Rolleiflex SL66
Encyclopedia
The Rolleiflex SL66 is a single lens reflex camera made by Rollei
, in regular production from 1966-82. The SL66 represented a change in direction for Rollei, which until that time had focussed almost exclusively on its popular twin lens reflex cameras, the Rolleiflex
and Rolleicord
.
, inventor of the Hasselblad
SLR, was reached to ensure that Rollei would not manufacture SLR
cameras, and Hasselblad would not manufacture TLR
cameras. However, the rapid adoption of SLRs during the 1960s meant that Rollei risked falling behind in this market, at the same time that demand for its TLRs was decreasing. In 1964 plans were made to create a new, technologically advanced SLR to be introduced at the 1966 Photokina
festival.
to produce frames of 6×6 cm. It also incorporates several features that are unique or noteworthy in an SLR camera:
The SL66 uses a focal-plane shutter, although several lenses were available in leaf shutters to enable much higher flash synchronization
speeds.
Several later cameras based on the SL66 were made, including the SL66E, SL66X, and SL66SE. The most prominent changes in these newer models involved increased use of electronics in metering and flash synchronization. The SL66SE remained in production until 1992.
Rollei
Rollei is a German manufacturer of optical goods founded in 1920 by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord series of cameras...
, in regular production from 1966-82. The SL66 represented a change in direction for Rollei, which until that time had focussed almost exclusively on its popular twin lens reflex cameras, the Rolleiflex
Rolleiflex
Rolleiflex is the name of a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-Werk. The "Rolleiflex" name is most commonly used to refer to Rollei's premier line of medium format twin lens reflex cameras...
and Rolleicord
Rolleicord
The Rolleicord was a popular medium-format twin lens reflex camera made by Franke & Heidecke between 1933 and 1976. It was a simpler, less expensive version of the high-end Rolleiflex TLR, aimed at amateur photographers who wanted a high-quality camera but could not afford the expensive Rolleiflex...
.
History
In 1957, an agreement between Reinhold Heidecke, inventor of the Rolleiflex TLR, and Victor HasselbladVictor Hasselblad
Victor Hasselblad was a Swedish inventor and photographer, known for inventing the Hasselblad 6x6 cm medium format camera....
, inventor of the Hasselblad
Hasselblad
Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish manufacturer of medium-format cameras and photographic equipment based in Gothenburg, Sweden.The company is best known for the medium-format cameras it has produced since World War II....
SLR, was reached to ensure that Rollei would not manufacture SLR
SLR
The initialism SLR can refer to:* Satellite laser ranging* Scalable Linear Recording Tape Drive Backup* Self-Loading Rifle, see semi-automatic rifle.** The UK version of the Belgian FN FAL select fire battle rifle, the L1A1 SLR.* Semi-linear resolution...
cameras, and Hasselblad would not manufacture TLR
TLR
The three letter abbreviation TLR can mean* Toll-like receptors, proteins constituting an important part of the immune system* Tonic labyrinthine reflex, a primitive reflex found in newborn humans* Twin-lens reflex camera, a photo camera with two lenses...
cameras. However, the rapid adoption of SLRs during the 1960s meant that Rollei risked falling behind in this market, at the same time that demand for its TLRs was decreasing. In 1964 plans were made to create a new, technologically advanced SLR to be introduced at the 1966 Photokina
Photokina
The photokina is the world's largest trade fair for the photographic and imaging industries. The first photokina was held in Cologne, Germany, in 1950, and it is now held biannually in September at the koelnmesse Trade Fair and Exhibition Centre...
festival.
Features
Like the Rolleiflex TLR and the Hasselblad SLR, the SL66 uses 120 or 220 film120 film
120 is a film format for still photography introduced by Kodak for their Brownie No. 2 in 1901. It was originally intended for amateur photography but was later superseded in this role by 135 film...
to produce frames of 6×6 cm. It also incorporates several features that are unique or noteworthy in an SLR camera:
- Reverse-mounting lenses. Most SL66 lenses (With the exception of the very wide or very long lenses) could be reversed and mounted to the camera without adapters, for use in close-up macro photographyMacro photographyMacrophotography is close-up photography, usually of very small subjects. Classically a macrophotograph is one in which the size of the subject on the negative is greater than life size. However in modern use it refers to a finished photograph of a subject at greater than life size...
. - Lens bellows to accommodate focusing when the lenses are reverse-mounted. Again, this is impossible for most SLR cameras without special adapters.
- Lens tilt movement. The lenses could be tilted up to 8 degrees either up or down, to take advantage of the Scheimpflug principleScheimpflug principleThe Scheimpflug principle is a geometric rule that describes the orientation of the plane of focus of an optical system when the lens plane is not parallel to the image plane. It is commonly applied to the use of camera movements on a view camera...
, enabling greater depth of fieldDepth of fieldIn optics, particularly as it relates to film and photography, depth of field is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image...
, especially in close-up photographs.
The SL66 uses a focal-plane shutter, although several lenses were available in leaf shutters to enable much higher flash synchronization
Flash synchronization
In a camera, flash synchronization is defined as the firing of a photographic flash coinciding with the shutter admitting light to photographic film or electronic image sensor. It is often shortened to flash sync or flash synch....
speeds.
Several later cameras based on the SL66 were made, including the SL66E, SL66X, and SL66SE. The most prominent changes in these newer models involved increased use of electronics in metering and flash synchronization. The SL66SE remained in production until 1992.