Pentacon Six Size?

Hi all,

Ok, I'm sure I'm being dumb here, but I've looked all over the place and haven't been able to find a resource that gives the actual dimensions of the Pentacon Six. There are a few that mention various weights, but not size!

If I'm missing something obvious, I apologize in advance...but does anyone have one they can measure?

From the Praktisix broshure:

I have a couple , do you want the measurements with or without the standard lens ( or the Mir 45 , or 120mm or 300mm lens ) ? Peter

A small coconut...

Kino said:

A small coconut...

Click to expand...

You mix up the Praktisix/Pentacon Six with the Hasselblad. Both cameras became in shape the standard for an own group of MF SLRs.


By the way (as it is related to the form-factor) the Praktisix yielded the offer of a pentaprism from the start. Something the Hasselblad by then still did not have but got only later.

AgX said:

From the Praktisix broshure:

View attachment 284272

Click to expand...

btw. could be useful to provide a link to the whole brochure: https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://zeissikonveb.de/onewebmedia/Marco/Kameras/Praktisix%20Prospekt%201961.pdf

from this nice site: https://zeissikonveb.de/start/kameras/praktina und praktisix.html

I notice that often it is repeated like a meme that the P6 is huge. The Brit who keeps an english site pentaconsix.com puts side by side a P6 and a FF 35mm DSLR the Sony A900, this gives a good idea, people who want to buy online without possibility to hold it before can have a feeling:

Here's an interesting review on the camera. They're not that big for a 6x6 SLR, but mine was plagued by an erratic shutter that would arbitrarily cut off a lot of my image area on the film. The film advance didn't seem very robust either.

https://emulsive.org/reviews/camera...ensive-guide-to-a-legend-by-ludwig-hagelstein

Kino said:

A small coconut...

Click to expand...

LOL More like a small melon. Don't drop it Wonderful camera for what it is.

Thanks for the responses all! I hadn't realized that the body was exactly the same as the Praktisix.

Still going back and forth on one of these. I'd of course love to have a Mamiya 6, but I don't have $2500 lying around!

cptrios said:

I'd of course love to have a Mamiya 6, but I don't have $2500 lying around!

Click to expand...

the Fuji G960 can be have for cheap (relatively), if you don't mind 6x9 instead of 6x6. More expensive yet twice cheaper than Mamiya 6, the Fuji gm670 in 6x7.

I have two Kiev-6S, ie. the soviet implementation of the Praktica, it's not a copy, mechanisms are different, it has its flaws but most are easy to fix if you are a tinkerer. Very simple internally. Same mount and flange distance.
With the P6 in my experience, soon or later you will have to unscrew anyway at least some lens, I have the Flektogon 50mm and the Sonnar 180mm, pristines, but had to relube them after stuck diaphragm. It's common. Also some Arsenal lenses are very nice, the Vega-28 120mm, Vega-12 90mm, Mir-38 65mm, Kaleinar 150mm, and the Zodiak-8 30mm can be very fun.

I’ve come close enough to buying a GL690 to have chickened out at the payment stage twice. The size scares me off. I’m sure I’ll end up buying one eventually.

Having owned a GL690b for a couple of years ( and 3 great lenses) it was a fine camera , but , if this matters I have large hands and was a mechanic for 4 decades .
It just didn't seem overly large . But I loved taking pictures with E6 (slide film) and there was no way on earth I was going to get a projector for it . Went to 6x6 and
ended up with a few ( I'm hopeless at saying no ) Pentacon 6 TLs' .They soon developed shutter problems at the usual 125th shutter speed . Not too hard to take
apart and clean all moving parts ( no total disassembly ) and they were fine until a couple of lenses stopped closing down on exposure , stripped them down and cleaned
with lighter fluid and all is good . They'll probably be good for another decade or so . In spite of what sounds like a lot of work , it wasn't bad and there's people in Germany
that will do that and add other features and you're still up a few thousand on a Pentax 6x7 or Mamiya 6 with hard to come by advance parts . YMMV Peter

cptrios said:

I’ve come close enough to buying a GL690 to have chickened out at the payment stage twice. The size scares me off. I’m sure I’ll end up buying one eventually.

Click to expand...

GL690 is 6x9 so a bit bigger.

there's much "huge" meme about the P6, but it's all relative, depends people's mileage, if you check details about who writes the n-th blog page or review about a P6, often they come from the digital world and have been exposed only to diminutive cameras.

I have used Praktisix but don't own one, did opt for the Kiev, because they are said to be easier to fix, and I also have a full disassembly commented video bought from a repairman from Dnepropetrovsk, the #1 on his list there (70$ but back then I bought cheaper) : http://fotoremontnik.ru/service , you can see he has also one for the Pentacon Six (#15, and cheaper 40$, so maybe in fact less to unscrew ...). Comments in russian and i manage enough, but it's just mostly basic vocabulary and even without comment, you'll get it, since it's all very detailed, all is shown.
What I mean is that the feeling I could be self-dependent in case of maintenance is very important, so the simplier the better, hence my choice of Kiev instead of P6. Kiev-6 can take also 220 film and I do my own 220 rolls.

so, I don't have a P6 at hands to show size, but this gives an idea, the Kiev is almost same:





and here for comparison I hold a Yashica-FX3 ie. one of the smaller form factor japanese SLR and a Kiev-6, both with similar focal lens, the Yashica with a Sankor 28mm and the Kiev-6 a Flektogon 50mm. The Kiev has the unmetered prism, I do meter externally anyway.

so yes very different size but the K6 is quite ergonomic, I add a small grip convenient for hand holding it for walks.
The Yashica FX is so small it is pocketable, I use mostly MF cameras so when I grab a 35mm camera it feels really funny how small they are...

Then I show also what has become my main MF, in fact a technical/press bellows camera, with RF and very convenient it can take 6x9, 6x7 backs and also a 4x5 extender. Here with a long Tele-Arton 270mm on, but a wide-angle lens is much smaller with very little bellows extension. Not much bigger than the K6.

moto-uno said:

Went to 6x6 and
ended up with a few ( I'm hopeless at saying no ) Pentacon 6 TLs' .They soon developed shutter problems at the usual 125th shutter speed . Not too hard to take
apart and clean all moving parts ( no total disassembly ) and they were fine until a couple of lenses stopped closing down on exposure , stripped them down and cleaned
with lighter fluid and all is good . They'll probably be good for another decade or so . In spite of what sounds like a lot of work , it wasn't bad and there's people in Germany
that will do that and add other features and you're still up a few thousand on a Pentax 6x7 or Mamiya 6 with hard to come by advance parts . YMMV Peter

Click to expand...

yes the dried lubricant WILL happen soon or later, at least on the Jena lenses. It happens too with the ones for 35mm, I had two Tessar, one in M42 and one recently in Exakta that were completely stuck I couldn't almost rotate the helicoid even with full force. As mentioned before I had to relube P6 6x6 Flektogon and Sonnar like yours with stuck diaphram.

the fact you are a mechanic is good for analogue photography hobby I am not but quite used to tinkering diverse mechanical devices. I see people who can't change their engine oil and filter or replace brake pads, who send simple to fix camera or lens issues to repairmen, and it can cost big.
Ideally people who don't fix things themselves should buy with the guarantee that cleaning and lubrication has been done before the sale.

Darkroom Print 3 Hot Rodded Pentacon Six by Nokton48, on Flickr

I bought a couple of P6's and sent them to the Pentacon factory in Dresden. They hot rodded them to Exacta 66 specs, notice the Exakta 66 Advance Lever and EX66 Strap Cradle and EX66 Captive Nut. Rollei SL66 and Rolleiflex screens will fit if you cut them down with bench grinder and drill two tiny holes in the screen.

Size equals big. Bigger than a TLR. Smaller than my 4x5 Intrepid. About the same size as my Baby Speed Graphic. Though it isn't quite as intimidating if you don't use the Prism viewfinder and stick with the waist level viewfinder.

Mine works pretty well and I love the lenses. It has been pretty robust over the years but it can have film transport issues if I don't do my part.

My film transport works good if I get things loaded good and tight to start with. If I don't then I typically get a few overlapping frames, or sometimes I lose a frame at the end. It seems like this happens more frequently when I first pick it up after not using it for awhile. I guess my technique gets a bit sloppy when I get rusty.

My TLRs are much better at this but I don't get interchangeable lenses either.

My Pentax 645 cameras are a lot more reliable but the Pentacon Six is a lot more fun.

Pioneer said:

My Pentax 645 cameras

Click to expand...

these are a different kind of beasts: driven by an electric motor

Not the same camera but I thoroughly enjoy my arax 60. Beautiful lenses huge clunky and fun. Have fun with your -6

antonio_b said:

these are a different kind of beasts: driven by an electric motor

Click to expand...

Indeed, a lot more flexible.