Tele-Tessar 1000mm f/8 (SL66)
Carl Zeiss · Rollei SL66 · 1970 · Tele-Tessar, 4 elements in 4 groups
Also known as: Rollei SL66 Tele-Tessar 1000mm f/8 · Rolleiflex SL66 Tele-Tessar 1000mm F8 · Carl Zeiss Tele-Tessar 8/1000 SL66 · Tele-Tessar HFT 1000mm f/8 SL66 · Rollei SL66 1000mm f8 Tele Tessar · ローライ SL66 テレテッサー 1000mm F8 · ローライフレックス SL66 Tele-Tessar 1000mm F8
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tele-Tessar HFT 8/1000, pre-set diaphragm (January 1970 onward) | Rollei SL66 | 1970 | — | — |
- Rollei built the SL66 lenses under licence from Carl Zeiss from 1974, engraved 'Made by Rollei'; which maker built this lens in which years is not recorded in the sources read. The brand is Carl Zeiss because the design and name are Zeiss's.
- Four elements in four groups in sl66.rolleigraphy.eu (4/4), English Wikipedia (4/4) and Japanese Wikipedia. Weight, dimensions and the f/64 minimum are from the English Wikipedia table.
- Closest focus: English Wikipedia gives 14.7 m (48.3 ft); Japanese Wikipedia gives 21 m as a working distance. The lens has no helicoid, so both describe the bellows' limit, measured from different points or for different extensions; the English figure is used as the one from the fuller table, with the disagreement left open. No blade count, production total or list price was found.
How to tell them apart
- One of two 1000 mm SL66 lenses: this is the refracting Tele-Tessar with a diaphragm, the Mirotar the catadioptric lens without one
- Pre-set diaphragm like the Tele-Tessar 500; filter in the hood tube rather than on the front
- The 6000-series Tele-Tessar 1000 has the PQ bayonet and electronics; the SL66 lens has the double bayonet and nothing else
Tele-Tessar HFT 8/1000, pre-set diaphragm (January 1970 onward):
- An 820 mm, 8.7 kg refracting telephoto of 218 mm diameter with a removable hood tube inside which a Bayonet VI filter is fitted (sl66.rolleigraphy.eu; English Wikipedia)
- Pre-set diaphragm to f/64; no open-aperture metering and no E-mount version
- A diaphragm and a long tube distinguish it from the stubby 1000 mm Mirotar mirror lens, which has none
- Tele-Tessar HFT 8/1000, pre-set diaphragm (January 1970 onward): Introduced in January 1970 and listed by sl66.rolleigraphy.eu until after 1994. Zeiss offered the same optic later in the Rollei 6000 PQ mount.
Specifications
- Formula
- Tele-Tessar, 4 elements in 4 groups
- Construction
- 4 elements / 4 groups
- Aperture range
- f/8–f/64
- Min. focus
- 14.7 m
- Dimensions
- 218 × 820 mm
- Weight
- 8740 g
- Filter
- Rollei Bayonet VI filter inserted inside the hood tube, which is removed to fit it
- Years manufactured
- 1970
- Country
- West 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 Tele-Tessar 8/1000 is the longest refracting lens of the Rolleiflex SL66, introduced in January 1970. It is a four-element, four-group Tele-Tessar, 820 mm long, 218 mm across and 8.74 kg, with a removable hood tube inside which a Rollei Bayonet VI filter is fitted, since nothing of that size would fit on the front. The diaphragm runs from f/8 to f/64 and is pre-set, as on the Tele-Tessar 500: the ring is turned to the chosen stop and the diaphragm closes to it, with no automatic stop-down, no open-aperture metering and no version in the E mount of the SL66E, X and SE. As on every SL66 lens there is no focusing mount; the body’s bellows focus it, and at full extension the closest focus is 14.7 m by English Wikipedia’s figure or 21 m by Japanese Wikipedia’s.
It shares the 1000 mm focal length with the Mirotar, a catadioptric lens a third as long, nearly twice as heavy and without a diaphragm; the Tele-Tessar is the conventional choice of the two. sl66.rolleigraphy.eu lists it until after 1994, and Zeiss offered the same optic in the Rollei 6000 PQ mount. No review was found, and the lens is seen so rarely on the used market that no guidance beyond the obvious can be offered: a tripod of matching size, a check that the pre-set ring and diaphragm work, and a look through the long tube for haze. Blade count, production total and list price were not 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 Tele-Tessar 1000mm f/8 (SL66)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
The listings collector hasn't run for this family yet — check back soon, or search the marketplaces directly meanwhile.