Rollei 6008 i Newb with several questions

[wei_er_qiu1]

<p>Hi all, I just recently bought my very first medium format camera, a Rollei 6008i</p>

<p>However I only got three parts of it: body, grip and waist level finder, I know I need to buy:<br>

Battery (model name? nicad?)<br>

Charger (type N, C or any other recommendation?)<br>

film back( which model exactly?)<br>

and obviously, the Lenses( counting on a distagon 50 + 80)<br>

And what else? is film insert necessary?<br>

As a student I am not as loose on my budget as other professional photographer, but my appreciation for Rollei and German lenses has brought me to where I am now.</p>

<p>Thanks to all of you in advance, and any comment is greatly appreciated</p>

<p>Best regards</p>

<p>Jackwong</p>

[graham_mitchell]

<p>The original batteries are the weakest point of the system but you can easily upgrade the internal cells to NiMH cells. If you choose to do so, the original charger will be incompatible anyway, so I wouldn't even bother buying one. I have a guide to upgrading the batteries here: http://www.graham-mitchell.com/blog/?p=72<br>

As far as I know there are 645 and 6x6 film backs, so that decision will be up to you.<br>

Lenses: a 50, 80 and 150mm set is the cheapest to collect and will be a good start. My personal favourites so far are the 40mm f3.5, 80mm f2.8 and 110mm f2.<br>

Don't forget the little extras such as lens hoods, extension rings (if nothing else, the 9mm ring will be useful to most people from time to time for closer focusing), filters.<br>

Good luck!</p>

[rashed_s]

<p>I always like this camera and having it in my mind still, the system so far put me off, the lenses are of very expensive nature and I am not sure how used batteries would work for me, other wise its shape and weight is so suitable to operate out door and while traveling, I tired b&h, adorama and keh.com, not there camera wise at the moment.</p>

[patrick_j.]

<p><strong>@Jackwong:</strong> Congratulations on your camera. Personally I have a love-hate relationship with the camera. I love it for the image quality it produces as well as it's handling, and just the sheer beauty of the equipment. It feels solid and is just great to use. However, it is very heavy, it is very very expensive as a system, the PQ lenses cost a small fortune (i have an older EL 80mm f2/8 spare if you are interested), the battery is an issue, and i always worry what i will do if the electronics of the camera die one day. Regardless, i love it and hardly imagine ever parting with it. If you want to stay on a budget, try to find a cheap lens to start with (the EL is cheaper, but doesn't allow you to use all the features of the camera, for that you will need the PQS or PQ at least lenses), you will need a back (there are multiple types: 6003 and 6008), and film inserts, you will defintely need a battery, for that you might want to buy cheaply a "dead" one and rebuild it as graham suggests, and then buy the right charger accordingly. Personally i would start with the battery, as it is the cheapest to get by, just to test the electronics, before you invest in more gear. when all is set and done, get some slide film, and i promise, the negatives will be unlike anything you have ever seen before. And most of all enjoy your camera.</p>

<p><strong>@graham:</strong> thank you for the link. i have been contemplating rebuilding one of my packs. how did you deal with soldering the new batteries together? i have been able to find them as individual units but not as a block as it would be needed. thank you for your advice in advance.</p>

[wei_er_qiu1]

<p>Thanks Graham and Rashed.<br>

I think the best bet would be buying a used battery and mod myself. However I wonder if I got a battery compatible for another 6000 series, can I do the same mod for my 6008? Lets say i bought a 6006 battery and want to perform the same way/</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

[patrick_j.]

<p><strong>@Wei: </strong>As far as i know the batteries are the same. Though there are different "types" as in older and newer, i think the only difference is how much charge they hold (newer ones hold more), but since you just want to rebuild it anyways, it is just about getting the casing and the internals, since you will stick new batteries into anyways. so i wouldn't worry about that. Try to find one that is dead and replace the internals.</p>

[graham_mitchell]

<p>@ Patrick: just in case you didn't read the article, there is NO SOLDERING required. The contacts must be spot welded in the same way the old cells were. This does not add any size to the pack, which is important if you want it to fit back in the case. A local hobby shop which puts together batteries for remote control toys should be able to handle it.</p>

[patrick_j.]

<p>@Graham: Thanks for the quick response. I read your article and that's what i meant, but used the wrong term. Thanks for the hobby shop tip, i will ask around and get it done there. :-)</p>

[mark_olwick]

<p>Patrick - which functions aren't available with the EL lenses? I haven't read anything about that.</p>

[patrick_j.]

<p><strong>@mark:</strong> if i recall properly the EL lens doesn't support the 1000/s speed and one of the auto modes (shutter prio if i recall properly), or you have to stop down the lens to make a measurement. i have the lens in a box here and will confirm later, but i am pretty sure that's the case. the lens i have appears to be a rather old model, so later lenses with the PQ designation might be different. it seems there are so many models out there. </p>

[graham_mitchell]

<p>@ Patrick - the PQ lenses won't support 1/1000 either (only the PQS lenses will do that). I believe the only functional difference is that the EL lenses use a different filter mount. The lenses which don't support all of the modes are the earlier lenses, sometimes referred to as 'HFT'. I've never owned anything but PQ/S lenses though so perhaps someone else can confirm.</p>

[mark_olwick]

<p>I checked with the Rollei literature and here's what I found regarding EL lenses:. 1) They're optically identical to their more expensive counterparts. 2) They take regular 67mm filters instead of the more expensive bayonet mount (yay!). 3) They don't have the little aperture window on them. 4) They have a top speed of 1/500th instead of 1/1000th like the PQS lenses. That's it.</p>

[patrick_j.]

<p><strong>@Graham: </strong>yes, i forgot to mention that the PQ also only does the "500th", but the part with the HFT lenses is interesting. i found very conflicting information on this subject and can only go by the lenses i have here (80mm PQS, and 80mm 'HFT' i suppose). the lens i have has a bayonet filter mount and it's not a PQ or PQS lens. So i assume it is one of the older ones, as it doesn;t support the auto modes properly (only A priority with stopping down).</p>

<p><strong>@Mark: </strong>thank you for looking this up. this does shed some additional light on things. do you know what those older lenses are called? mine is designated "HFT" which as far as i know only is a coating, like the T* coating on zeiss hasselblad mount. the lens is made in germany by rollei and works in limited fassion on my rolleiflex. what is that "little aperture window" you mention? where would i find t on the lens? is it on the inside or can i see it from the outside? the mount looks pretty much the same on both of my lenses.</p>

<p>again, thank you both for sharing your knowledge. i very much appreciate it.</p>

<p>patrick.</p>

[mark_olwick]

<p>Patrick, the little window is on the lens itself. Instead, you can see the aperture in the viewfinder.</p>

<p>Here's the info on the HFT:</p>

<p><em>Anti-reflection coating</em></p>

<p>All lenses feature Rollei's special HFT coating (High-Fidelity Transfer) for suppressing reflections and producing optimum color brillance. The coating consists of special ultra-thin films evaporated on the lens surfaces. The result is a noticeable reduction in the amount of light reflected from the lens elements and thus less contrast-degrading flare. In addition, light transmission is increased, allowing full use of lens speed.</p>

<p><em>PQ and PQS lenses</em><br>

PQ and PQS lenses use Rollei's pioneering Direct-Drive Technology. Both the diaphragm blades and the shutter blades of the lens are driven with the utmost precision in 1/3 increments by two linear motors, controlled by the camera's microprocessor. The leaf shutters are hand-stamped, ultra-thin carbon fiber produced for the aerospace industry. They are extremely thin and the smooth frictionless blades work on an air cushion. Then gold-plated contacts ensure smooth and wear-free transmission of control pulses and power supply. PQS lenses have a top speed of 1/1000s - the highest on the market of medium format cameras - while PQ lenses reach 1/500s. Flash synchronization is possible at all speeds.</p>

<p>That text is from pascal's Rolleiflex pages. While it mostly concentrates on the 6008AF and Hy6, there's lots of good info there. (note that the EL lenses are missing though). Check it out here: <a href="http://www.rolleiflexpages.com/">http://www.rolleiflexpages.com/</a></p>

<p>The PQ and PQS lenses also allow open aperture metering.</p>

[patrick_j.]

<p><strong>@mark:</strong> thank you again for your infos. i think my older lens is probably pre-PQ and not even an EL lens. the other one i have is a PQS lens but after some examination do not see any window on it, neither on the barrel or anywhere. have you seen this window yourself and where it would be located? </p>