Rolleiflex 2.8FX / 2.8FX-N
Rollei · Fixed lens · 6×6cm on 120 film · 2002
Also known as: Rolleiflex 2.8FX · Rolleiflex 2,8 FX · Rolleiflex 2.8 FX · Rollei 2.8FX · Rolleiflex FX · Rolleiflex 2.8FX-N · Rolleiflex 2,8 FX-N · Rolleiflex FX-N · Rolleiflex 2.8FX Planar HFT · Rolleiflex FX-N S-Apogon · ローライフレックス 2.8FX · ローライフレックス2.8FX · ローライフレックス 2.8FX-N
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.8FX | Rolleiflex TLR | 2002–2012 | — | — |
| 2.8FX-N | Rolleiflex TLR | 2012–2015 | — | — |
- Years: Japanese Wikipedia dates the FX to 8 March 2001 (Japanese release), English Wikipedia to 2002–2012, camera-wiki to 2002–2014 for the FX and 2013–14 for the FX-N; English Wikipedia has the FX-N at 2012–2015. The 2002 start matches the founding of Franke & Heidecke GmbH and is used here.
- Weight 1,275 g is Japanese Wikipedia's figure; Emulsive gives the same for the 2.8GX, which shares the body.
- Shutter and metering details come from dealer listings seen only as search snippets (B&H, Adorama) and from the GX, whose mechanism the FX inherits; no maker's data sheet was reached.
- Builder: Franke & Heidecke GmbH from 2002, DHW Fototechnik from 2009 (Japanese Wikipedia's company timeline; English Wikipedia on DHW). Which bodies carry which name on the plate is not recorded in any fetched source.
- S-Apogon: the FX-N's lens name appears in dealer listings only; no Rollei or DHW document naming it was reached.
- No list price in EUR, USD or yen was found in a fetched source.
How to tell them apart
- Looks like a 2.8F — black leatherette with the F-style chrome trim — but carries the GX's internal meter LEDs, battery in the focusing knob and red-dot film start; the selenium meter window of the F is absent
- FX-N: 'FX-N' nameplate and the S-Apogon lens engraving
- Sold with the 4.0FW and 4.0FT as a numbered trio: B&H offered a set with serials 0000001–0000003
2.8FX:
- 'Rolleiflex 2,8 FX' nameplate; Planar 80mm f/2.8 HFT taking lens, Heidosmat viewing lens, Bay III
- Two red dots for the film start inside the back, as on the GX, and a battery compartment in the focusing knob
2.8FX-N:
- 'FX-N' on the nameplate; dealer listings give the taking lens as an S-Apogon 80mm f/2.8 HFT rather than a Planar (unverified against a maker's sheet)
- 2.8FX: Built by Franke & Heidecke GmbH, the company formed in 2002 to carry the Rollei medium-format business on from Rollei Fototechnic, and from 2009 by DHW Fototechnik, which former Franke & Heidecke staff founded (English Wikipedia). Japanese Wikipedia lists the lens as a Planar 80mm F2.8 and the weight as 1,275 g; English Wikipedia gives 2002–2012, camera-wiki 2002–2014. Japanese Wikipedia's 8 March 2001 is the Japanese release through Komamura.
- 2.8FX-N: DHW Fototechnik's last twin-lens Rolleiflex: English Wikipedia gives 2012–2015, camera-wiki 2013–14. The N stands for a closer minimum focus than the FX's 1 m; the figure itself was not reached in a fetched source. The taking lens was sold under the Rollei-brand name S-Apogon, a renamed Planar whose relation to the Zeiss design is recorded on the Planar 80mm f/2.8 page. DHW's insolvency ended production; the company was dissolved in April 2015 (English Wikipedia).
Specifications
- Format
- 6×6cm on 120 film · 12 on 120 exposures
- Finder
- folding waist-level hood with magnifier over a Heidosmat 80mm f/2.8 viewing lens; metering LEDs above the screen; interchangeable screens and prism finders as on the GX
- Shutter
- leaf shutter in the taking lens · 1s–1/500, B (B&H set listing, search snippet; the GX's Synchro-Compur X has the same range per Emulsive) · flash sync X sync at all speeds · self-timer
- Film advance
- crank, manual film start against two red dots, as on the 2.8GX
- Back
- hinged
- Meter
- TTL, centre-weighted, LED readout in the finder, carried over from the 2.8GX; only the meter needs the battery (dealer listings reached as search snippets)
- Weight
- 1275 g
- Country
- Germany
- Accessories
- Rolleinar close-up sets (Bay III) · Interchangeable focusing screens, 90° and 45° prism finders · SCA flash adapter
Where sources disagree
- First
- 2001 (Japanese Wikipedia, Japanese release 8 March 2001)
- 2002 (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki)
Better supported: 2002 (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki)
Komamura's Japanese release may have preceded general availability, or the Japanese date may be an announcement.
- Years
- 2012–2015 (English Wikipedia)
- 2013–2014 (camera-wiki)
Better supported: 2012–2015 (English Wikipedia)
What reviewers say
- Photography Life (blog) — A beginner's first encounter with the FX, covering build, focusing, handling, value and image quality; the author found it a creative challenge rather than a camera to reach for every day. single source, unconfirmed
History
The 2.8FX is the 2.8GX dressed as a 2.8F. Rollei Fototechnic’s medium-format business passed in 2002 to a new Franke & Heidecke GmbH, and the FX was the twin-lens camera it put on sale: the GX’s cast body, Planar 80mm f/2.8 HFT taking lens, Heidosmat viewing lens, leaf shutter to 1/500, TTL silicon meter with LEDs above the screen and T-style film start, under black leatherette and chrome trim in the style of the 2.8F of 1960 (English Wikipedia dates it 2002–2012; camera-wiki 2002–2014). Japanese Wikipedia has the camera on sale in Japan on 8 March 2001 through Komamura, a year ahead of the Western dates, with a Planar 80mm F2.8 and a weight of 1,275 g, the same figure Emulsive gives for the GX.
No maker’s data sheet was reached, so the mechanism is described here from the GX and from dealer listings seen as search snippets: B&H gives a leaf shutter to 1/500 and focusing to 3.3 feet, and Adorama an integral centre-weighted TTL meter that is the only thing on the camera needing a battery. The FX sold alongside the 4.0FW wide-angle and 4.0FT tele reissues built on the same body, and B&H once offered the three as a set with serial numbers 0000001 to 0000003.
Franke & Heidecke GmbH failed in 2009 and DHW Fototechnik, founded by its former staff, carried the Rolleiflex on (English Wikipedia). DHW’s revision of 2012 is the 2.8FX-N, which focuses closer than the FX’s 1 m — the figure was not found in a fetched source — and whose taking lens is listed by dealers as an S-Apogon 80mm f/2.8 HFT, a Rollei-brand name for the Planar in the same way the 4.0FW’s lens became the W-Apogon and the 4.0FT’s the Tele-Apogon; no Rollei or DHW document naming it was reached. English Wikipedia gives the FX-N 2012–2015 and camera-wiki 2013–14. DHW went into insolvency, built its last cameras in 2014, and was dissolved in April 2015, which ended twin-lens Rolleiflex production for good.
The one review found is Photography Life’s, written from a beginner’s first days with an FX: the author covers build, focusing, handling, value and image quality, and concludes that the camera is a creative challenge rather than a daily tool. Owners on the forums argue the Planar against the Xenotar of the older 2.8 cameras, with the HFT Planar credited as the least flare-prone of the lot. No list price in euros, dollars or yen was found.
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.
Example photos
Sample photo wanted — shot with a Rolleiflex 2.8FX / 2.8FX-N? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
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Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.