Camera Geekery: The Rolleiflex SL66

A no holds barred adventure in over engineering, this is the remarkable SL66.
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JCH

[@sifren2491]

I found a Rollei SL66SE in a small junk shop in Serbia while on a road trip. The sticker on the camera was 900 Serbian Dinars (or a whopping 9 usd) I tried purchasing it from the shop keeper, and I almost bought it with money in hand. But last minute before taking my money, the shop keep stopped and called her boss. She then told me its not for sale. Ahh, so close...

[@theothertonydutch]

Maybe you came across as too eager. On a side note I score a Yashica mat 124G the other day for 50 euros which isn't too bad. :3

[@michaelli323]

I have an irrational attachment to this camera. Played with one on a trip to Japan and it’s been in my mind ever since. My 500CM felt amazing until I held a SL66SE, which was just about the most well built thing ever. Truly an embodiment of ‘gesamtkunstwerk’ ideals.

[@stanvandersluis8486]

So the sl66 above the hasselblad?

[@MarcelSauder]

My grand uncle in Venezuela was a SL66 photographer for more than 30 yrs. inspired through this fact, i begun to work with a SL66E 12 years ago, now it becomes my main camera. Phantastin and great germ.

[@Seapatico]

The audio is so so perfect. It's like you're narrating a Disney cartoon in the 1960s and it fills my heart with joy.

[@Xingqiwu387]

The SL66 is the ULTIMATE creative tool in photography. It's my all-time favorite.

[@stanvandersluis8486]

Yes, possibilities so superior to the hasselblad, a beast

[@karellen00]

I love the fact that you are covering some not so obvious cameras! Rollei is probably my favorite camera brand: they were the traditional TLR brand, but they have brought a lot of innovations too with the 35, the SL66, the weird but amazingly cool sl2000 series! I have a 35S: on paper having no rangefinder, winding lever on the wrong side, a lens that can be collapsed only when the shutter is cocked, and so on seems to be the recipe for an awful to use camera, but it's probably my most fun to use camera, because of the way it was designed to first set the camera, then frame without needing to think to anything else.

[@flavioserci6046]

The best camera ever made.

[@palerider2890]

I agree. So intelligently designed. Had one with a prism finder in the 80s.

[@burneshollyman2621]

I am getting one now! But you should check out the Fuji GX 680 III Professional, the largest and most advanced medium-format (studio) camera ever built. It weighs a ton and has more features, like all movements (bellows, tilt, swing, rise, shift) and fully electronic.But I had no idea this camera existed! Thanks for the video. I am off to eBay to get one right now.

[@ivr56_]

camera History aspect is fantastic. Please keep doing this

[@japancamerahunter]

Thank you!

[@naaldvoerder]

I have one of those, with 3 lenses, 3 backs and red and IR bayVI filters. Awesome camera’s. When treated with respect, very capable and very durable.

[@japancamerahunter]

Very cool!

[@zarmindrow5831]

this dude making me buy everything

[@scottmcsorley6820]

Rollei rock! I used my Rollei6006 for 30 year! I would love to buy a SL66!

[@HarmFlo]

Read about this on your website a few years ago. Interesting camera, interesting story.

[@inkmothstudios]

I got mine for about 200 euro about ten years ago. Best camera I will ever own. Probably the best deal I will ever get.

[@simonsharp9162]

The magazine 'issue' is an operator issue. You must cock the shutter (wind the back on) before you take it off. That's how the backs get jammed etc as people don't wind them forward first. I learned the hard way but was straightened out by a very angry Brian Mickelborough who is the UK's last and best Rollei engineer. He was not happy about my misuse of the camera.

[@paata799]

My dream camera

[@michaelhansen2446]

Just got a Rolleiflex SLX model 2 - it’s a design masterpiece and so intuitive and easy to use - I just finished my first roll of portra 400 - and are now waiting for the film to develup 😊

[@stephencrowfoot244]

My thoughts exactly. Was the best landscape camera I've ever had but the film magazines let me down.

[@MoveAhead101]

You forgot to mention, that due to the build in shutter in combination with the bellows, you can adopt allmost any lens to it, eg. microscope lenses

[@yamsengyiep1179]

Hope to see a video of Rollei 35

[@daviehudson4270]

I love mine, makes amazing images ... almost 3D

[@SopotKrzyn]

Beautiful camera ! Thank You !

[@albertmeyer8983]

Thanks for this stunning presentation!

[@japancamerahunter]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ZeptonicScientist]

This is a stunning piece of gear!

[@Coconut7403]

Thanks for doing a more budget focused camera!

[@japancamerahunter]

You bet!

[@Caracalaba]

Great video. Id like to see more like this one where you tell the story behind the camera

[@japancamerahunter]

Check out the other videos, they are a similar style.

[@Caracalaba]

@@japancamerahunter mm I think in the firsts videos you didn't go so much into the story of the camera like you did here with the story between rollei and hasselblad

[@AndersKeisHansen]

Great video about a great camera :)

[@japancamerahunter]

Thanks for watching

[@WesleyVerhoevePhotography]

hahaha I started going "whooaaaaa" and then you did too haha

[@MyNorthAmetican40]

Any chance for a video on ALPA and/ or Topcon Super D anytime soon. Really enjoy your videos

[@japancamerahunter]

We have done an Alpa already. We shall look into the Topcon.

[@kronkite1530]

@@japancamerahunter An Alpa 10D or 11 etc. would be great. My favourite camera ever. Looks beautiful (if you like Art Deco and crinkly metal, if the black version like mine, like the dash of a 60s sports racer car), beautifully built - better than any Leica I have owned - lovely to use and gives access to some of the best/most interesting lenses ever made. Can even use my Nikon and M42 lenses as if native with the adapters. Fantastic things.

[@jlwilliams]

I remember admiring the feature overload of these back in the day, but crikey, it's ginormous! If I wanted an all-mechanical, focal-plane-shutter 6x6 SLR for real-life photography, I'd go for a Bronica S2A in a heartbeat... which is what a lot of people actually did, I guess.

[@TruePoindexter]

Hell... That's what I went for today. Picked up a full S2A kit with 3 lenses and 2 backs for a couple hundred.

[@mapgeek6]

Pretty much all of the advantages of the Mamiya RB-67, plus lens tilting, but in 6x6 format and with superior Zeiss glass. I've always liked 6x6 much more than 6x7. I've also always wanted a SL-66 but have been nervous to buy due to repair concerns. Seeing this video may have changed my mind!

[@gibcoprobe66]

''superior Zeiss glass'' not sure about that. I love Zeis glass but I wouldn't say they are superior to Mamiya's especial for the RB/RZ system. I would say the rendering is different, less clinical with the Zeiss. But in terms of sharpness and microcontrast, I still prefer the Mamiya's.

[@lonerangefinder3974]

Purchased on last year knowing full well that future repairs would be difficult. Probably easier to just buy another body then trying to get it repaired. Finding a working back can be difficult. Since it has bellows and a focal plan shutter the only moving parts on the lenses is the aperture.

[@MoveAhead101]

No, its the other way round. The Mamiya and the Fuji have some advantages of the sl 66

[@SprocketHoles]

The audio is great touch but I think its a tad too loud relative to the voice over. Great video showing the camera

[@caiodlimaM]

what a wonderful piece of engineering do you also sell watches mister hunt?

[@japancamerahunter]

I do. Thanks

[@mdjmurray]

“Not sell-your-kidneys expensive.” Opens eBay £2000. Closes eBay.

[@japancamerahunter]

You are definitely undervaluing your kidneys.

[@BenjoC8632]

Was gonna say I’ve noticed they’re generally about $1000 less than a Leica M6 body. Gorgeous camera I’ve ALWAYS wanted one!

[@xxGravyBabyxx]

@@japancamerahunter my kidneys don't have $1000 to $2000 lol

[@stuarttrenholm5355]

Worth it lol

[@randomnetizen7980]

@@BenjoC8632 $1000 less meaning $1000 less than the worth of my kidneys?

[@stuarttrenholm5355]

Cover the rollei magic 1 or 2

[@nickfanzo]

Hassleblad gets all the 6x6 hype but these are more versatile , and better imo

[@batchint]

admirable 🏛

[@thomasjayprince]

Wow!!! 🤯

[@inevitablecraftslab]

if it wasnt for the shutter i would so much like one, but i dont trust those huge shutters compared to leave shutters, i dont even care about sync speed its just the physical size that makes me fear of failure

[@anta40]

Sync speed 1/30s... so I guess that's why the SL66 wasn't popular for studio work, unlike the Hasselblad?

[@TorToroPorco]

An amazing camera but the flash sync speed would have been an impediment for many professional photographers. If you were a commercial photographer a lot of your work would have been shot in the studio with a flash. Similarly if you were shooting portraits or weddings you would have used a flash. Other than a TLR the one Rollei I would really lust after would be the 35mm SL2000 SLR. Now that was an amazing bit of kit with the hybrid viewfinder system and the plethora of knobs and dials in a more compact and lighter form factor. A crazily unique camera but one has to wonder about Rollei’s marketing research.

[@jcollins1305]

Reading “The Classic Rollei” by John Philips, he talks about that. He says Rollei was continually going down blind alleys when the public was clamoring for something else. They stuck to the TLR, when they should have started developing slr cameras earlier. By the time the Rollei 35 came along, it was too late, even though it was a huge success.

[@user-ti9zc1xv2b]

Ah the SL66, the over-engineered, heavy as a truck beauty of a camera. Hard to CLA, and costs tons of money to fix them.

[@michaelli323]

Just sent my SL66SE to Germany for a CLA, not looking forward to seeing the bill for sure...

[@stanvandersluis8486]

Not if you know the adresses 😁

[@user-ti9zc1xv2b]

@@stanvandersluis8486 Hans Klinkhamer

[@NJ1810]

Does the bellows extension only tilt up and down or can you also shift it? In other words: Is it suitable for architecture photography?

[@brettpatching]

That was my first thought too.

[@mgsmith1957]

No Shift. Only Tilt. A Maximum of 8 degrees as mentioned

[@lonerangefinder3974]

Tilt is mainly used in architecture, shift is more for product photography. There is Rolleigon 75mm PC lens for the SL66, it shifts and optimized for tilt function on the body.

[@MoveAhead101]

It has square format...

[@ivanguerra1260]

Man, Where can I get that guys pants ?

[@albertabdul-barrwang3494]

Damn... I bet that my Contax 645 camera set is the kid from this camera :p

[@TedWong28]

I got so excited when he said "NOT sell your kidneys expensive" so I jump into eBay only to find them going for upwards of 1.8k 😭😭

[@JohnSmith-gs4zv]

Welcome to 2020. Also, fuck you 2020!

[@inevitablecraftslab]

which is 500CM range, thats not too bad

[@mikerichardson60]

2k is an absolute bargain for this feat of engineering. See what people are paying for disposable mirrorless plastic junk.

[@inevitablecraftslab]

@@mikerichardson60 jup, the only thing that stops it from beeing the best camera ever is that it doesnt have leaf-shutters on the fast lenses. If the 80 2.8 would have a leaf-shutter i would buy one, but i dont trust focal-plane shutter with that size and that age, knowing i have to change the whole body if something happens to the shutter

[@davidv.kutaliya]

❤️

[@jeditstudios]

They are now….

[@Lelandphotography]

yeah... $1,400 now. not cheap anymore. :(

[@diveaddict6885]

Great camera not good for my studio work

[@maxwellwellmax878]

Camera Porn lol

[@japancamerahunter]

It's what I do best.