Rolleiflex SL66
Rollei · Rollei SL66 mount · 6×6 nominal, 57 × 57 mm actual, on 120 or 220 (Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia); 44 × 57 mm with the 6×4.5 magazine, which came in vertical and horizontal versions · 1966
Also known as: Rolleiflex SL66 · Rollei SL66 · Rolleiflex SL 66 · Rollei SL 66 · SL-66 · Rolleiflex SL66E · Rolleiflex SL66X · Rolleiflex SL66SE · ローライフレックス SL66 · ローライ SL66 · ローライフレックスSL66 · ローライ SL66E · ローライ SL66SE
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SL66 (1966–86) | Rollei SL66 | 1966–1986 | 2,900,000–2,927,800 — sequential numbers, 1966–82 (rolleigraphy.eu, from Prochnow's Rollei Report 2) | About 28,900 by 1986 (camera-wiki, the only published figure) |
| SL66E (1982–92) | Rollei SL66 | 1982–1992 | Coded numbers beginning 7 (rolleigraphy.eu) | About 500 (camera-wiki, unconfirmed elsewhere) |
| SL66X (1986–92) | Rollei SL66 | 1986–1992 | Coded numbers beginning 1 (rolleigraphy.eu) | About 500 (camera-wiki, unconfirmed elsewhere) |
| SL66SE (1986–92) | Rollei SL66 | 1986–1992 | Coded numbers beginning 1 (rolleigraphy.eu) | About 3,500 (camera-wiki, unconfirmed elsewhere) |
| SL66SE Exclusive Professional (1986–93) | Rollei SL66 | 1986–1993 | — | 188 numbered (rolleigraphy.eu) |
- Dates to the month are rolleigraphy.eu's, drawn from Claus Prochnow's Rollei Report 2 (1994): SL66 10/1966–3/1986, SL66E 10/1982–9/1992, SL66X 4/1986–10/1992, SL66SE 10/1986–10/1992, Exclusive Professional 10/1986–early 1993. The family's last year is 1992, the end of regular production; the numbered edition ran into 1993.
- Production figures (28,900 / about 500 / about 500 / about 3,500) are camera-wiki's and appear nowhere else among the sources read; rolleigraphy.eu gives none. The Exclusive Professional's 188 is rolleigraphy.eu's.
- Dimensions, weight, shutter, finder and screen details are Mannheim and Henle's The Rolleiflex SL66 and SLX Way (Focal Press, 1975) as cited by Wikipedia; the meter details of the E, X and SE are Wikipedia's citations of the Rollei fototechnic brochures.
- The launch price is from one review (Casual Photophile) and is not confirmed by a period document.
How to tell them apart
- Large focusing knob on the left, film crank on the right, shutter release at the bottom front right corner (rolleigraphy.eu; Wikipedia)
- Bellows between body and lens standard, with a lockable tilt knob at the front left and side scales for the 80, 120 and 150mm lenses and for tilt; depth-of-field preview on the front standard (camera-wiki; Wikipedia)
- Lenses have no helicoid and no shutter of their own, bar the two leaf-shutter lenses; the Bay VI lens-side mount doubles as the filter bayonet so most lenses can be mounted reversed (rolleigraphy.eu)
- Finish tells the generations apart: chrome and black for the SL66, all black for the E, X and SE; the E and later carry a hot shoe and lose the FP socket (camera-wiki)
- Serial style: seven digits from 2,900,000 for the SL66; nine-digit coded numbers beginning 7 (E) or 1 (X, SE) (rolleigraphy.eu)
SL66 (1966–86):
- Chrome-and-black finish; the SL66E, X and SE that followed are all black (camera-wiki; rolleigraphy.eu)
- No meter cells in the body and no battery: a fully mechanical camera (camera-wiki). Metering was by the optional CdS exposure-meter hood, with five photoresistors, four frame-averaged and one swinging in for a 15% central spot (Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia)
- Two flash sockets, X and FP; the FP terminal disappeared on the SL66E (camera-wiki)
- Magazine with the TLR-style film-feeler mechanism for automatic first-frame positioning; the magazine number is printed on the outside and inside the door near the hinges, and the insert carries the same number and is not interchangeable between magazines (rolleigraphy.eu)
SL66E (1982–92):
- All-black body; hot shoe; FP terminal gone (camera-wiki; rolleigraphy.eu)
- Three silicon photodiodes for centre-weighted TTL ambient metering and TTL flash metering, powered by one 6 V PX28 (4SR44) battery; the shutter timing stayed mechanical (Wikipedia, citing the Rollei fototechnic SL66E brochure; rolleigraphy.eu)
- Exposure-control coupling at the lens mount for open-aperture metering with lenses in the upgraded mount (camera-wiki)
- SL66E magazine with film-speed setting ASA 25–6400 and a crank-style lever (camera-wiki); plastic contact surfaces between body and magazine (rolleigraphy.eu)
SL66X (1986–92):
- The black SL66E shell with TTL flash metering only, from a single silicon photodiode; no ambient meter (Wikipedia, citing the SL66SE/SL66X brochure; rolleigraphy.eu)
- Bodies shipped April–October 1986 came with SL66E magazines; from October 1986 with the third magazine type, whose film inserts are interchangeable and carry no serial number (rolleigraphy.eu)
- Sold with the Rollei-made HFT Planar 2.8/80 in the open-aperture-metering mount (rolleigraphy.eu)
SL66SE (1986–92):
- Black; meter switchable between spot (one silicon photodiode) and centre-weighted averaging (five photodiodes), with autoexposure (Wikipedia, citing the SL66SE/SL66X brochure; camera-wiki)
- No film feeler: the magazines of this model take interchangeable film inserts, and the meter works only with magazines that carry a DIN/ASA setting (rolleigraphy.eu)
- Open-aperture metering with lenses in the upgraded mount (rolleigraphy.eu)
SL66SE Exclusive Professional (1986–93):
- An SL66SE with additional engravings, numbered 1–188 (rolleigraphy.eu)
- SL66 (1966–86): Production from October 1966 to March 1986 by rolleigraphy.eu's dates. Wikipedia says the camera was dropped from UK promotional support and dealer catalogues in 1976, was absent from Rollei's worldwide catalogue of 1980, and was effectively out of production from 1976 until the SL66E of October 1982, after Rollei's first bankruptcy; rolleigraphy.eu and camera-wiki carry the original model through to 1986. The two leaf-shutter lenses, the Distagon 80mm f/4 and the Sonnar 150mm f/4 of January 1970, were offered for this model only (rolleigraphy.eu).
- SL66E (1982–92): Launched October 1982 and made to September 1992 (rolleigraphy.eu). The meter was adapted from the SLX (rolleigraphy.eu). Lenses in the old mount still fit and work with stop-down metering; Rollei service upgraded earlier lenses to the open-aperture-metering mount (rolleigraphy.eu).
- SL66X (1986–92): April 1986 to October 1992 by rolleigraphy.eu; rolleigraphy.eu describes it as essentially an SL66 with flash metering in the SL66E's outer shell. The launch year is disputed, see below.
- SL66SE (1986–92): October 1986 to October 1992 (rolleigraphy.eu); the last model in production when the line ended in 1992 (Wikipedia). rolleigraphy.eu says the feeler was dropped because it could fail with some non-German films; feeler magazines still fit.
- SL66SE Exclusive Professional (1986–93): Special edition, October 1986 to early 1993 (rolleigraphy.eu); camera-wiki says only a few collector's editions were made after 1992. No source read describes the finish or the engravings in detail.
Serial-range notes
- 2900000–2927800
- The original SL66's sequential numbering, 1966–82 (rolleigraphy.eu, from Prochnow). About 27,800 numbers for a model camera-wiki puts at about 28,900 by 1986, so the two figures are roughly consistent with production tailing off after 1982.
- 7xxxxxxxx
- Coded numbers of the SL66E from October 1982 (rolleigraphy.eu).
- 1xxxxxxxx
- Coded numbers of the SL66X and SL66SE from 1986 (rolleigraphy.eu).
Specifications
- Format
- 6×6 nominal, 57 × 57 mm actual, on 120 or 220 (Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia); 44 × 57 mm with the 6×4.5 magazine, which came in vertical and horizontal versions · 12 on 120 or 24 on 220 with the 6×6 magazine exposures
- Finder (waist-level finder (standard))
- folding hood with built-in, changeable magnifier · 93% coverage
- Finder (other finders)
- folding hood with sports frame; rigid magnifying hood; CdS exposure-meter hood; pentaprism with 45° rotating eyepiece
- Shutter
- mechanically timed focal plane, two vertical cloth blinds (Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia) · 1s–1/1000 in whole steps, B · flash sync 1/30 and slower on the focal-plane shutter; X and FP sockets on the SL66, X only from the SL66E (camera-wiki). The Distagon 80mm f/4 and Sonnar 150mm f/4 leaf-shutter lenses of January 1970 sync to 1/500 with the body set to 1/30 or slower, cocked separately before each exposure (Wikipedia; camera-wiki)
- Film advance
- fold-out crank on the right, worked like a Rolleiflex TLR, advancing the film and tensioning the shutter together; a double-exposure control tensions without winding (camera-wiki; Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia)
- Back
- Interchangeable magazines with a dark-slide interlock: the slide must be in before the magazine comes off, and can only be stowed when the shutter is cocked. 6×6 and 6×4.5 magazines for 120 or 220, sheet-film and Polaroid pack-film backs (Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia; camera-wiki). Three generations of 6×6 magazine: the feeler type of 1966, the SL66E type of 1982 with film-speed setting, and the feeler-less type of October 1986 with interchangeable inserts (rolleigraphy.eu).
- Meter
- None in the SL66; uncoupled CdS meter hood optional. SL66E: centre-weighted TTL ambient and TTL flash metering, three silicon photodiodes, 6 V PX28 battery. SL66X: TTL flash metering only. SL66SE: spot or centre-weighted with autoexposure (Wikipedia, citing the Rollei fototechnic brochures; camera-wiki).
- Weight
- 1900 g
- Dimensions
- 173 × 115 × 103 (length × height × width) and 1.9 kg with the 80mm Planar and waist-level finder; the 6×6 magazine adds 445 g and 47 mm (Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia) mm
- Country
- West Germany
- Original price
- $1,300 at launch in 1966, against $750 for a Hasselblad, by Casual Photophile's account; no period price list was found. rolleigraphy.eu says only that it cost much more than a Hasselblad (today $12,590)
- Accessories
- Extension bellows for 280 mm total extension (Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia) · 40mm and 80mm extension tubes (camera-wiki) · Lens hoods, including a separate hood for the 50mm (camera-wiki) · Luminar adapters I and II for the Zeiss microscope lenses, and a blank adapter for lenses up to 58 mm (Rollei dealer notebook 1974 via Wikipedia; camera-wiki) · Finder masks for the 150mm and 250mm; sports finder for the prism (camera-wiki) · Hand grip (Emulsive; Photrio users) · Macro bellows, underwater housing, remote power winder (Emulsive's specification list)
The screen shows 55 × 55 mm, 93% of the recorded area (Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia). Six interchangeable screens: 560 060 standard (11 mm grid, Fresnel, 15 mm microprism), 560 050 (grid, Fresnel, 5 mm split image), 560 040 (grid, Fresnel, no central aid), 560 180 (grid, Fresnel, microprism and split image), 560 030 (plain, no grid or Fresnel) and 560 100 (grid, Fresnel, clear centre with crosshair and graticule).
Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia. The meter hood has five CdS photoresistors, four frame-averaged and one that swings in for a 15% central spot, and is uncoupled: Emulsive's reviewer calls a separate meter almost essential. camera-wiki adds a video finder for attaching a video camera.
Where sources disagree
- First
- April 1986 — rolleigraphy.eu, from Prochnow
- 1982 — Wikipedia, which lists the E, X and SE together as released after the 1982 restart
- 1987 — Japanese Wikipedia's Rolleiflex article
Better supported: April 1986
rolleigraphy.eu's month-level dating from Prochnow is the only one with a documentary trail; camera-wiki gives no year for the X.
- Last
- March 1986 — rolleigraphy.eu; camera-wiki also carries the chrome-and-black SL66 to 1986
- 1982, with the camera effectively out of production from 1976 — Wikipedia
Better supported: 1986
The two readings are compatible if the camera stayed nominally available while dropped from catalogues; Wikipedia's 1976 claim rests on UK dealer material.
- Weight (grams)
- 1.9 kg with the 80mm and waist-level finder — Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia; Casual Photophile
- Just over 2 kg — Emulsive
Better supported: 1.9 kg
What reviewers say
- James Tocchio, Casual Photophile (blog) — Demanding but rewarding: 'while it's not the easiest camera to use it is in fact one of my favorites'. He finds it more capable and more interesting than the Hasselblad it is always compared with, if heavier and slower to focus on its bellows.
- Dave Varo, Emulsive (blog) — For anyone wanting 'a 6×6 camera capable of producing images of exceptional quality' who will put up with the quirks; not for anyone after a light camera. Film backs are the weak point, and accessories are scarce and dearer than Hasselblad's.
- Matt Osborne, MrLeica.com (blog) — An SL66E bought over a Hasselblad 500C for the tilt and the image quality, which he calls his 'Holly Grail camera'; the body's meter did not work, a feeler-roller magazine overlapped frames until replaced, and the camera jammed more than once. A video review is linked from the post.
History
The Rolleiflex SL66 is the camera Franke & Heidecke built when the 1957 understanding between Reinhold Heidecke and Victor Hasselblad, which had kept each firm out of the other’s reflex format, no longer held. Planned from 1964 and shown at photokina 1966, it is a 6×6 single-lens reflex with a mechanically timed cloth focal-plane shutter of 1 s to 1/1000 s, interchangeable finders, screens and magazines, and a feature no rival offered: the lens sits on a bellows standard that the body focuses with a large knob on the left, tilts up to 8° for Scheimpflug depth of field, and accepts most lenses mounted backwards for close-up work, the Bay VI filter bayonet on the lens front doubling as the mount. The 50 mm of built-in extension gives about 1:2 with the 80mm Planar, a reversed 80 reaches 1.5×, and an extension bellows takes the total to 280 mm (Mannheim and Henle via Wikipedia). The lenses, Carl Zeiss designs from 30mm to 1000mm, have neither helicoid nor shutter; only the Distagon 80mm f/4 and Sonnar 150mm f/4 of January 1970 carry leaf shutters, cocked separately, for flash sync to 1/500 against the body’s 1/30 (camera-wiki; rolleigraphy.eu).
The original chrome-and-black SL66 has no meter and needs no battery; a CdS metering hood was an uncoupled option. Sequential serials ran from 2,900,000 to 2,927,800 between 1966 and 1982, and camera-wiki puts production at about 28,900 by 1986. The electronic SLX of 1976 took over Rollei’s professional line, and by Wikipedia’s account the SL66 was dropped from UK dealer catalogues in 1976 and missing from the worldwide catalogue of 1980, though rolleigraphy.eu carries it to March 1986. After the firm’s 1982 bankruptcy and restart the camera came back as the all-black SL66E of October 1982, with the SLX’s metering adapted to it: three silicon photodiodes for centre-weighted TTL ambient and TTL flash metering, a PX28 battery, a hot shoe, and a lens mount with a coupling for open-aperture metering, to which Rollei service could convert older lenses. The SL66X of April 1986 kept only the flash metering; the SL66SE of October 1986 added a spot/centre-weighted switch, autoexposure and a magazine without the film feeler, with interchangeable inserts. Production ended in October 1992, with a numbered Exclusive Professional edition of 188 running into early 1993 (rolleigraphy.eu). camera-wiki’s figures of about 500 each for the E and X and 3,500 for the SE are the only ones published.
In use it is heavy, 1.9 kg with the 80mm and waist-level finder, and slower than a Hasselblad to focus on its bellows, which is why its reviewers keep it mostly on a tripod and prize it for the tilt and the macro reach. James Tocchio calls it one of his favourites despite not being the easiest camera to use; Dave Varo recommends it to anyone wanting a 6×6 camera capable of exceptional images who can live with the quirks, and warns that the magazines are the weak point and that accessories are scarce and dearer than Hasselblad’s. Matt Osborne’s SL66E, bought over a 500C for the tilt, overlapped frames until its feeler magazine was swapped and jammed more than once. Photrio users report uneven focusing knobs and sticking dark slides as the things to check on a used body. The magazine chronology matters when buying: feeler magazines of 1966–82, SL66E magazines with film-speed setting, and the third type of October 1986 whose inserts carry no number, which is the only kind the SE’s meter reads correctly.
Prices then and now are thinly documented. Casual Photophile gives $1,300 at launch against $750 for a Hasselblad, which no period list has been found to confirm; Varo paid £850 for a body with 80mm in 2018.
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.
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