Planar 80mm f/2.8 (Rolleiflex)
Carl Zeiss · Rolleiflex TLR · 1954
Also known as: Rolleiflex 2.8F Planar · Rolleiflex 2.8F Planar 80mm f/2.8 · Rolleiflex 2.8E Planar · Rolleiflex 2.8C Planar · Rolleiflex 2.8D Planar · Rolleiflex 2.8GX Planar HFT · Rolleiflex 2.8FX Planar 80mm F2.8 · Rolleiflex 2.8FX-N S-Apogon · Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f2.8 Rolleiflex · Rollei Planar 2.8/80 HFT · ローライフレックス 2.8F プラナー · ローライフレックス 2.8F プラナー 80mm F2.8 · ローライフレックス 2.8GX プラナー · ローライフレックス 2.8FX プラナー HFT
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planar 80/2.8 on the Rolleiflex 2.8C, 2.8D, 2.8E and 2.8F (1954–1981) | Rolleiflex TLR | 1954–1981 | camera bodies 1600000–1620999 (2.8D), 1621000–1665999 (2.8E), per ja.wikipedia | — |
| Planar 80/2.8 HFT on the Rolleiflex 2.8GX and 2.8FX (1987–2012) | Rolleiflex TLR | 1987–2012 | — | — |
| S-Apogon 80/2.8 HFT on the Rolleiflex 2.8FX-N (2012–2015) | Rolleiflex TLR | 2012–2015 | — | — |
- Elements: five, from antiquecameras.net for the 2.8C's Planar and from Dusty Grain's 2.8F review (5 elements in 4 groups, 'late type 2'). The family `elements` is set to 5 on that evidence; `groups` is left empty because the one four-group figure is a single blog statement. A six-element late 2.8F Planar is asserted in dealer listings (Flashback Camera among them) and forum copy only; antiquecameras.net, which gives the exact switch serials for the six-element 75 mm Planar and Xenotar, says nothing of the sort for the 80 mm and calls the late 3.5E/3.5F 'the only Rolleiflex TLRs with a six-element normal lens'. Treat a 'six-element 2.8F' description as unproven.
- Years: Planar offered on the 2.8C in 1954 with no date for the first unit (antiquecameras.net); 2.8F sold until 1981 with either lens (antiquecameras.net); 2.8GX from 1987 and 2.8FX from 8 March 2001 (ja.wikipedia); FX-N 2012–2015 (en.wikipedia). The family end date is the end of FX-N production.
- Diaphragm: ten blades on the 2.8C (Camera Legend; Japanese Wikipedia), five on later classic cameras by common description, not confirmed by a page read here; the HFT lenses' blade count was not found. `blades` left empty.
- Minimum focus: 0.9 m for the 2.8F (Dusty Grain), 1 m for the 2.8GX (retailer specification via search). Neither is a maker's figure; `mfd_m` left empty.
- Shutter: Compur-Rapid MXV (2.8C, 2.8D), Synchro-Compur MXV (2.8E, 2.8F), 1s–1/500 and B, with flash synchronisation at all speeds (Dusty Grain for the 2.8F). The GX's Synchro-Compur 1s–1/500 is a retailer figure. The 2.8FX's shutter maker is not confirmed by a source read here; its sister 4.0FT of 2011 has a Copal (DC Watch), which may apply to the FX as well.
- Reception: antiquecameras.net summarises Modern Photography's 1953–1963 tests as finding Planar and Xenotar similar, a 1963 summary giving the Planar the better edges and the Xenotar the better centre; the Planar was priced about 5% above the Xenotar.
- Weights: 1,275 g is the whole 2.8FX camera (ja.wikipedia), not the lens; Dusty Grain's 1.25 kg is likewise the 2.8F body. No lens weight exists for a fixed taking lens.
How to tell them apart
- A fixed taking lens below a Heidosmat viewing lens on a Rolleiflex 2.8C, 2.8D, 2.8E, 2.8F, 2.8GX, 2.8FX or 2.8FX-N; the front ring reads Carl Zeiss Planar 1:2,8 f=80mm (classic), Rollei HFT Planar 2,8/80 (GX, FX) or S-Apogon HFT 2,8/80 (FX-N), inside the Bay III bayonet
- The alternative on the four classic bodies is the Schneider Xenotar 80mm f/2.8, named on its own ring; the GX, FX and FX-N were never offered with a Xenotar
- Not the Hasselblad Planar 80mm f/2.8, the Rollei SL66 Planar 80 or the SLX/6000 Planar 80 HFT, all removable bayonet lenses, nor the Leica-thread 'Rollei Planar 80mm HFT' reissue of the 2000s, which is a separate product
Planar 80/2.8 on the Rolleiflex 2.8C, 2.8D, 2.8E and 2.8F (1954–1981):
- Front ring reads Carl Zeiss Planar 1:2,8 f=80mm with a seven-digit Zeiss serial; single-coated, on a 2.8C, 2.8D, 2.8E (E, E2, E3) or 2.8F body
- Ten-blade diaphragm on the 2.8C only (Camera Legend; Japanese Wikipedia); Compur-Rapid MXV on the C and D, Synchro-Compur MXV on the E and F
Planar 80/2.8 HFT on the Rolleiflex 2.8GX and 2.8FX (1987–2012):
- Front ring reads Rollei HFT Planar (or Planar HFT) 2,8/80 with Made by Rollei; the camera is a 2.8GX (built-in TTL meter, 1987 on) or a 2.8FX (2001 on)
- Multicoated: coloured reflections rather than the single pale bloom of the classic lens
S-Apogon 80/2.8 HFT on the Rolleiflex 2.8FX-N (2012–2015):
- Front ring reads S-Apogon HFT 2,8/80 instead of Planar; the camera is a 2.8FX-N of DHW Fototechnik, after the Zeiss name was dropped
- Planar 80/2.8 on the Rolleiflex 2.8C, 2.8D, 2.8E and 2.8F (1954–1981): Offered on the 2.8C from 1954, two years after the Xenotar, and then on every 2.8 Rolleiflex to the end of the 2.8F in 1981. Dusty Grain's 2.8F review gives the lens as five elements in four groups, "late type 2", with a minimum focus of 0.9 m; antiquecameras.net gives five elements for the 2.8C Planar. The six-element claim made for late 2.8F Planars in dealer and forum copy is not supported by antiquecameras.net, which documents the 75 mm lenses' change in detail and says nothing of the kind for the 80.
- Planar 80/2.8 HFT on the Rolleiflex 2.8GX and 2.8FX (1987–2012): The Planar reappeared in 1987 on the 2.8GX, made by Rollei under Zeiss licence with Rollei's HFT multicoating, and continued on the 2.8FX of 2001. Its optical formula is not published by any source read here; a collector's note quoted in search says the GX kept the same five-element Planar with better coating, and Rollei's Leica-mount reissue of the lens is listed at five elements in four groups, but neither is a maker's statement about the TLR lens. A retailer gives 1 m minimum focus and a Synchro-Compur 1s–1/500 for the GX.
- S-Apogon 80/2.8 HFT on the Rolleiflex 2.8FX-N (2012–2015): Late 2.8FX and 2.8FX-N cameras carry a lens engraved S-Apogon 80mm f/2.8 HFT (dealer listings via search; English Wikipedia dates the FX-N 2012–2015). Whether this is the Planar HFT under a Rollei name after the Zeiss licence lapsed, or a recomputed lens, is not stated by any source read for this page; nothing read reports an optical change, so it is listed here as a variant pending a maker's sheet. The maker of the glass (Schneider or Zeiss-licence) is unconfirmed.
Specifications
- Formula
- Planar: a five-element double-Gauss derivative (antiquecameras.net for the 2.8C lens; Dusty Grain gives 5 elements in 4 groups for the 2.8F); whether any late lens had six elements is unproven
- Construction
- 5 elements
- Aperture range
- f/2.8
- Shutter
- Compur-Rapid MXV on the 2.8C and 2.8D, Synchro-Compur MXV on the 2.8E and 2.8F; Synchro-Compur on the 2.8GX; 1s–1/500, B
- Filter
- Bay III
- Years manufactured
- 1954–2015
- Country
- West Germany
What reviewers say
- Jorge Ferrufino (Dusty Grain) (blog) — Finds the 2.8F's Planar exceptionally sharp with excellent contrast, no vignetting at the edges and distortion correction that weakens up close; the camera is "better made, smoother, and quieter" than the cheaper TLRs he points beginners to, and a luxury for photographers past the hobby stage, at $2,000–5,000 depending on condition.
- Geoff Chaplin (35mmc) (blog) — Shooting a 2.8GX beside a 2.8F, he finds the GX's modern coatings give a sharper, more contrasty image and the F's lens a softer look better suited to portraits; the GX has the much brighter screen and a built-in meter. His verdict on the GX: "A joy to use!"
- Sam (Camera Legend) (blog) — Compared with his 2.8C Xenotar, a Planar he shot was "just as sharp" but lower in contrast, which he attributes to sample condition rather than the design; he prefers his Xenotar but would "never hate on the Planar".
History
The Planar 80mm f/2.8 is the Carl Zeiss taking lens of the Rolleiflex 2.8 series, and the lens most people mean when they say “a Rolleiflex”. Zeiss Oberkochen offered it to Franke & Heidecke in 1954 as an alternative to the Schneider Xenotar that had launched the 2.8C two years earlier, and from then on every 2.8C, 2.8D, 2.8E and 2.8F could be had with either name on the front ring. It is a five-element double-Gauss derivative, the post-war Planar type: antiquecameras.net gives five elements for the 2.8C lens, and Dusty Grain’s review of the 2.8F gives five elements in four groups, focusing to 0.9 m. It sat behind a Compur-Rapid MXV on the C and D and a Synchro-Compur MXV on the E and F, 1 s to 1/500 with B and flash at every speed, and it took Bay III filters and hoods. The 2.8C’s ten-blade diaphragm gave way to a simpler one on the later cameras.
The lens outlived the classic Rolleiflex. When Rollei revived the twin-lens camera in 1987 as the 2.8GX, the Planar came back, now made under Zeiss licence with Rollei’s HFT multicoating and engraved Rollei HFT Planar; the 2.8FX of 2001 kept it, and the last cameras, the 2.8FX-N of DHW Fototechnik from 2012 to 2015, carry a lens engraved S-Apogon 80mm f/2.8 HFT instead. Nothing read for this page says what, if anything, changed inside the S-Apogon; the simplest reading is a Planar under a house name once the Zeiss licence ended, which is why it appears here as a variant rather than as a lens of its own. Over 61 years and seven body names the formula seems to have stayed a five-element Planar. The six-element Planar that collectors hunt is the 75mm f/3.5 of the late 3.5E and 3.5F, where antiquecameras.net gives the exact serial of the change; the same site calls those the only Rolleiflex TLRs with a six-element normal lens, and a listing that promises a “six-element 2.8F Planar” should be read with that in mind.
In use the two coatings behave differently. Geoff Chaplin, shooting a 2.8GX beside a 2.8F for 35mmc in 2024, found the GX’s modern coatings gave a sharper, more contrasty image and the F’s single-coated lens a softer look that he preferred for portraits, and a 2.8GX owner on a forum found flare on the HFT lens very well controlled. Jorge Ferrufino of Dusty Grain found the 2.8F’s Planar exceptionally sharp with excellent contrast and no visible vignetting, with distortion correction that weakens at close distances; Sam of Camera Legend, comparing against his 2.8C Xenotar, found a Planar just as sharp but lower in contrast and blamed sample condition rather than Zeiss. The two designs were priced about 5% apart and tested alike in Modern Photography’s reports of the 1950s and 60s, with the Planar credited with better edges and the Xenotar a better centre on a small sample.
Prices follow the body: Dusty Grain puts a 2.8F at $2,000 to $5,000 depending on condition and accessories, and Camera Legend’s 2.8C figures are lower. Because the lens never comes off, a buyer is checking the whole camera: balsam separation and haze in the taking lens, the matching of taking and viewing lenses, the slow speeds of the Compur, and on the F the selenium meter. The sister pages cover the Xenotar on the same four classic bodies, the 75mm f/3.5 Planar of the 3.5E and 3.5F, and the removable Planar 80s Zeiss made for the Hasselblad, the Rollei SL66 and the SLX/6000 cameras, which share the name and the formula type but not a single part.
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 Planar 80mm f/2.8 (Rolleiflex)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
Asking price, EUR: a median of €2,500 across 4 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-02 (middle half €1,700–€3,000). First day tracked.
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
- Rolleiflex 2.8F in used condition but full working Planar 2.8/80mm
- Rolleiflex 2.8F w. Zeiss 2.8/80mm Planar full working!
- Rolleiflex 2.8F - Planar 80mm F2.8 — SN 2426498
- Rollei Rolleiflex 2.8 GX black w. Zeiss Planar 2.8/80mm camera for 120 Film
- Rollei Planar 80mm F2.8 HFT LTM - Black — SN 9310139
- Rolleiflex SL66SE w. Planar 2,8/80mm HFT and Magazine 6x6
- Rollei 2.8 FX 2.8FX Medium Format TLR Camera w/ 80mm f2.8 Planar Lens [MINT]
- ！！週末限定セール！！★極上美品！★ROLLEI ローライ ROLLEIFLEX 2.8F Planar 80mm F2.8 動作確認済の希少な動作品！ #9-0477
- ★★極上品 Rollei Rolleiflex 2.8F TLR Planar 80mm F/2.8 Film Camera♪♪#6683EX
- ★神経質な方遠慮★極上品 Rollei Rolleiflex 2.8F TLR Planar 80mm F/2.8 Film Camera♪♪#6497EX
- 1円 ROLLEIFLEX Planar F2.8 80mm 二眼レフカメラ フィルムカメラ ジャンク品 ローライフレックス L032101
- Rollei Rolleiflex 2.8E Planar 80mm F/2.8 Medium Format Film Camera #65565E2
- Rolleiflex 2.8F Planar 80mm F2.8 #2422073 ローライフレックス
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Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.