Rollei’s First Lens Is an 85mm f/1.8 Prime for Sony and Nikon Cameras

German photo company Rollei has announced its first lens, which the company calls “the beginning of a new era.” The full-frame Rollei AF 85mm f/1.8 STM will ship next month in Sony E and Nikon Z-mount versions.

Who Is This Rollei?

Before exploring the new lens, it is worth taking a slight detour to explore the Rollei brand. The Rollei name is, of course, a legendary one in photography. The company was founded in 1920 in Germany by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke.

This original company lasted an impressive 75 years, with a few name changes, before being acquired in 1995 by Samsung Techwin, a part of the South Korean Samsung Group conglomerate. Samsung sold the company back to its original owners a few years later, who then promptly sold Rollei again to a Danish investment company in 2004.

The newly renamed Rollei GmbH relocated to Berlin and underwent a series of restructuring efforts. In 2007, Rollei was split off into three companies. Franke & Heidecke GmbH, Feinmechanik und Optik, worked on medium-format cameras and slide projection products, while another off-shoot, RCP-Technik GmbH & Co. KG in Hamburg, Germany, focused on rebranded digital cameras. This company owned the rights to the Rollei and Rolleiflex brands. A third company, Rollei Metric GmbH, handled photogrammetry.

Unfortunately, the newly formed Rollei medium-format camera operations went under and have since been dissolved. A new company, DW Photo, was founded with many of the same leaders but a smaller staff. This company continues to produce Hy6 cameras and lenses, as well as perform repairs.

That brings the story back to the Rollei name itself. RCP-Technik GmbH & Co. KG changed its name to Rollei GmbH & Co. KG in 2015 and is the company behind the new Rollei 85mm lens, alongside other photography equipment, including tripods, lights and flashes, filters and adapters, backpacks, and more.

It is vital not to confuse the new Rollei lens with the Rollei 35AF camera released by Mint last year, as that company separately licensed the Rollei branding for its new AF-equipped 35mm analog camera. The Rollei behind the new 85mm prime lens is also entirely separate from Rollei Analog, which formed in 2004 as a licensor of the Rollei brand and makes film, paper, and film chemistry products.

Rollei AF 85mm f/1.8 STM

As for the Rollei 85mm f/1.8 lens itself, Rollei says in a translated press release that its new full-frame prime combines “proven Rollei quality with state-of-the-art technology” to set “new standards in image quality and user-friendliness.”

The company notes that 85mm is an ideal focal length for portrait photography, a belief shared by many companies as fast 85mm lenses are very common. Both Sony and Nikon make 85mm f/1.8 primes for their mirrorless camera systems. Each also makes more expensive, faster 85mm prime lenses, the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM II and the Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S. There are also numerous third-party offerings, including the Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.8 that shares some features in common with Rollei’s lens. Viltrox and Rollei have a collaborative relationship, so it is worth looking at how the two 85mm lenses compare.

Like the Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.8, the Rollei 85mm f/1.8 features 10 lens elements arranged across seven groups, although the precise elements differ slightly. The Viltrox lens features one ED lens and four HD lenses, in contrast to the Rollei’s two ED and two HR lenses. The Rollei 85mm f/1.8 also has 11 aperture blades, while Viltrox’s lens has nine. The autofocus lenses offer very similar maximum magnifications, 0.12x for the Rollei and 0.13x for the Viltrox.

The Rollei 85mm f/1.8 also employs a different style than the Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.8, sporting a much more old-school look with a chunky grip and textured black finish. The Rollei lens also has an unusual orange ring surrounding its front element. It also features a huge Rollei logo on its barrel.

Rollei promises sharp image quality, minimized ghosting and flare, and smooth and quiet autofocus performance.

Pricing and Availability

The Rollei AF 85mm f/1.8 lens is available to order now and will release on July 9 for 299 euros, or around $340. Rollei does not appear to have an official U.S. distributor at present, although its products are regularly available on Amazon. Currently, the lens is not listed on Amazon, but this could change at any time.

Image credits: Rollei