Pentax 67 Prism Comparison

I recently acquired a Pentax 67 that came with the 67 TTL Prism. I'd rather meter handheld with all my film, so I never loved the extra "bar" for the shutter coupling, plus I found it to be rather dim and hard to view with glasses (that got scratched from the metal eyepiece. Instead of spending the cash to upgrade to a P67II or buying a Maxwell focus screen, I thought I'd try a P67II prism on my P67.

The results have been pleasant, it's about half a stop faster, is a bit larger viewfinder and has slightly better eye relief (with a rubber cup). Plus for my vanity, the lack of TTL bar looks much better. A moderate upgrade for $100, that I'm very pleased with. Here's a visual comparison in the prism.

Are you sure the new prism isn't just the older plain version without metering? I was of the impression you can't put a new prism on the older camera, the only interchangeable prism is the plain un metered one.

Judging by your photos it seems that the brighter one also has less focus, as if the lens is opened up a half stop more. Also the position of the sun has changed just a bit and the glare moved more into the middle.

Ok it took me awhile to research this but I see indeed there is a new version of the non metered prism and it is a little bit different. Looks like the eye piece sticks out a bit farther and as I understand it, the magnification of the newer viewfinder is 0.75 where as the older the magnification is 1.0. Which is to say that the image in the finder looks a bit smaller in the new penta prism than in the older version.

So now you have done it, gone and given me a little case of GAS and another reason to spend time on ebay...

I'm sure this is the Pentax 67II prism, it was purchased from a reputable camera dealer and has the markings to confirm that. The P67II AE version is not compatible but the standard prism is backwards compatible.

This is a great resource for keeping track of the different models: http://www.pentaxforums.com/accessoryreviews/Pentax-6x7-Viewfinders-c131.html

As far as less focused, possibly. The test wasn't super scientific and the "glare" was the hole in my blinds, which appears to move only because the camera position got bumped slightly. It was all taken within about 15 seconds on a full sun day, but the camera did get bumped slightly off as it was not on a tripod. After shooting more with it, I stand behind the findings of the test despite the inconsistencies in the testing.

Beware of GAS!

By far the brightest and most precise method of focus is the chimney hood. It also has built-in diopter correction. But it's convenient only for
horizontal shots on a tripod. You can do vertical, clumsily. But handheld, probably unrealistic. But if you mainly do horizontals, It's a wonderful accessory.

I've heard great stuff about the chimney. I use the WLF on my Mamiya RZ67 all the time, but since I shoot a lot of portraits it's not much of an option for me on the Pentax.