Variogon 140–280mm f/5.6 (6000)
Schneider-Kreuznach · Rollei 6000 · 1976 · Zoom, 17 elements in 14 groups
Also known as: Rollei Variogon 140-280mm f/5.6 HFT · Schneider Variogon 140-280mm F5.6 Rollei · Variogon 5.6/140-280 Rolleiflex 6008 · Rollei 6000 140-280 zoom PQ · Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon HFT 140-280 PQ · Rollei SLX 140-280mm Variogon · Rollei 6006 140-280mm f5.6 · ローライ バリオゴン 140-280mm F5.6 · シュナイダー バリオゴン 140-280mm PQ ローライ · ローライフレックス 6000 140-280mm ズーム
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variogon HFT 5.6/140–280, original SLX-type lens (no PQ marking) | Rollei 6000 | 1976 | — | — |
| Variogon HFT 5.6/140–280 PQ, order no. 86 913 (1988–) | Rollei 6000 | 1988 | — | — |
- Construction (17 elements in 14 groups), f/5.6–45, 2.5 m closest focus, 94 × 240 mm, 1,850 g and the 95 mm thread are from the English Wikipedia list of SLX/6000/Hy6 lenses and the SLX table on the Rolleiflex SLX article, both drawn from Rollei's brochures; rolleigraphy.eu gives 17/14, a 32–16° diagonal and 23–11° horizontal field, M 95 × 1 with a 93 mm drop-in filter, 'zooming without refocusing', a 2.5 m minimum and 'in the macro setting, close-ups are possible down to 75 cm from the front lens'; Japanese Wikipedia gives 14群17枚, 2.5 m and φ95.
- Years. 1976 is the SLX's launch year and the start of the original generation; the lens is in Rollei's 1984 SLX table, and no document consulted dates its own introduction. 1988 is the 6008 professional's year for the PQ. No end dates were found.
- The English Wikipedia list notes that the Variogon zooms were designed and manufactured by Schneider-Kreuznach even in the SLX years, when the rest of the line was Zeiss-designed and built by Zeiss or by Rollei under licence.
- Relatives. Schneider's Variogon 140–280 f/5.6 for Hasselblad (C 1976, F 1977, CF 1988) has the same 17 elements in 14 groups and 2.5 m minimum focus, in Hasselblad's mount and shutters; a 140–280 Variogon was also sold as the Zoom Zenzanon-S for the Bronica SQ. No source consulted says whether the three share one computation, though the counts match.
- Not found: the number of diaphragm blades, the macro magnification, a list price, production figures, and any published test.
How to tell them apart
- The longer of the two manual-focus Variogons: 140–280 mm, f/5.6, 95 mm thread with a 93 mm drop-in filter slot, 94 × 240 mm, 1.85 kg, with a macro setting; Rollei's brochure wording, as quoted on rolleigraphy.eu, says its 'optical performance is equivalent to that of fixed focal lengths'
- Rollei 6000 bayonet with ten contacts and no shutter-speed ring; aperture ring 5.6–45 with an 'A' position; nothing beside the numbers on the original lens, 'PQ' on the later one
- Not the Hasselblad Variogon 140–280, which has a Synchro-Compur or Prontor shutter with a speed ring (or none, on the F) and Hasselblad's bayonet, and not the Zenzanon-S Variogon for the Bronica SQ
Variogon HFT 5.6/140–280, original SLX-type lens (no PQ marking):
- No PQ marking beside the aperture numbers (rolleigraphy.eu); shutter-priority and manual exposure only
- M95 thread, 94 × 240 mm, 1,850 g, in Rollei's 1984 SLX table (English Wikipedia, Rolleiflex SLX)
Variogon HFT 5.6/140–280 PQ, order no. 86 913 (1988–):
- 'PQ' engraved or printed to the right of the aperture numbers; Rollei order no. 86 913 (rolleigraphy.eu)
- Aperture-priority and program exposure on the 6008 and later; 1/500 s top speed; no PQS version was listed
- Variogon HFT 5.6/140–280, original SLX-type lens (no PQ marking): The SLX-era lens, and the only zoom in Rollei's 1984 table of SLX lenses: 140~280 f/5.6–45, 17/14, 2.50 m, 94 × 240 mm, 1,850 g, filter 95. No source consulted dates its introduction more closely than the SLX years.
- Variogon HFT 5.6/140–280 PQ, order no. 86 913 (1988–): The Professional Quality electronics in the same glass. Japanese Wikipedia lists the PQ at 14群17枚, 2.5 m and φ95 mm.
Specifications
- Formula
- Zoom, 17 elements in 14 groups
- Construction
- 17 elements / 14 groups
- Aperture range
- f/5.6–f/45
- Shutter
- Electronically timed leaf shutter built into the lens, 30 s–1/500 s, its blades and the diaphragm driven by linear motors through the 10-pin contact; speeds are set on the body
- Min. focus
- 2.5 m
- Dimensions
- 94 × 240 mm
- Weight
- 1850 g
- Filter
- 95 mm, M95 × 1 at the front; 93 mm drop-in filters (rolleigraphy.eu)
- Years manufactured
- 1976
- 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 Variogon HFT 5.6/140–280 is the telephoto zoom of the Rolleiflex SLX and 6000 system and the only zoom Rollei listed for the SLX in 1984: a Schneider-Kreuznach design of seventeen elements in fourteen groups, constant f/5.6 to f/45, focusing to 2.5 m and, on its macro setting, to 75 cm from the front element, 94 mm across and 240 mm long, 1.85 kg, with a 95 mm filter thread and a slot for 93 mm drop-in filters. Rollei’s brochure, quoted on rolleigraphy.eu, said it zooms without refocusing and that its “optical performance is equivalent to that of fixed focal lengths”. The zooms were Schneider’s work even when the rest of the line was Zeiss, and like every 6000 lens it has its own electronically timed leaf shutter and linear-motor diaphragm, driven by the body through the ten-pin bayonet from 30 s to 1/500 s.
Two versions were listed. The original lens, unmarked, is the SLX-era one and gives shutter-priority and manual exposure; the PQ of the 6008 years, order number 86 913, adds aperture-priority and program modes. No PQS, EL or autofocus version followed. Schneider sold the same specification to Hasselblad as the Variogon 140–280 in C, F and CF forms from 1976, with the identical seventeen-in-fourteen construction and 2.5 m minimum, and Bronica listed a 140–280 Variogon as a Zoom Zenzanon-S; the sources do not say whether the glass is shared, only that the figures match.
No test or review of the Rollei-mount lens was found and no list price. It covers the Sonnar 150 and 250 and reaches past them to 280 mm at the cost of a stop and about a kilogram over the 250. When buying, work the zoom and focus rings through their travel and the macro setting into engagement, exercise the shutter and diaphragm on a body or tester, since nothing in the lens moves without power, look at the ten contacts and the drop-in filter slot, and read the barrel for “PQ” if the automatic modes of a 6008-series body are wanted.
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 Variogon 140–280mm f/5.6 (6000)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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