Pentax 645 - light leaks?

[mklw1954]

You can make a canister for exposed 120 film by taking two 35mm film plastic canisters, cut the top 1 inch off one and tape it onto the top of another one with black electrical tape. Wrap the whole thing in black tape to reduce light. Better to place your exposed film in these than storing them loose in your bag.

Love my Pentax 645 manual focus camera. Fortunately, have not ever had any light leak problems.

 

[winger]

I don't think I've tried, but there's a chance that 120 rolls will fit in the mini M&M containers. They're taller than 35mm cans and it would eliminate the cutting (though taping might still be a good idea).

 

[tomfrh]

The problem is leaky seals. It happens in camera. See this thread.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/48-pentax-medium-format/174550-lines-645n-negatives-3.html

 

[MattKing]

Five years dormant, and then suddenly we have life!

 

[GRHazelton]

If the P645N is quieter than anything, I'd hate to hear how loud that is.

I haven't used an original or an NII, but I do love my N.

Ever hear a Bronica S2a detonate? Horses rear, dogs howl, children cry, strong men dive for cover.... I own both a 645n and the Bronica Blaster. The Bronica is truly in a class by itself, certainly in terms of explosive shooting.... Anyone have a camera that's louder??

 

[winger]

Ever hear a Bronica S2a detonate?

Nope. My P645N has always been the loudest around - I don't think I know anyone with an S2a. If you ever come up to PA to shoot, we'll have to test them out together. (and I can show you some good places to shoot, too)

 

[Deleted member 88956]

If you are looking for an excuse to buy a Pentax N or Nll then you don't need one. I have owned all three cameras and the N and Nll are both much better cameras than the original 645.

I beg to differ on this one. N's have more gimmicks built in (and AF capability) so in that sense yes, but I'll say this over and over: if one intends to only shoot manual focus lenses, it is NOT the N's to do it with. There are some better features on N models, but original has plenty good metering, feels more compact, and the only downside of the original I see now (having owned the NII long enough) it is electrical path between battery insert and the grip, which over time starts to give trouble and since original 645 is quite old now, it is becoming more and more common. I really wish Pentax did manual crank on these, whihc would have brought their girth down substantially.

 

[pentaxuser]

The problem is leaky seals. It happens in camera. See this thread.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/48-pentax-medium-format/174550-lines-645n-negatives-3.html

This may well be a problem but looking back on all the posts and dugrant's last post it would seem that he concluded that it was his faulty technique when unloading the roll. As he hasn't posted again for some 10 months, it would seem that he was right about his technique and the problem was solved that way

pentaxuser

 

[Deleted member 88956]

This may well be a problem but looking back on all the posts and dugrant's last post it would seem that he concluded that it was his faulty technique when unloading the roll. As he hasn't posted again for some 10 months, it would seem that he was right about his technique and the problem was solved that way

pentaxuser

Given that it was not a "uniform" leak full length of the roll, seals could not have been a problem.

 

[Alan Gales]

Ever hear a Bronica S2a detonate? Horses rear, dogs howl, children cry, strong men dive for cover.... I own both a 645n and the Bronica Blaster. The Bronica is truly in a class by itself, certainly in terms of explosive shooting.... Anyone have a camera that's louder??

I thought I broke my EC the first time I shot it. The S2 and EC series are the loudest cameras I've ever owned.

 

[Alan Gales]

I beg to differ on this one. N's have more gimmicks built in (and AF capability) so in that sense yes, but I'll say this over and over: if one intends to only shoot manual focus lenses, it is NOT the N's to do it with. There are some better features on N models, but original has plenty good metering, feels more compact, and the only downside of the original I see now (having owned the NII long enough) it is electrical path between battery insert and the grip, which over time starts to give trouble and since original 645 is quite old now, it is becoming more and more common. I really wish Pentax did manual crank on these, whihc would have brought their girth down substantially.

I've owned all three versions. I've never compared the original with the N and the Nll for manual focus. I owned the 75mm FA, 150mm FA, and the 35mm manual focus lens. I didn't have any problem manually focussing any of those lenses myself so I never really thought about which camera is easier to manually focus. I admit that I mostly shot the 75 and 150 on autofocus. I did appreciate the brighter viewfinders in the N and Nll.

It is an interesting point that you bring up though!