Hi Graham,
Does the 6008i (non-autofocus) work well with backs, or is it just the autofocus ones?
I have a 6008i I'd like to sell.
Best,
Mitchell
Depends. The later ones do, the earlier do not. I think its the 6008 Integral 2 that does.
You'd like a SN to tell them apart, but I don't have one. Conversations with Rollei suggested they didn't have one either, or at least one to give out. You might check the removable "gate" around the inside of the lens housing, seen from the film side. The later ones have it, to be removed for a digital back, the earlier ones do not.
To be sure, the 6008AF's all work with the digital back, but some work better than others and talk to the back more directly. None of the 6006 will work digitally. Supposedly, the 6003 Pro will (and has the removable gate) the 6003 earlier model won't. "Work" here means a connection via Sinar or Imacon adapters, and a cable interface. THere may be some more direct interface possible, with the later Sinar backs, that doesn't require the cable, but I don't really know for sure.
Hope this helps. Its a bit arcane, but think of it as a small factory, trying to continually update their product, and it makes more sense.
By the way, the reason for the 6006 purchas is just to get the lenses and work with the camera as is. If you go for a later camera, (6003/8), the PQ lenses are better (staying open, operating more quickly), altho optically the 6006 lenses are fine if they are the German ones. There were some slightly inferior far-eastern made lenses, which are good, but not great. They were made c. 1990 for Rollei directly, without Zeiss or Schneider names on them. You may want to watch for those.
The 6003/8 gear is pretty cheap tho, so there really isn't a reason to go backwards, except for the SL66, with a built in bellows, and some tilt. It has some cult fans and uses different lenses.
Geoff
