Apo-Symmar Makro 150mm f/4.6 bellows head (6000)
Schneider-Kreuznach · Rollei 6000 · 1993
Also known as: Schneider Apo-Symmar 150mm f/4.6 Makro HFT PQ · Rollei Apo-Symmar 150mm f4.6 Macro · Apo-Symmar 4.6/150 Makro Rollei 6008 · Rollei 150mm f/4.6 Apo-Symmar bellows lens · Schneider-Kreuznach Apo-Symmar HFT 4.6/150 PQ · Apo-Symmar Makro 150mm F4.6 Rolleiflex 6000 · ローライ アポジンマー 150mm F4.6 マクロ PQ · シュナイダー アポジンマー 150mm F4.6 ローライ · ローライフレックス 6008 アポジンマー 150mm
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apo-Symmar 150 mm f/4.6 Makro HFT PQ bellows head (item no. 98 531) | Rollei 6000 | 1993 | — | Not published by any source consulted |
- Focusing range. The lens has no closest-focus distance of its own: it reaches infinity only with 67 mm of extension and focuses from there by adding more. Rollei's 2003 table gives the range as ∞ to 1:1.1, its text as continuous focusing to 1:1 on the bellows unit, and Japanese Wikipedia (citing the 1998 camera yearbook) a maximum of 1:1.05; the 1993 brochure says the lens can be used beyond 1:1 with further extension. The bellows unit with focusing stage (PQ, 98 065) runs from 67 to 204 mm of extension.
- Construction. 6 elements in 4 groups in Rollei's January 1993 and May 2003 lens tables, on rolleigraphy.eu and in Japanese Wikipedia's 1998 yearbook citation; the English Wikipedia list alone prints 5 elements in 3 groups, which is the Sonnar 150's count and looks like a transposition from the row above it. The table follows the maker.
- Weight and size. 706 g and 81.5 mm in both diameter and length in both Rollei tables; Wikipedia agrees. Blades and price are not given by any source consulted.
- Date. Documented in the January 1993 brochure, where it is already in the line; the PQ generation began in 1988, and no document places the lens between those years. The year given is 'documented by 1993'.
How to tell them apart
- The only Rollei 6000 lens that is a bellows head: a stub 81.5 mm long that will not focus on a bare body (Rollei brochures)
- Not the Apo-Symmar 90 mm f/4 Makro PQS, the system's other apochromatic macro, which has a long helicoid to 0.4 m and 1:2, an M95 thread and a 1/1000 s shutter (Rollei 2003 table)
- Not a large-format Apo-Symmar in a Copal shutter: this one carries the Rollei electronic shutter, ten contacts and a Rollei bayonet
- Fits every body with the 67 mm tube or bellows; the SLX, 6006 and 6002 use it in shutter-priority and manual exposure only, the Hy6 in manual focus (Wikipedia compatibility table; rolleigraphy.eu lists the PQ bellows unit for the SLX and all 6000 cameras)
Apo-Symmar 150 mm f/4.6 Makro HFT PQ bellows head (item no. 98 531):
- A short barrel 81.5 mm across and 81.5 mm long with only 9 mm of helical travel: it cannot reach infinity on a body without 67 mm of extension in front of it (Rollei brochures)
- Engraved Schneider-Kreuznach Apo-Symmar HFT 4.6/150 Makro with 'PQ lens' to the right of the aperture numbers; aperture 4.6 to 32; Bayonet VI (Rollei 2003 table; rolleigraphy.eu)
- Item no. 98 531 in both Rollei brochures and on rolleigraphy.eu
- Apo-Symmar 150 mm f/4.6 Makro HFT PQ bellows head (item no. 98 531): The only version, PQ with a 1/500 s shutter. Rollei's 2003 brochure: 'This apochromatically corrected macro lens is in a class of its own. Being a bellows head, it needs a basic extension of 67 mm for infinity focusing', supplied by the 67 mm extension tube or by the bellows unit, which then focuses continuously to 1:1; the 9 mm helical is 'primarily intended for precise positioning' and allows fixed extension tubes to some extent. The large image circle of the design means only its centre is used, which the brochure says enhances the sharpness, and the lens is 'nearly completely free of distortion', suited to product shots and copy work; the 1993 brochure adds that with enough extension it works beyond 1:1. Rolleigraphy.eu warns that the AF Longar 1.4× converter must not be used with it: the converter's front lens would be damaged.
Specifications
- Formula
- Apo-Symmar, apochromatically corrected near-symmetrical macro lens, 6 elements in 4 groups (Rollei brochures 1993 and 2003; rolleigraphy.eu; Japanese Wikipedia 4群6枚); Wikipedia's list prints 5/3 — see table note 2
- Construction
- 6 elements / 4 groups
- Aperture range
- f/4.6–f/32
- Shutter
- Rollei direct-drive electronic leaf shutter in the lens, 30 s–1/500 s and B, timed and powered by the body through ten gold-plated contacts
- Dimensions
- 81.5 × 81.5 mm
- Weight
- 706 g
- Filter
- Rollei Bayonet VI
- Years manufactured
- 1993
- Country
- Germany
- Coating
- HFT multicoating
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
The Apo-Symmar 150 mm f/4.6 is the one lens of the Rollei 6000 system that cannot be used on a bare body. It is a bellows head: an apochromatically corrected, near-symmetrical Schneider macro design of six elements in four groups in a stub of a barrel 81.5 mm across and 81.5 mm long, with the system’s electronic leaf shutter and diaphragm inside and only 9 mm of helical travel of its own. Rollei’s brochures put the requirement first: ‘being a bellows head, it needs a basic extension of 67 mm for infinity focusing’, which the 67 mm extension tube supplies for distant work and the bellows unit, running from 67 to 204 mm, for continuous focusing down to 1:1 and, with more extension, beyond. The 9 mm helical is for precise positioning. Because the design covers a far larger image circle than 6 × 6, only its centre is used, which Rollei credits for the sharpness, and the lens is ‘practically’ free of distortion; the intended work is product photography and copying. It stops down to f/32, takes Bayonet VI filters, and weighs 706 g; item no. 98 531.
It exists in one version, a PQ lens with a 1/500 s top speed, already in the line in Rollei’s January 1993 brochure and still there in May 2003, when it shared the macro duties with the Apo-Symmar 90 mm f/4 PQS, which has a helicoid to 1:2 of its own, and the Zeiss Makro-Planar 120 mm f/4. The maker’s tables, rolleigraphy.eu and Japan’s 1998 camera yearbook agree on six elements in four groups; the English Wikipedia list’s five in three is the Sonnar’s count from the row above. As a PQ lens it works, with its extension, on every body from the SLX to the Hy6, with the SLX, 6006 and 6002 limited to shutter-priority and manual exposure and the Hy6 to manual focus. The AF Longar 1.4× converter must not be mounted behind it: Rolleigraphy.eu repeats Rollei’s warning that the converter’s front element would be struck.
No review of it has been found; a studio bellows lens for a 6×6 system was never a candidate for one. A buyer needs the 67 mm tube or the bellows unit to use it at all, should confirm that the shutter and diaphragm run on a body since they are powered only through the contacts, and should expect the full 1:1 range only with the bellows.
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 Apo-Symmar Makro 150mm f/4.6 bellows head (6000)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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