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WTB: Digital Back in AFI/HY6 Mount

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Jessxi

New member
Hi,

WTB: I am looking for a digital back in AFi/HY6 mount.

I am currently looking for a back for my AFi Camera. Just getting back into Medium format with the camera that originally made me fall in love with the format. I am hoping someone has a back they may want to sell at a reasonable price. Newer the back model the better. Sorry that I do not have a post history on here. If you have one potentially for sale please send me a message.

Thanks,
Jesse
 
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dawidloubser

New member
Oh interesting, I never knew they made the Credo 80 in Hy6 mount! I thought the Leaf AF-i 80mp with the internal rotation (Aptus II-12r) was the last generation of Hy6-mount backs available, from around 2010 - but the Credos came out around 2012, right?

@Jessxi I know I PM'ed you about my back which has a slight scratch on the sensor cover glass - let me know if you don't come right with @baudolino and we can continue that conversation, but otherwise I imagine you'd rather want to spring for a slightly more modern back.
 
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baudolino

Well-known member
Yep, mine is the Credo 80 in Hy6 mount. Bought from Eric Hiss two years ago. These do not come for sale very often (most Credo 80s for sale are M645 mount). It is still awesome, especially the very quick and intuitive display / ergonomics.
 
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Paul Spinnler

Well-known member
Leaf Aptus and Credo 80 MPX backs have gotten a bit of a resurgence lately; they have a distinct ccd colour look and the 12 rotating back is very rare indeed. Greiner in Germany told me that some Phase clients of his acquired Leaf backs for “fun” as an additional brush in their toolkit. Another sought after CCD is the 260 from Dalsa; but Leaf’s backs produced a bit different colour so that’s why they are unique in themselves. And let’s not talk about Hy6 - an enviable system which came to market too late. Truly fantastic system design and SK optics.

Leaf was my first back - I remember its colours fondly.
 
buildbot

buildbot

Well-known member
Paul Spinnler said:
And let’s not talk about Hy6 - an enviable system which came to market too late.
Click to expand...
It's not in my opinion. DW Photo is a fraudulent company. My Hy6 has was under warranty and broken when I sent it in for repair, they held it until after the warranty expired and said it had no issue besides a cosmetic thing. That cameras has been at Key Camera for literally a year now. Not fixed.
 
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baudolino

Well-known member
Yes, the Hy6 with the 180mm SK Tele-Xenar, with a close-up ring, and the Credo 80 make an amazing combination for portraits. I also like the 45 deg finder when shooting portraits - it's not as much "camera in your face" like for instance the XF with the 150 BR. The 35 ISO is limiting and the need to physically swap the back between landscape and portrait orientation can be disconcerting in some location scenarios but, when the stars align, the images are gorgeous, like here: Example image

All of the above equipment is really only "for fun" nowadays, due to outright lack of support (Leaf) or support hanging on the last string (Hy6 / Rollei lenses). I bought a new Hy6 mod2 body from DW Photo in 2021 and had a cheap beat-up mod1 bought off eBay refurbished by DW to mod2. Also got some "last of their kind" new lenses, like the 80AF with the aperture ring and the 65 mm Zeiss. Plus two 6060 backs. So I am set for a long period of "fun".
 
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baudolino

Well-known member
buildbot said:
DW Photo is a fraudulent company.
Click to expand...
The company does not really exist anymore. I understand that Hans is out (poor health, his mobile number is switched off). His daughter Katarina (the CEO) apparently has no interest in continuing the company. There is still Rolf who can service the Hy6 bodies but he may be out of parts / not communicative etc. For the lenses and previous Rolleiflex cameras, Paepke is still there - but Mr. Paepke is over 80 years old, so it is not difficult to guess where this is all heading. Having said this, I had a positive experience with Paepke recently and received excellent service from DW in 2021 when Hans was still around. If you have no luck getting through to DW, you may want to try to give Mr. Paepke a call (he speaks only German, but will reply to emails in English). He may be able to get you in touch with the relevant people at DW or give you some helpful info. As I wrote above: "support hanging on the last thread".
 
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buildbot

buildbot

Well-known member
baudolino said:
There is still Ralf who can service the Hy6 bodies but he may be out of parts / not communicative etc.
Click to expand...
He lied directly to me about fixing my camera. According to Paepke & Eric Hiss, Rolf blacklisted my serial and refused to fix it. If I was in Germany/the EU, I'd absolutly pursue legal recourse, but being across the ocean makes that tricky.
 
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Paul Spinnler

Well-known member
baudolino said:
The company does not really exist anymore. I understand that Hans is out (poor health, his mobile number is switched off). His daughter Katarina (the CEO) apparently has no interest in continuing the company. There is still Rolf who can service the Hy6 bodies but he may be out of parts / not communicative etc. For the lenses and previous Rolleiflex cameras, Paepke is still there - but Mr. Paepke is over 80 years old, so it is not difficult to guess where this is all heading. Having said this, I had a positive experience with Paepke recently and received excellent service from DW in 2021 when Hans was still around. If you have no luck getting through to DW, you may want to try to give Mr. Paepke a call (he speaks only German, but will reply to emails in English). He may be able to get you in touch with the relevant people at DW or give you some helpful info. As I wrote above: "support hanging on the last thread".
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Well it goes to show that everything has its time ... time passes.
 
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dawidloubser

New member
Haha - we've really taken this WTB thread off-topic!

I was just chatting with Paul about this today. I purchased a pretty incredible Rollei Hy6 kit in 2020. One of the Leaf AF-i branded ones - with the rare 80MP rotating back, and 40mm SK, 80mm AF with aperture ring, 120mm Zeiss Makro Planar and 150mm Zeiss Sonnars all included, for a really good price. It's basically been my mainstay camera these past 3 years or so, until a tiny splash of salt water has now caused electronic damage to the Hy6 body - it doesn't start up any more. Lenses and back are 100% fine, it wasn't even drenched, literally a few drops got in, and no amount of drying out in a bowl of rice had any effect.

The Hy6 was a beautifully-conceived and designed, but terribly-built, piece of consumer junk - but oh so worth it to use the magnificent lenses and backs.
Unfortunately it seems the rare 6x6cm film backs are also complete rubbish, I've heard of more issues with them than anything else.
A real pity, and of course the whole DW photo story afterwards.

I'll actually probably be listing my lenses for sale, or otherwise get a Rollei 6008 body to shoot them with film - though I don't really need another MF film SLR, I'm very much a Mamiya 6x7cm guy. Reading about everybody else's experience with getting Hy6 bodies repaired, I have given up fixing it, though I will let a competent local repairman comfortable with fine electronics have a go at it.

@Jessxi - I've committed to buy Paul's Alpa Max body so I don't think I'll be selling my Leaf back any more, apologies! Hope you find what you're looking for.
 
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Pieter 12

Well-known member
buildbot said:
He lied directly to me about fixing my camera. According to Paepke & Eric Hiss, Rolf blacklisted my serial and refused to fix it. If I was in Germany/the EU, I'd absolutly pursue legal recourse, but being across the ocean makes that tricky.
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Similarly, a while back I purchased a used Leaf AFi body, sent Rolf the serial number and asked if it could be upgraded to Mod2. He said yes, even quoted a price. By the time I got around to sending it from the US, he let me know it couldn’t be upgraded. To add insult to injury, he refused to honor the warranty of his previous company for an 80mmAF lens! I also have a 6060 film back that was never quite right (light leaks, major spacing issues) brand new out of the box that he repaired but still doesn’t work reliably.
 
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colorspace

Member
Jessxi said:
Hi,

WTB: I am looking for a digital back in AFi/HY6 mount.

I am currently looking for a back for my AFi Camera. Just getting back into Medium format with the camera that originally made me fall in love with the format. I am hoping someone has a back they may want to sell at a reasonable price. Newer the back model the better. Sorry that I do not have a post history on here. If you have one potentially for sale please send me a message.

Thanks,
Jesse
Click to expand...
I might be coming into possession of a 33mp Sinar soon, which - I think - rotates (albeit wholly and not internally like the AFi-II versions). If you have a OG Hy6/AFi, this would match the colorway of that model vs the Credo, which pairs with the Mod 2.
 
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Pieter 12

Well-known member
colorspace said:
I might be coming into possession of a 33mp Sinar soon, which - I think - rotates (albeit wholly and not internally like the AFi-II versions). If you have a OG Hy6/AFi, this would match the colorway of that model vs the Credo, which pairs with the Mod 2.
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I would think so, although I’m not sure what you mean by color way. Also, I believe the Rolleiflex US has a post about which backs fit, if you do a search.
 
kakariko

kakariko

New member
Similar here, just got a Leaf Afi body to substitute my broken 6008i, got 4560 backs and acquired the 40mm Distagon, 50afd, 80afd and 180afd(sadly the af is not working). It's been my dream camera for years and now it's come true! Still very excited to hold it in hand. I'm also interested in purchasing a digital back if possible. Of course, priority goes to original poster Jesse. Thanks!
 

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Pieter 12

Well-known member
kakariko said:
Similar here, just got a Leaf Afi body to substitute my broken 6008i, got 4560 backs and acquired the 40mm Distagon, 50afd, 80afd and 180afd(sadly the af is not working). It's been my dream camera for years and now it's come true! Still very excited to hold it in hand. I'm also interested in purchasing a digital back if possible. Of course, priority goes to original poster Jesse. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Wow, you have a hard to find item: the adapter for the 4560 back. I need one of those! Your 180 AFD should be repairable.
 
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