came standard with the bright focusing screen like the later 6008AF and 6008 Integral 2.

As far as the Flickr examples, I would blame that on the user/poster. The quality of the photos from the 6000 cameras with either the Zeiss or Schneider lenses are among the best medium-format images I have seen.

Here's a quick sample:

And a crop of the image:

markjwyatt · Sep 19, 2023

mshchem said:
I save my pre-81 cents. Of course there was a time not that long ago when you could trade $20 worth of cents for a Double Eagle. Those were the days!
240 pence for a gold Sovereign

I save pre 1982 pennies and all nickels (currently worth 5.6 cents- only current coin trading at a discount). Long term, nickel and copper are heading up (nickels are 75% copper, 25% nickel). Some older Canadian nickels are pure nickel (1955-1981), and I have a few I bought for a premium on e-bay, but in the US you will likely rarely find one in circulation (I have occasionally gotten Canadian coins in circulation in the US).

mshchem · Sep 19, 2023

markjwyatt said:
I save pre 1982 pennies and all nickels (currently worth 5.6 cents- only current coin trading at a discount). Long term, nickel and copper are heading up (nickels are 75% copper, 25% nickel). Some older Canadian nickels are pure nickel (1955-1981), and I have a few I bought for a premium on e-bay, but in the US you will likely rarely find one in circulation (I have occasionally gotten Canadian coins in circulation in the US).

Canadian coins are accumulated by coin dealers down here usually paying half of face value. The pure nickels were saved down here by the old guys.

choiliefan · Sep 19, 2023

Iirc Rollei USA was offering a free 6001 body with purchase of a complete 6008i kit as a promotion at one point.
The HFT Planar on my 6006 was an excellent lens before the camera body went south. The film back's integral dark slide is genius.
I'd do it all again if I had the $$$.

Oleg_A · Sep 19, 2023

Pieter12 said:
It only meters flash that way. Through the lens metering is otherwise done by sensors on the mirror. And if you have a second back, there is no need to waste a frame using the flash metering feature. Just have one back loaded with the same emulsion and set the camera to not advance the film, take a metering exposure and change backs to make the final exposure--just remember to reset the film advance button. There was in fact a pair of dedicated metering backs (spot and average) made specifically for that purpose if you can find them.

To be precise, it also meters ambient light that way, because the thing functions without a flash connected. I will make tests with slide film and report the results, it is

Pieter12 said:
Interesting enough, I looked up the specs for the 6001 Professional, and it seems an odd duck. It only has flash metering, no TTL reflected-light meter on the mirror and it lacks the auto-bracketing feature of all the other 6000 cameras. Yet it dates from 1998, about half-way through the 6000 series production life. It also came standard with the bright focusing screen like the later 6008AF and 6008 Integral 2.

As far as the Flickr examples, I would blame that on the user/poster. The quality of the photos from the 6000 cameras with either the Zeiss or Schneider lenses are among the best medium-format images I have seen.

Here's a quick sample:

View attachment 349319And a crop of the image:

View attachment 349320

I feel like I must bring in some corrections to your info. The 6001 measures the ambient light reflected off the film. I checked today and, with the aperture fully opened I changed the shutter speeds until two diods light up. Which means, the camera is trying to say that the exposition is correct. To do this, the "flashmeter" switch must be on. Also, the 6001 does have the bracketing mode, same as the 6008, I presume.
My 120 back is still rewinding the film! I checked today, sacrificing a fresh opened Agfa Scala and after the 5-th frame the film was wound up onto the taking spool. Hm, I must have shoot 6 film in this mode, which means, I must be having now 6 spools with 5-6 unexposed frames each because I don't have a habit of counting frames when I shoot... Anyone has experienced this kind of mixed feelings? Any ideas?

Mark J · Sep 19, 2023

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the tilting front of the SL66/66E , which makes it superior for close-ups and near/far landscapes.

Sirius Glass · Sep 20, 2023

Oleg_A said:
To be precise, it also meters ambient light that way, because the thing functions without a flash connected. I will make tests with slide film and report the results, it is

I feel like I must bring in some corrections to your info. The 6001 measures the ambient light reflected off the film. I checked today and, with the aperture fully opened I changed the shutter speeds until two diods light up. Which means, the camera is trying to say that the exposition is correct. To do this, the "flashmeter" switch must be on. Also, the 6001 does have the bracketing mode, same as the 6008, I presume.
My 120 back is still rewinding the film! I checked today, sacrificing a fresh opened Agfa Scala and after the 5-th frame the film was wound up onto the taking spool. Hm, I must have shoot 6 film in this mode, which means, I must be having now 6 spools with 5-6 unexposed frames each because I don't have a habit of counting frames when I shoot... Anyone has experienced this kind of mixed feelings? Any ideas?

Welcome to ~~APUG~~ Photrio!!

Sirius Glass · Sep 20, 2023

Mark J said:
I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the tilting front of the SL66/66E , which makes it superior for close-ups and near/far landscapes.

Not that that feature will be of much use if one cannot get parts and service. That is the heart of the push back on buying a Rollei SLR. I was warned not to buy one and get a Hasselblad V Series instead in 2007 by Samys Camera.

RestroomSoap · Sep 20, 2023

Definitely a camera I hope to own one day. Buy one while you can the battery replacement is not that big of an issue.

Oleg_A · Sep 23, 2023

Has anyone had experience with 70mm film backs? I am going to to try one on my 6001 if it is possible at all.
What I have discovered so far is very intriguing. The camera somehow knows whether the film is loaded or not. I have no idea yet, how it does, but, if it does it by means of the film magazine itself, then I am pretty sure it is being done in the most stupid mechanical way, prone to strange errors. I am saying this, because the 120/220 film magazines appear to be fully mechanical devices and to have no electric circuitry at all (except resistors in the ISO switch. When film is not loaded, the camera correctly fires single shots and exp. bracketing shots of 3 frames. But, when the film is loaded, after the 5-th frame, it starts rewinding more that 1 shot and does this exactly two times (which is enough to completely finish the roll).
The 70mm film backs appear to have their own motors. Maybe they have been designed more seriously. I tend to believe, my camera is sane, at least, it behaves normally.

OrientPoint · Sep 23, 2023

I have a 70mm for my 6008i. There are several models of the back, with or without speed selection wheels and data backs. Mine has both speed wheel and data back, so I guess it's the last model they made. The back communicates with the camera body through that 15 pin external plug you were wondering the function of, and will not function unconnected.

I don't know if these backs will work on the 6001. The 6001 was the "budget" option in the line, without metering and other features. 70mm support may have been cut as well, but there's so little information available about 70mm on Rollei that the only way you'll know for sure is to try.

Good luck finding one of these backs. They seldom show up, and when they do they usually have a crazy price tag attached. I do wonder why, given that the group of people who are interested in both the Rollei 600x and 70mm film probably would fit into a small car.

Pieter12 · Sep 23, 2023

Oleg_A said:
Has anyone had experience with 70mm film backs? I am going to to try one on my 6001 if it is possible at all.
What I have discovered so far is very intriguing. The camera somehow knows whether the film is loaded or not. I have no idea yet, how it does, but, if it does it by means of the film magazine itself, then I am pretty sure it is being done in the most stupid mechanical way, prone to strange errors. I am saying this, because the 120/220 film magazines appear to be fully mechanical devices and to have no electric circuitry at all (except resistors in the ISO switch. When film is not loaded, the camera correctly fires single shots and exp. bracketing shots of 3 frames. But, when the film is loaded, after the 5-th frame, it starts rewinding more that 1 shot and does this exactly two times (which is enough to completely finish the roll).
The 70mm film backs appear to have their own motors. Maybe they have been designed more seriously. I tend to believe, my camera is sane, at least, it behaves normally.

Have you tried getting your camera and back serviced rather than hunting for imagined solutions to what seems like a real problem? Or at least, try to find or borrow another 6000 back. The backs for the early cameras will not work properly with the later ones, and yours seems to be a middle of the run. Also, there are inserts for the earlier backs that will not work properly with the later backs. Are you sure you have the proper insert? Do you have a user manual and have you read it?

Pieter12 · Sep 23, 2023

From the Rollei 6008i user manual:

Mackinaw · Sep 23, 2023

Oleg_A said:
Has anyone had experience with 70mm film backs?

I worked in Natural Resource management many years back. Back in the mid-90's, we used a Rollei 6003 and a 70mm back for aerial photography, using Kodak CIR film. We put literally thousands of feet of 70mm film through that camera as we photographed Michigan's State Forest system. It was so many years back, I really can't give you much feedback on the 70mm back. I can tell you that it, and the Rollei 6003, worked perfectly. I bought a used Rollei 6006 after I retired because I like the Rollei 6000-series cameras so much. I had it re-celled to use NiMH batteries, so no longer have to worry about NiCads. Nice system.

Jim B.

Pieter12 · Sep 23, 2023

It seems like quite a stretch to try to find a rare 70mm back that uses just as rare 70mm film to resolve an issue with a 120 back. Might as well hunt unicorns. There are plenty (well moreso than 70mm) of 120 6000 backs out there at reasonable prices. If you can’t find a technician to check out your camera, you might want to try a new 120 back.

Talk me out of a Rollei 6000 series camera

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