pentacon six

[bicycletricycle]

has any one ever had a pentacon six. do they work well?

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

has any one ever had a pentacon six. do they work well?

Yes, I have a couple of them and yes, they work well. I prefer the latest models (just before they became Exactas). They have a low flash synch speed and they may develop frame spacing difficulties.

 

[Dave Parker]

I have had three of them, and for the money, they are a great way to get into medium format, they are heavy, but not a big deal, they have a great selection of lenses made by various manufactures, as Tom stated, they can develop film spacing problems and only 1/30 flash snyc, but there are various finders available for them, a good strong breechlok type lens mount and a wide selection of lenses available for them..

Decent quality low cost medium format camera.

Dave

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Also had one--my first MF camera. Decent lenses, particularly the CZJ 50mm Flektogon, but the frame spacing problem can be a frustration.

 

[P C Headland]

I've recently picked one up, and am really happy with it.

No film spacing problems, and the lens is nice and sharp. I don't find the viewfinder too dark either, and I have the TTL prism. It is not that heavy either, and is easy enough to carry around over the shoulder for a few hours walking.

To ensure you don't have film spacing problems, first start by reading the correct loading instructions. This should prevent most problems. There is the "baier" winding method that will also help ensure frame spacing problems are avoided. Lastly there is a modification that can be made that gives you a visual indication as to whether the film has wound on enough.

There are a great selection of good lenses at reasonable prices (especially wide angles and longer telephotos), plus other accessories such as different finders, extension tubes and bellows, etc. and all at good prices.

Worth a punt I reckon, especially if you buy from a reputable seller.

Paul

 

[Seele]

I like them; have one overhauled by a trusted technician and it works beautifully; I am not sure if the Kiev 60 is a nicer camera, having used both side-by-side. The prism finders make it somewhat top-heavy, and the waist-level finder nowhere as good as that of the Kiev (although Baier sells an adapter to mate the two together). But a well maintained one is very pleasant, and has extremely low vibration, quite suitable for hand-held work.

By the way, the "mushroom" strap lugs are positioned at the sides of the mirror housing so wearing it around your neck can be a little painful; the original strap is leather and the spring clips are somewhat easily distorted. Use the bottom half of the ERC instead, or get Op/Tech strap with the correct fitting.

 

[Nick Zentena]

The Kiev 6C,60 and some of the 88s take the same lenses. That means you can change bodies later if for some reason you don't like the body but like the lenses. Plus the same lenses can be used on a Pentax 645,Mamiya 645 and maybe others with just an adaptor.

The 1/30 sync speed has been mentioned but my Pentax is only 1/60. Not exactly a big difference. Unless you want a leaf shutter camera most will have low sync speeds.

OTOH other MF cameras are fairly cheap right now. Prices are a lot closer then they used to be.

 

[Mark Layne]

I have one which works fine. The film advance lever needs to be treated gently as it is the cameras weak point and is related to the spacing problems.

Many people do not realize that the Biometer is in fact a Planar.

Mark

 

[BBonte]

I had two of them.I sold them a few months ago. Serious problems with focusing screens not able to get them adjusted correctly,resulting in out focus pictures. Film counter failed in both. Prices for P6 and lenses are ridiculous for the moment. But I must they can produce very sharp pictures if you get a good one.

 

[Seele]

Many people do not realize that the Biometer is in fact a Planar.

The Biometar is not a Planar; for that matter the Rolleiflex and Hasselblad versions of the Planar are not really Planars either, but modified version using five elements instead of six: a cemented doublet replaced by a single element. The Biometar is like that as well, but it has the back doublet turned into a single element rather than the front, which is similar to the Xenotar.

 

[cvik]

I own two of them, one completely broken and the other one has overlapping frames - in other words: These cameras break easily (be nice to the advance lever or it will break!). I usually say that the camera is a fine german mechanical design made with cheap russian materials - not a very good combination

The Zeiss-lenses are superb and really not very optically different from that of my Rolleiflex 6008 which probably are more or less the same as those for Hasselblad - in fact I think, except for the coating, that many of the rolleiflex 6000 and pentacon lenses are the same (optically). Another difference is of course the different shuttertypes which really only is an issue if you use flash.

 

[Dave Parker]

civk,

You must be a moose, if you broke two of them!!!!

I have had quite a few of them, and for the most part, never had many problems with them, be good to them and they will be good to you..

Dave

 

[cvik]

Well, I tend to use my cameras as tools.

Just curious... why have you had quite a few of them if they don't break easily?

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

I don't know Dave's reason, but mine is that I shoot color film in one body, B&W film in the other.

My Pentacon cameras have been very reliable over the years (25-30). Any camera can be broken if it is mishandled or encounters the wrong technician in the course of a CLA.

I have a third Pentacon 6TL (latest version) as well that is in absolutely pristine condition and was upgraded by Pentacon with the Exacta enhancements (including mirror lockup).

 

[Dave Parker]

Well, I tend to use my cameras as tools.

Just curious... why have you had quite a few of them if they don't break easily?

Well,

I currently own several hundred LF 4x5 cameras as well,

and I use mine as tools as well, as I have made my living with a camera for over 20 years now, just guess, I did not get one of the bad ones, When I shoot on asignment, I normally have 4 camera bodies loaded with 4 different types of film.

Thanks for your question.

Dave