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Rolleiflex SL 66 1235, Photo F.W. Stutterheim
Photograph of Ferdi‘s Rolleiflex SL 66 with the standard 1:2.8 f=80 mm Planar. Note the chrome aperture ring (pre 1982) and the lens number etc. printed close to the front lens (pre 1974). Other images show it is made by ‘Carl Zeiss’ (pre 1974), HFT coating (from 1972). The lens was made in 1972 or 1973.
Photo © 2020  F.W. Stutterheim

Page Index

  1. Introduction
  2. Factory issued lenses
  3. Third party lenses
  4. Notes
  5. References

Introduction

The SL 66 line of cameras and their lenses were made from 1966 until 1992. In this timespan we can distinguish three versions of each lens. Distinguishing elements are producer, lens coating and lens mount.

Carl Zeiss lenses (1966 - 1974)

All lenses of the first group were made by Carl Zeiss at Oberkochen, (West-)Germany from 1966 until 1974. The lenses are Zeiss single- or double-coated and can be recognized by the chrome aperture ring. Engravings are close to the front lens until 1973. Most lenses have an automatic iris diaphragm. The aperture closes down to the set value only after releasing the shutter. The exposure meter of an SL 66 E or SE camera cannot be used when a lens of this group is mounted. Flash-metering with the SL 66 X is possible.

HFT coated lenses made by Carl Zeiss (1972 - 1974) or ‘Made by Rollei’ (1972 - 1982)

Zeiss began delivering multi-coated lenses for the Rolleiflex SL 66 from 1972. They are labeled HFT. Rollei took over production of the 50, 80, 150 and 250 mm lenses in 1974. Those lenses are labeled ‘Made by Rollei’ and HFT. They also have the automatic iris diaphragm and the chrome aperture ring. Engravings are near the bayonet mount from 1974. The other, more complex, lenses were still made by Zeiss at the Oberkochen plant. The exposure meter of an SL 66 E or SE camera cannot be used when a lens of this group is mounted. Flash-metering with the SL 66 X is possible.

HFT coated lenses with Open-aperture-metering ‘Made by Rollei’ (1982 - 1992)

Lenses had to be redesigned to work with the exposure meter of the SL 66 E in 1982. The lenses have diaphragms fit for open-aperture-metering. The set aperture is mechanically communicated to the camera body. Around this time the factory started mounting black aperture rings. The 500 mm and both 1000 mm lenses were not offered in this version.

E-rings

Earlier lenses could be upgraded to open-aperture-metering by fitting an E-ring. E-rings in several lengths were available for specific lenses. Fitting was done by the factory and contracted repair shops. It could also be done by the user.

Rolleiflex SL 66 1775, Photo F.W. Stutterheim
Photograph of Ferdi‘s Rolleiflex SL 66 with the Sonnar 1:5.6 f=250 mm. Note the chrome aperture ring (pre 1982) and the lens number etc. printed close to the front lens (pre 1974). It is made by ‘Carl Zeiss’ (pre 1974), no HFT coating (probably pre 1972). The lens was probably made between 1966 and 1972.
Photo © 2023  F.W. Stutterheim

Factory issued lenses

Carl Zeiss and ‘Made by Rollei’ Lenses

Lens Produced Type, particulars Aperture Lens Angle of view (°) Filter mount
Groups Elements Diagonal Horizontal
F-Distagon 3.5/30 mm 10/1973 - >19941 Super Wide Angle, Fish eye A 7 8 180 110 M 25 x 0.5
Distagon 4/40 mm 08/1968 - 1986 Super Wide Angle A 9 10 88 69 Bayonet VIII
Distagon 4/40 mm 04/1986 - >1994 Super Wide Angle with Floating Elements, outstanding correction. Open-aperture-metering version only. A 10 11 88 69 Adaptor needed
Distagon 4/50 mm 10/1966 - >1994 Compact Wide Angle, remarkably good correction A 7 7 75 57 Bayonet VI
Distagon 3.5/60 mm 10/1984 - 1993 Compact Moderate Wide Angle, alternative standard lens. Open-aperture-metering version only. A 7 7 67 Bayonet VI
PCS-Rolleigon 4.5/75 mm 10/1984 - 1990 Shift lens with extended image circle. No Open-aperture-metering. 9 11 62 Bayonet VIII
Planar 2.8/80 mm 10/1966 - >1994 Normal Angle, exceptionally good correction, extreme sharpness, good image flatness A 5 7 52 38 Bayonet VI
Distagon 4/80 mm 01/1970 - >1994 Normal Angle, with leaf shutter for flash photography, retro‑focus construction to acommodate shutter A 5 5 52 38 Bayonet VI
S-Planar 5.6/120 mm
Makro‑Planar 5.6/120 mm		 10/1966 - 02/1989 Macro lens, optimal correction at 1:8 A 4 6 36 26 Bayonet VI
Makro-Planar 4/120 mm 03/1989 - >1994 Macro lens, opened up to f/4, same size, same optical quality A 4 6 36 26 Bayonet VI
Sonnar 4/150 mm 10/1966 - >1994 Short tele-lens for portraits etc. A 3 5 29 21 Bayonet VI
Sonnar 4/150 mm 01/1970 - 1988 Short tele-lens with leaf shutter, X and M sync down to 1/500 s. A 3 5 29 21 Bayonet VI
Sonnar 5.6/250 mm 10/1966 - >1994 Classic tele lens, long distance images A 3 4 18 13 Bayonet VI
Tele-Tessar 5.6/500 mm 01/1967 - Mid 1991 Tele lens, long distance images. No Open-aperture-metering. V 5 6 9 6 M 95 x 1
Tele-Tessar 8/1000 mm 01/1970 - >1994 Tele lens, long distance images, tube can be dismantled to insert filter. No Open-aperture-metering. V 4 4 4.5 3 Bayonet VI
Mirotar 5.6/1000 mm 10/1966 - 04/1991 Mirror lens, larger aperture, compact, highest possible image quality. No Open-aperture-metering. - - - 4.5 3 Built-in revolving filters.
Luminar 2.5/16 mm Special macro lens
Adaptor with microscope thread.		 E 4 5
Luminar 3.5/25 mm Special macro lens
Adaptor with microscope thread.		 E 3 4
Luminar 4.5/40 mm Special macro lens
Adaptor with microscope thread.		 E 3 3
Luminar 4.5/63 mm Special macro lens
Adaptor with microscope thread.		 E 3 3
Luminar 6.3/100 mm Special macro lens
Special adaptor		 E 3

Features: Aperture A (Auto) = Fully automatic aperture. The diaphragm is normally fully open and closes down to the selected aperture value only when the shutter is released. V (Vorwahl) = Preselected aperture. The aperture closes down to the selected value when the control ring is turned to the stop. E (Einstell) = Manual aperture control. On the Luminars the lowest scale value 1 corresponds to the full aperture engraved on the lens and the following numbers each correspond to one stop. The Mirotar has no aperture diaphragm. Exposure is controlled by the choice of shutter speed or by inserting Neutral Density Grey filters.

Third party lenses

Imagon lenses made by Optische Werke G. Rodenstock, Munich

Lens Produced Type, particulars Lens mount
Imagon 4.5/120 mm 1928 - >1994 Achromat with sieve style aperture disks. Available in two lens mounts.
To be used with the Rollei adaptor for third party optics and a neutral density filter with 25% transmission.		 Standard
In leaf shutter 3
Imagon 5.8/200 mm 1928 - >1994 Achromat with sieve style aperture disks. Available in two lens mounts.
To be used with the Rollei adaptor for third party optics and a neutral density filter with 25% transmission.		 Standard
In leaf shutter 3

Particulars: For artistic shots in which sharpness and softness are harmoniously combined. The sharp image made with the central aperture is superimposed by several images of different grades of unsharpness. The optic is supplied with a number of aperture disks with central and peripheral apertures different in size.

Noflexar lenses made by Novoflex Fotogerätebau Karl Müller, Memmingen

Lens Produced Type, particulars Novoflex code
Triplet Noflexar 5.6/400 mm 1984 - >1994 To be used with additional Novoflex parts.
Grip for fast focusing, SL 66 mount. Rolpigriff-C
Lens head for Noflexar 5.6/400 mm with lens hood C-400/3
Universal support for shoulder or chest.
Focusing range from ∞ - 6.5 m.		 Pistock-C
Noflexar 4/200 mm 1974 Focusing range from ∞ - 105 cm.
To be used with additional Novoflex parts. N-200, Rollan-200
Tele-Noflexar 5,6/500 mm Focusing range from ∞ - 600 cm.
To be used with additional Novoflex parts. KS-500, Rollan

Particulars: Novoflex set for fast shooting.

Notes

[1]
The actual year production was ended is not known to me. The year “>1994” is based on Prochnow. When his Rollei Report 2 went into print (1994) the lens was still in production. Back

References