Rollei's 6x6 SLR with OTF flash control — bellows, tilt, focal-plane shutter, 1986.
The Rollei SL66X is a mid-1980s medium-format SLR in Rollei's SL66 6x6 system, a variant offered alongside the metered SL66E and SL66SE. It kept the integral bellows and tilting lens mount of the original SL66 while adding improved flash synchronisation, without the full metering system of the E and SE bodies.
It is a medium-format (6x6) SLR producing a 56x56mm square frame on 120 or 220 film through interchangeable film backs. It uses a body focal-plane shutter and adds off-the-film flash-control capability while remaining, in essence, an unmetered body for ambient exposure. The integral bellows allows close focusing and the lens mount tilts for perspective control. It takes interchangeable finders and focusing screens on the Rollei SL66 mount.
The SL66X suited photographers who wanted the bellows and tilt features and improved flash handling but preferred to meter ambient light externally, sitting between the original SL66 and the fully metered bodies. It serves studio, portrait, and landscape work where the movement features matter.
Test the focal-plane shutter for accurate speeds and even travel, and check the integral bellows for pinholes. Inspect the tilt mechanism, film-back seals, and dark slide, and confirm the flash-control function works. Check the mirror, screen, and finder mirror, confirm foam seals have not perished, and verify lens and back compatibility within the SL66 system.