The Rolleiflex Hy6 mod 2 is one of the very few 6x6 film cameras with autofocus. Other 6x6 cameras with autofocus are the Rolleiflex Hy6 and the Rolleiflex 6008AF. The autofocus on those models aren't as good, but they're still fun to use.
The Rolleiflex Hy6 mod 2 was my main camera during my film adventures. I had the Schneider-Kreuznach 80mm f2.8 AFD PQS, 50mm f2.8 AFD PQS, and the 180mm f2.8 AFD PQ. I brought this system wherever I travelled during my time with film. I took it to Nepal and it survived the cold at an altitude of 18k feet while I was hiking through snow. I was worried that something would lock up in those conditions, but the camera didn't have much of an issue. I also brought it to Iceland where it also did a great job.
I'll start off with a brief history of my film experience and why I ended up choosing the Rolleiflex as my main system. I started film photography with the pentax 67ii and I learned I can't manual focus for the life of me. I then tried a bunch of Fujifilm cameras such as the gf670, gf670w, ga645i, and ga645w. I couldn't focus very well with the rangefinders and the ga645 series were a little finicky, but the output was pretty good. I then bought the FIND in a BOX workshop from Jonathan Canlas and that really accelerated my learning experience with film. I highly recommend it if you're new to film or are getting variable results. From there I tried out the pentax 645nii, Hasselblad h1, h2, h4x, contax 645, and rolleiflex 6008AF, Hy6, Hy6 mod2.
If you read my previous post about how I would go back to the Hasselblad h4x if I ever get back into film, I didn't get to try out the h4x until the very end of my film experience, so the majority of the time I shot film, I was using the Rolleiflex Hy6 mod 2. Here are the reasons why I chose the Hy6 mod 2:
1. I wanted an autofocus camera with the biggest negative. I really wanted a 6x7 or 6x8 camera with autofocus, but there are none that I know of, so I had to settle for a 6x6 with autofocus. The autofocus was good, about on par with the pentax 645nii, but worse than the Hasselblad h1, h2, and h4x. Much better than the contax 645 though.
2. As far as I know, Rolleiflex can still repair your cameras. This was initially true when I first bought into the system, but the company changed hands a few times and I really had no idea if the company could vanish eventually. But I think it's once again somewhat stable.
3. The Rolleiflex lenses were excellent. They were sharp, had great contrast, and had solid rendering.
4. Swapping film backs was a breeze. If I was shooting Kodak P160 but I wanted to swap out for P400, that was super easy.
I'll go straight into naming some of the negatives of owning this camera.
1. The Rolleiflex Hy6 mod 2, lenses, film backs, and related accessories are EXPENSIVE. Also considering developing and scanning costs, this was almost borderline crazy for me. This was also a huge reason why I ended up selling the system. The cost for 6060 film backs for this camera are insane.
2. I wish the autofocus was better. I felt the AF was primitive and it fell short especially comparing it to the Hasselblad H systems. Sometimes the AF wouldn't focus correctly, but at least the viewfinder was bright enough that I was able to catch misfocuses most of the time.
3. If you need a repair for the camera or lenses, you'll most likely have to send it to Germany for repairs. I really don't like dealing with customs when shipping internationally.
I think that's about it for the positives and negatives of the camera. It was a fun system while I had it, but also kind of nerve wracking carrying around such an expensive camera system.
Shooting in a square format was interesting for me. I took it as a challenge to get used to a square frame. I liked the square framing for awhile, but then I became indifferent about it.
As a general complaint about shooting medium format film while travelling, it gets HEAVY. I usually like to travel with a backup camera and it just takes a toll on your body after awhile. While traveling in Iceland, this was not a big deal because we were able to drive and take short hikes. However in Nepal, I had to drag all the gear with me on the Annapurna trail.
Do I regret buying the Hy6 mod 2? Absolutely not. It was part of my journey with film and I learned and experienced a lot. Would I ever go back to it? No way. It's too expensive for me. If you have the cash for it though, the hy6 mod 2 and the Hasselblad H system would go well together.
Below are some images I took with the Rolleiflex Hy6 mod 2.
