Even I am sometimes surprised by all things Rollei made over the years!

I had the 35x24 viewfinder mask on my website for a while but thought it was for digital backs, and didn't realize it that Rollei made a 135 Magazine.   Thanks to John Wild from Club Rollei in the UK for sending in a picture of his 135 Magazine and mask.  

Please check out Club Rollei for lots of other great stories and info! 

Paypal is increasing their fees to 3.49% in August.   Often I work on low margins and PayPal is getting a big chunk of that for just handling the transaction. 

I wonder how many of you would be upset if I decided to delete Paypal as a payment method? 

I have several new Hy6 Mod2 cameras and 6060 film backs, 4560 film backs for both Hy6 and 6000 series coming in from the factory.  

I also have a ton of used inventory that I'll be adding to my site soon including the following:

• 6008 AF
• 6008 Integral
• 2.8F late model - absolutely mint with leather case, strap, shade with working meter - I just shot a roll of film through it - it's working perfectly!
• SL 66 with several film backs, prism, 50mm lens
• SL 3003 lenses
• 90mm APO PQS Macro
• 60mm Curtagon
• 60mm Distagon
• 50mm PQS Schneider f/2.8
• 300mm Schneider APO
• 180mm Schneider f/2.8
• 80mm Schneider PQ and PQS
• 80mm AF Schneider PQS
• 1.4x, 2.0x 
• Polaroid backs with some pack film
• 6000 6x6 film backs, and much more

Please inquire if you have been looking for something

"Owning 35mm, medium format and 5×4 inch monorail cameras, the Rolleiflex 6000 system is, for me, something of an ideal compromise."

Source: Rolleiflex 6000 – A Passionate Review – By Volker Muth

You should read through this article - he has some good insight into the system and also shows some great photos taken with some of the different lenses. 

I’ve met Volker in Germany once during Photokina and he’s a nice guy, and we've had a few e-mails over the years.  It’s great to see his article on the Rolleiflex 6000 system which is very detailed, but omits a few things about lenses he hasn’t used.  The 90mm APO macro lens by Schneider, the 180/2.8 Schneider, and the 60mm Schneider Curtagon are all missing from his report and personally I think these lenses are some of the jewels of that system.  If he liked the 150mm Sonnar for portraits then he’d absolutely love the 180/2.8 Schneider.  He’s using an older version of the 6008 which has red led display, but the 6008 Int2 and 6008AF both have LCD displays with more information and both came fitted with a better focusing screen, the High D.  He doesn’t detail much about macro work, but the Rolleiflex system has a huge number of macro accessories – perhaps more than any other medium format system.  Since he covered a lot of material already and still so much was omitted it just goes to show you how deep the Rolleiflex system is.  And nearly all of the lenses and macro accessories work with the Hy6 Platform.  Still it’s a great overview of the camera from a working pro. You should check it out. 

Over the years a lot of people have asked me about digital backs on the SL66, and until now I did not think it was possible because of the protruding left side of the body, but I just saw a post on dpreview by someone in Thailand who has managed to make it work.

See the post for more information: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/59189115

Recently just got two more 4560 film backs for the Hy6 cameras in from Germany - and here's something new:  The 4560 film inserts are now the same size as those for the 6060 - so they are interchangeable.   Have a look at the picture to see for yourself.  On the left the 4560 film back and on the right my own 6060 film back. 

I actually had a little heads up that this would be the case since I tried to order spare inserts for the 4560 film backs and was told they are the same as the 6060.

A lot of people ask about the 4560 film backs for the Hy6 and currently I have a few in stock.  

Link to 4560 film backs on shop

Some quick updates on tax day:

• Hy6 Mod2 bodies and 6060 film backs coming in next week. I will have more of the single piece 4560 film backs for the Hy6. The 4560 film backs are no longer in regular production, but the factory did a special run of them recently. I have one available to ship today and will have 2 pieces coming in approximately 1 week. Link here:  4560 film back for Hy6
• A beautiful near mint 2.8F TLR with Planar lens and 12/24 option and leather case came in. This one is beautiful. Meter working and very responsive.  Going to shoot a roll of film with it - will be tempting to keep this one for myself.  Have misplaced my waiting list - sorry!  I know I have a few people on the list for TLR's.  Please send me an e-mail. Will post photos soon. 
• Decided to sell my Pentax 645z kit - just not using it, was fun to test but just not using it enough to keep. Great value in medium format digital though. $3500 for the camera and 3 autofocus lenses!  See photos here: Pentax 645z kit

Mid March 2021 updates

Hy6 Mod2 bodies sold out again as well as 6060 film bacs, but more on order.  One 4560 film back still available.  These are really rare so if you were wanting one, don't wait! 

I'm also listing a few of the different cameras I have stockpiled here - doing some spring cleaning!  Have Hasselblad X1D-50C body available, will be listing a Pentax 645Z and lenses, Canon 5DII and lenses, Ricoh GR II, Graflex 4x5 totally customized, and many more including a lot of my duplicate Linhof items. Check my Used Other collection to see them. 

Over the last year I've had a number of Rolleiflex 6008/6000 series users tell me about a bad experience with one particular ebay seller who is a Lithium battery solution for 6000 series cameras. The seller on ebay is from Quebec, Canada and the batteries are 3D printed blocks fitted with 3 Li cells.   I've been sent several of these batteries after they fail.  One user told me that they failed shortly after buying but not before they left feedback on ebay.   I know that one big problem with Lithium batteries is fire - and that each cell needs to be charged independently to avoid that potential problem.  These Li batteries from the Canadian ebay vendor charge all the cells in a sting or series connection - so that should be the first clue that these are not well designed. 

Now I'm also hearing from my service technician that these batteries could be causing main circuit board failures.  This is an expensive fix.  Rolleiflex 6000 series cameras use more than just the two pins needed for charging to monitor battery and load and temperature.   The Li batteries from Canada don't use all pins, don't have a thermal resistor the cameras read, and can provide higher current.  This is also why those batteries don't work in all cameras.   I strongly recommend against buying battery rebuilds from this vendor. 

I have seen Lithium battery solutions that work well, for example the ones made by Wiese Fototechnik, and some nice home built ones as well.  The 3D printed battery block is an interesting idea, but unfortunately can not recommend.

Hi All,

I have caught up with orders and have stock available to ship on the Hy6 mod2 with 6060 film backs.    

I also have a new 4560 film back for the Hy6 / Hy6 Mod2 in stock.  The factory doesn't produce these regularly but built one for me recently.