Kowa super 66 645 back and finder.

[cky1billion]

Hey everyone!

I recently received a 645 back for my Kowa 66 and have a question about the finder. I have not seen anything, but is there a 645 finder for the Kowa 6/66?

Has anyone modified the finder to suit the 645 viewing area? If so, how did it go? I have an idea to measure out 2.25cm from the center, or whatever the correct ratio is in the WLF, and take a small thin strip of electrical tape on either side. Does this make sense? I have not had experience with 6x4.5 so I cant picture (ahem) the difference yet. I have an extra finder I am not using to experiment with.

Is this crazy? Do people just kinda eyeball it and its fine? I have to wait until i develop the first roll to see if I can tell what I was aiming for vs what I got.

 

[Paul Howell]

I have the Super 66, did not know that Kowa made a 645.

 

[cky1billion]

Hi Paul! No, it's still the Kowa Super 66, but it uses a 645 back, I'm not sure if the docs for the 66 system call it a 645 or 16/32 exposures.

In the picture I attached it says the number of exposures on the little dial near the open button.

16/32 for 6x4.5 and 12/24 for 6x6.

 

[Paul Howell]

Well seems to be 645, just new to me.

You can call Ross Yerkes, if he is in business, no internet, but must be close to 80 by now. He was a factory authorized repair shop and has parts. But is reported to a racist.


Ross Yerkes Camera Repair
4.0(16) · Camera repair shop
10+ years in business · Los Angeles, CA · (323) 256-1018

 

[OAPOli]

You can make a mask out of black paper with an rectangular opening 42mm tall to fit on the focusing screen.

 

[MattKing]

You can make a mask out of black paper with an rectangular opening 42mm tall to fit on the focusing screen.

This is essentially what the 6x4.5 masks for the Mamiya RB67 are, although they aren't made out of paper.

 

[AnselMortensen]

Wow, I was not aware that a 645 back even existed for that camera.
Must be super-ultra-mega rare!

 

[cky1billion]

I thought this was interesting, so I took a pic. I figured they would mask it here, but I hadn't looked. I think the more I play with this camera the more I like it. I would like a hand grip, but I don't want to pay 100 bucks for one.

@OAPOli what a fantastic idea, and far more elegant than I was planning! I'll prob use some index cards, for the time being.

@Paul Howell it would probably be a good idea to check what he might have laying around, sans racism.

@AnselMortensen these backs can be found once in a while on eBay. This one in good shape was like 80 bucks. Same idea for the kiev 88s, I think those might be even more rare.

 

[Paul Howell]

Looks like the 645 is in landscape orientation as the Kowa back is vertical, like a TLR rather than horizontal which is the most common.

 

[Alex Varas]

I got 3 Kowa Super 66 film backs for servicing, one of them is a 6x4.5 format!! What the odds!!

 

[cky1billion]

@Alex Varas

I have just been watching your videos!! I got the complete jam and now that one side is off. I figure I have to attempt to cla my 66, and your stuff is an absolute hel. thank you so much!! In fact I'm going to go through for more background on the body after dinner tonight.

 

[Alex Varas]

Thank you! Happy to help others to face the camera themselves.

I just uploaded a new video with the first part for servicing the film back.