Rolleiflex Hy6
Franke & Heidecke · Rollei 6000 mount · 6×6 (57.2 × 57.2 mm) with the 6060 film magazine, 6×4.5 (44.5 × 57.2 mm) with the 4560 (Wikipedia backs table); digital sensors from 44 × 33 mm to 53.9 × 40.4 mm with Leaf, Sinar and Mamiya Leaf backs · 2007
Also known as: Rolleiflex Hy6 · Rollei Hy6 · Rolleiflex Hy6 mod2 · Rolleiflex Hy6 Mod 2 · Hy6 Mod2 · Sinar Hy6 · Leaf AFi · Leaf AFi-II · Leaf AFi II · Rolleiflex Hy6 6060 · DHW Hy6 · ローライフレックス Hy6 · ローライ Hy6 · ローライフレックス Hy6 Mod2
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolleiflex Hy6 | Rollei 6000 | 2007–2009 | — | Not published. Franke & Heidecke built the camera in Braunschweig from March 2008 and went bankrupt in 2009 (Wikipedia); Japanese Wikipedia ends the first Hy6 in 2013. |
| Sinar Hy6 | Rollei 6000 | 2007–2013 | — | Not published |
| Leaf AFi / AFi-II | Rollei 6000 | 2007–2009 | — | Not published |
| Hy6 mod2 | Rollei 6000 | 2012 | — | Not published. DHW Fototechnik introduced it in 2012 and filed for bankruptcy in 2014 (Wikipedia; Japanese Wikipedia ends production in March 2015); assembly resumed in Braunschweig under DW Photo GmbH in 2017 (Wikipedia), and Japanese Wikipedia says DW Photo supports it directly as of 2026. |
- Weight: 990 g with battery, magazine excluded, in both Japanese Wikipedia (first Hy6) and dc.watch (mod2); the dimensions are the mod2 figure and no first-series figure was read.
- Shutter and metering details are those of the 6000 System as Wikipedia states them for the shared bayonet; no Franke & Heidecke specification sheet was read (the archived brochures could not be fetched).
- Dates: English Wikipedia has production from March 2008, F&H bankrupt 2009, DHW resumed 2010, mod2 2012, DHW bankrupt 2014, DW Photo 2017. Japanese Wikipedia has 2007 sales, first Hy6 to 2013, mod2 announced 2012, production ended March 2015. Both are carried.
- The yen prices are the Japanese distributor's announced prices for the mod2 in 2013, not a launch price for the 2007 camera; no 2007 price in any currency was found in a source read.
How to tell them apart
- A 6008-pattern body with a Rolleiflex, Sinar or Leaf nameplate and a bayonet that takes PQ, EL and PQS lenses (manual focus), AF lenses (autofocus) and AFD lenses with no aperture ring; the original SLX-era and Rolleigon lenses do not work (Wikipedia)
- Film version carries a 6060 or 4560 magazine; digital version carries a Leaf AFi, Sinar eVolution/eMotion/eSpirit or Mamiya Leaf Credo back
- Grey body: first series (2007–09, Franke & Heidecke); black body with new grip: mod2 (DHW Fototechnik, 2012 on)
- Listing trap: a Leaf AFi or Sinar Hy6 offered as a digital back alone is the back, not the camera; and 'AFD' in a title can be a Mamiya 645 AFD
Rolleiflex Hy6:
- Rolleiflex Hy6 on the body; grey finish on the first series (the mod2 went black — dc.watch)
- Film-back version with the 6060 (6×6) or 4560 (6×4.5) magazine made for the Hy6 (Wikipedia backs table)
Sinar Hy6:
- Sinar branding on the same body, sold with Sinarback digital backs: eVolution 75 H and 86 H, eMotion 54 LV and 75 LV, eSpirit 65 LV, 54 MC (Wikipedia backs table)
Leaf AFi / AFi-II:
- Leaf branding on the same body, sold with Leaf AFi 5, 6, 7 and 10 backs and the AFi-II 6, 7, 10 and 12 (Wikipedia backs table); later Mamiya Leaf Credo 60 and 80 backs fit
Hy6 mod2:
- Black body in place of the first series' grey; new grip (dc.watch, Kenko announcement of 11 March 2013)
- Sold with AFD lenses that have no aperture ring, the aperture being set from the body
- Rolleiflex Hy6: The Rollei-branded version, sold with a film magazine. Japanese Wikipedia gives 990 g with battery, S/C/M focus from a central cross-type AF sensor with a red assist lamp, an electronic focus aid in manual focus and focus bracketing, and says it is the same model as the Sinar Hy6 and Leaf AFi.
- Sinar Hy6: Jenoptik had bought 51% of Sinar in 2005, and after that the body was limited to Leaf, Sinar and Rollei backs. Leica completed its purchase of Jenoptik's Sinar stake in 2013, and Sinar moved its support to the Leica S system (Wikipedia), which is the end date carried here.
- Leaf AFi / AFi-II: Kodak's Leaf division sold the camera as the AFi from 2007 and the AFi-II from 2008. Leaf was spun off from Kodak in June 2009 and its assets went to Phase One; with Franke & Heidecke closed the AFi was put on hold, and Phase One took a stake in Mamiya and built its 645DF on that platform instead (Wikipedia).
- Hy6 mod2: Redesigned mirror transmission for less vibration and noise, firmware that stores an AF offset, a higher-capacity battery, 157 × 112 × 78 mm and 990 g with battery, 1.5 frames per second on film (dc.watch). Japan launch 22 March 2013 through Kenko Professional Imaging at ¥1,039,500 for the body, ¥1,302,000 with a 6060 magazine and ¥1,680,000 with magazine and AFD-Apogon 80mm f/2.8; magazines ¥273,000 each.
Specifications
- Format
- 6×6 (57.2 × 57.2 mm) with the 6060 film magazine, 6×4.5 (44.5 × 57.2 mm) with the 4560 (Wikipedia backs table); digital sensors from 44 × 33 mm to 53.9 × 40.4 mm with Leaf, Sinar and Mamiya Leaf backs
- Finder
- Reflex finder with a central single-point cross-type AF sensor and red assist lamp (Japanese Wikipedia)
- Shutter
- Electronically timed leaf shutter in every lens, driven by linear motors through the bayonet contacts (SLX/6000 bayonet) · 30 s–1/500 s with PQ and EL lenses; 1/1000 s with PQS, AF-PQS and AFD-PQS lenses (Wikipedia 6000 System; the AFD-Tele-Xenar 180mm is a PQ lens, dc.watch) · flash sync Leaf shutter: all speeds; TTL flash metering through SCA 3002 adapters, carried over from the 6008 (dc.watch)
- Film advance
- Built-in motor, 1.5 frames per second on film, with exposure compensation during a sequence (dc.watch, mod2)
- Back
- Interchangeable: 6060 (6×6) and 4560 (6×4.5) film magazines made for the Hy6, or Leaf, Sinar and Mamiya Leaf digital backs (Wikipedia backs table)
- Meter
- TTL flash metering through SCA 3002 adapters, carried over from the 6008 (dc.watch); the ambient-metering patterns were not found in a source read for this entry
- Motor drive
- Compatible — Motor built in; rechargeable pack, enlarged on the mod2 (dc.watch)
- Weight
- 990 g
- Dimensions
- 157 × 112 × 78 (mod2, without magazine, dc.watch) mm
- Country
- Germany
- Original price
- ¥1,039,500 body only, ¥1,302,000 body kit with 6060 magazine, ¥1,680,000 complete kit with 6060 magazine and AFD-Apogon 80mm f/2.8 HFT PQS; magazines ¥273,000 each — Hy6 mod2, Japan, 22 March 2013 (dc.watch) (today ¥1,188,000)
- Accessories
- 6060 (6×6) and 4560 (6×4.5) film magazines · Digital backs: Leaf AFi 5/6/7/10, AFi-II 6/7/10/12, Mamiya Leaf Credo 60/80; Sinar eVolution 75 H/86 H, eMotion 54 LV/75 LV, eSpirit 65 LV, 54 MC · SCA 3002 flash adapters; rechargeable battery pack and charger
Electronic focus aid in manual focus and focus bracketing (Japanese Wikipedia)
Where sources disagree
- First
- 2007 — Japanese Wikipedia (sale), Wikipedia 6000 System article (2007), Franke & Heidecke's June 2007 release cited by Wikipedia
- 2006 — Wikipedia Hy6 article ('introduced in 2006', the photokina prototypes)
Better supported: 2007
2006 is the announcement; the first bodies reached buyers in 2007 and volume production began in March 2008.
- Last
- 2014 — English Wikipedia (DHW Fototechnik bankruptcy interrupted production)
- March 2015 — Japanese Wikipedia (production ended after the operating company's bankruptcy)
Assembly resumed under DW Photo GmbH in 2017 (Wikipedia), so no end date is carried for the mod2.
What reviewers say
- Lloyd Chambers (diglloyd) (blog) — A 2014 field outing with a Hy6 mod2, an 80-megapixel Leaf back and the AFD-Apogon 80mm f/2.8, taken up because the camera "comes highly recommended to me from a trusted NYC pro"; the post is an introduction to a lens-by-lens series rather than a verdict on the body.
History
The Hy6 was the medium-format industry’s last attempt at a camera that did not have to choose between film and a sensor. Jenoptik, which had bought 51% of Sinar in 2005, designed the electronics; Franke & Heidecke, the 2002 successor to Rollei Fototechnic in Braunschweig, did the mechanics and built the bodies, with Jenoptik holding the distribution rights. Prototypes appeared at photokina 2006 under three names, Rolleiflex Hy6, Sinar Hy6 and Leaf AFi, and the same body was sold with a Rollei film magazine, a Sinarback or a Leaf digital back from 2007, with volume production from March 2008. The “Hy” is hybrid: Wikipedia’s backs table runs from the 6060 and 4560 film magazines, 57.2 × 57.2 and 44.5 × 57.2 mm, through Leaf AFi backs at 44 × 33 to 56 × 36 mm and Sinar eVolution and eMotion backs, to the 80-megapixel Mamiya Leaf Credo 80 at 53.7 × 40.3 mm.
Underneath it is a 6000-series Rollei. The bayonet is the one introduced on the SLX in 1976, with the shutter and diaphragm in each lens, and the generations sort themselves by electronics: the original SLX-era lenses and Rolleigons do not work; PQ, EL and PQS lenses work as manual-focus lenses; the AF-PQ and AF-PQS lenses of the 6008 AF work in full; and the AFD lenses released with the Hy6, which drop the aperture ring and leave the aperture to the body, work on nothing else. Japanese Wikipedia describes the autofocus as a single central cross-type sensor with a red assist lamp, single, continuous and manual modes, an electronic focus aid in manual and focus bracketing, and puts the body at 990 g with battery. TTL flash metering through SCA 3002 adapters carried over from the 6008.
The company history is the camera’s history. Franke & Heidecke went bankrupt in 2009 and production stopped; Leaf, spun off from Kodak that June and absorbed by Phase One, put the AFi on hold and Phase One built its 645DF on Mamiya instead. DHW Fototechnik restarted the Hy6 in 2010 and in 2012 announced the mod2, which Kenko Professional Imaging launched in Japan on 22 March 2013: a black body in place of grey, a new grip, a redesigned mirror transmission for less shock and noise, firmware that remembers an AF offset and a larger battery, at ¥1,039,500 for the body alone and ¥1,680,000 with a 6060 magazine and the AFD-Apogon 80mm f/2.8, magazines ¥273,000 each. DHW filed for bankruptcy in 2014; Japanese Wikipedia ends production in March 2015. Leica meanwhile completed its purchase of Sinar in 2013 and moved Sinar’s backs to the Leica S. Assembly resumed in Braunschweig under DW Photo GmbH in 2017, and Japanese Wikipedia reports DW Photo still supporting the camera directly in 2026, so an end date would be premature.
Reviews of the body are scarce. Lloyd Chambers took a mod2 with an 80-megapixel Leaf back into the field in 2014 on the recommendation of a New York professional, but his series is about the lenses and the sensor rather than the camera. The practical consequence of three bankruptcies is that parts and service come from one small company, and a buyer should know which back, which lens generation and which firmware they are getting.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Live listings
Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.