Pentax 6x7 newbie

eric antonio · Nov 7, 2017

Hi guys,
Many years ago, I sold my entire Hassy kit. Yes, it was one of my biggest regrets. It was a bad time for me financially and stuff. I've spent few years on the digital side with my Sony A7 lenses from Minolta, Konicas and Nikons. I've been using 4x5 and 8x10's as well.

Got the urge to order a 6x7 and waiting for the 105 and 75mm lens.

Are there any good tips I should learn? I can give a ton on Hassy tips, used them since the mid 80's so I've accumulated a lot of working gotchas. But the system, right now, for me, is a little too expensive.

From what I've read, I shouldn't take the finder off without taking the lens off first? So remove lens, remove finder, attach finder, attach lens. I'm thinking of getting a waist level finder for it that's why.

Also, anyone have a 55mm lens can comment on how it feels on the body? I'm usually a 3 lens guy, 1 really wide, 1 wide (like a 35mm on a 35mm camera) and a normal (like a 50mm on a 35mm body). So I am waiting on the 105 and the 75 for now, that should take care of 95% of what I like to shoot.

Alan Gales · Nov 7, 2017

A friend and former neighbor of mine shot the Pentax 6x7 for years. He had quite a few lenses and he told me that he favored the 105 and 55mm lenses. I imagine he had the 75mm too. He mostly shot landscapes and was religious about using a tripod and mirror lock-up. I don't think you could go wrong with any of the three lenses you are talking about.

tezzasmall · Nov 7, 2017

I held one once. It was bought with the idea of doing it up, by a member of a photo-club that I used to belong to. A quick pass around to look at and all I remember thinking was gad, this is heavy!!!

Terry S

eric antonio · Nov 7, 2017

Alan Gales said:
A friend and former neighbor of mine shot the Pentax 6x7 for years. He had quite a few lenses and he told me that he favored the 105 and 55mm lenses. I imagine he had the 75mm too. He mostly shot landscapes and was religious about using a tripod and mirror lock-up. I don't think you could go wrong with any of the three lenses you are talking about.

Thanks! Maybe I'll use my old monopod more often when I take the overgrown 35mm with me. Looks like I didn't get the MUP version.

I kinda wanna use it like a 35mm camera. I can use my 4x5/8x10 for landscapes.

eric antonio · Nov 7, 2017

tezzasmall said:
I held one once. It was bought with the idea of doing it up, by a member of a photo-club that I used to belong to. A quick pass around to look at and all I remember thinking was gad, this is heavy!!!

Terry S

Yeah, it is heavy. I was assisting in NYC way back when and I remember going to that great used camera store (Ken Hansens), and they were like "yeah, all the Pentax 6x7's we have probably been through hell with Bruce (Weber) so don't get any right now, he doesn't really take care of them". I knew a lot of his assistants.

I haul my 8x10 and big old tripod in a garden wagon. I don't mind the weight, I've watched a lot of Nat Geo documentaries out in nowhere and if they can carry big old movie cameras and tripods to remote areas, I can carry an oversized camera around!!

I can't wait until we all have "personal electric carriers" that follow us around. Like the size of a beer cooler with wheels. I think the military uses that technology. It'll happen and it'll be cheap!!

mweintraub · Nov 7, 2017

Look or the little button on the front below the shutter button/winder. It's the button to reset the mirror if it gets locked up due to low battery, etc. Might not need it now, but know where it is.

eric antonio · Nov 7, 2017

mweintraub said:
Look or the little button on the front below the shutter button/winder. It's the button to reset the mirror if it gets locked up due to low battery, etc. Might not need it now, but know where it is.

Ohh great tip. Reminds me, I don't have the camera yet, I do need batteries. Any old 4L44 work? Or px28 better?

M Carter · Nov 7, 2017

Every time I hold a P67, that inner voice goes "want...want... WANT..."

destroya · Nov 7, 2017

my most used lenses on the system are the 55, 75 and 105. less often the 45, 165, 200 and 300ed. the 300ed is amazing, but the landscapes i shoot dont seem to benefit from longer lenses. the 55 late model SMC is one of the best of the system, and its really inexpensive for the results it gives. i prefer it to the 45.

eric antonio · Nov 7, 2017

M Carter said:
Every time I hold a P67, that inner voice goes "want...want... WANT..."

As much as I love my old Hasselblads and square format, the price point for the Pentax is amazing.

eric antonio · Nov 7, 2017

destroya said:
my most used lenses on the system are the 55, 75 and 105. less often the 45, 165, 200 and 300ed. the 300ed is amazing, but the landscapes i shoot dont seem to benefit from longer lenses. the 55 late model SMC is one of the best of the system, and its really inexpensive for the results it gives. i prefer it to the 45.

Thanks! My favorite wides are my 20mm/24mm on my Minolta and Nikons. So I'm looking forward to 55mm. Next time I go back home to NYC, I'd love to do some street shooting with the 55mm.

I figure since so many digi shooters out there, let's differentiate the film shooter by going BIG!!! I love I set up my 8x10 and people ask me questions. People are amazed "that thing still works?"

mweintraub · Nov 7, 2017

eric antonio said:
Ohh great tip. Reminds me, I don't have the camera yet, I do need batteries. Any old 4L44 work? Or px28 better?

Yes. Those. I'm not sure if one is better than the other for this camera. I usually just use what my SQ-A or RZ has on hand.

anfenglin · Nov 7, 2017

I have a 6x7 with mirror lock up with the 105mm and 55mm lenses.
Yes, it is heavy but so what, heavy, expensive, not cool enough, not Zeiss, the reasons are endless for liking one system and despising or not liking the other.
The lenses are all really good, I have the oldest 105mm and the newest 55mm f4, both are incredibly good.
The 55mm is sort of like a 28mm on 35mm but it covers 6x7, there is more room and the wide angle also covers height.

Here is some more info: http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/

Just scroll down to the 6x7 section.

I have used the camera for about a year now and have never used a tripod, I hate schlepping them around.
I often use slower shutter speeds around 1/30 and have never encountered shaking or blurred pictures, the camera itself is very well designed and yes, heavy.
Supposedly the main shake from the mirror is very well dampened and the main shutter vibrations start to happen after the shutter has closed again.
I sometimes use mirror lock up but very rarely.

I also rest the camera firmly on the palm of my left hand when shooting, the bottom is very big and spacy as the camera also is very bulky.

Also never let the cocking lever snap back, the mechanics underneath do not like that, guide it back with the finger, just like with a Pentacon Six.
The camera is designed for ultimate film flatness so cocking it has higher resistance, always cock it in a smooth fashion, otherwise problems with film stepping could occur.

I also like the wooden grip for carrying it around, not for shooting, it is not practical for that.

The thing with taking the lens off before changing the finder is only true for the TTL finder, the plain prism don't care.

I also had the waist level finder, yeah it is cool, the screen covers 100% but you want to also take vertical pictures so you (or at least I was) constantly changing finders.
So it had to go. I learned to compensate for the missing 10%, if the prism had to cover 100% of the finder, it would have been much bigger, so you only get 90%.

Forget brighter screens for the finder, there are virtually none and they have to be changed by a technician.
Good luck with yours!

Michael Firstlight · Nov 7, 2017

I have a Pentax 67II AE and love, love love! my 45mm lens! I shoot with the 45mm and 75mm most of the time.

LowerClinchFallsVA20x28

Michael Firstlight
Nov 7, 2017
1

Poisson Du Jour · Nov 7, 2017

eric antonio said:
From what I've read, I shouldn't take the finder off without taking the lens off first? So remove lens, remove finder, attach finder, attach lens. I'm thinking of getting a waist level finder for it that's why.

The diaphragm coupling chain in the shallow slot at the base of the top front of the mirror box is a known fragile piece of machinery on all Pentax 6x7 (1969 vintage) and later (1989 vintage) Pentax 67 cameras. In the Pentax 67, a different material and design was employed and this offered an improvement in stress tolerance. Improvements throughout the body also took place with the later P67 body, many involving very tiny mechanical components, improvements to the shutter dampening, mirror solenoid, lubricants and operation of the primitive resistors that govern the shutter speed dial (incidentally, with either/both camera, when it is not in use, leave the shutter speed dial on B and the shutter uncocked).

If you are using the TTL metered prism, and come to remove it, for whatever means:

+ Remove the lens
+ Then re-mount the prism, and
+ Re-mount the lens
All in that order.

This allows the coupling chain to reset to the correct position and engage with the nib on the underside of the TTL meter prism.
Breakage is common, especially with newbies unfamiliar with this idiosyncracy, and repair is a little involved with the usual precision required in re-assembling the lens flange and calibrating focus.

The TTL meter has a five-stop range: from zero (centre), 2.5 stops above and below, so a bit of judgement is needed when you wish to over- or under-expose just slightly. I bypass the rudimentary meter entirely using a Sekonic multispot, something you will have to kit up on for long exposures as the meter doesn't go any further than 1 second.

My P67 is tripod mounted all the time and this is why my 60x50cm images are as sharp and detailed as they can be at any shutter speed, used routinely with MLU and a long Gepe strainless woven shutter release cable.

I would recommend that you invest in at least one f2.4 - f.2.8 lens to get you out of any situation where you find the naturally course and dark viewfinder a hindrance when using any of the f4 lenses, very especially if you are also using a polariser! My kit has the 75mm f2.8AL and 90mm f2.8 lenses in addition to the much-loved and extremely sharp 45mm f4 and the "paperweight" 165mm LS.

The waist-level finder is OK for on-the-fly photography at reasonably fast shutter speeds, but obviously a pain in portrait mode (along with the chimney finder). At least it gets out of the way with that pesky little chain buried in the box that could snap in the most benign circumstances (not a total write-off, but obviously something that would require professional repair if you don't have the dexterity of a watch jeweller!).

Lyn of Erskine Falls,
Great Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia
Pentax 67 w/ 75mm f2.8AL + KSM-CPOL, RVP50

Hatchetman · Nov 7, 2017

Download the manual and read it. I feel it has a lot of little oddities that you need to know about. The infamous "key".....you can just use a bent paperclip or something. I'm guessing it will feel quite bizarre after using the Hassy for so long. But give it time. It takes great photos. Never saw a negative and thought "gee I wish I had a sharper lens." I like the 75mm. If I had that I would then get the 45mm. The 55mm is great too. 200mm is fantastic for cheap.

eric antonio · Nov 7, 2017

Hatchetman said:
Download the manual and read it. I feel it has a lot of little oddities that you need to know about.

Makes sense! I'll totally download it.

The infamous "key".....you can just use a bent paperclip or something. I'm guessing it will feel quite bizarre after using the Hassy for so long. But give it time. It takes great photos. Never saw a negative and thought "gee I wish I had a sharper lens." I like the 75mm. If I had that I would then get the 45mm. The 55mm is great too. 200mm is fantastic for cheap.

I've worked in lots of places and while I did like the Hassy, I've worked with a lot of RB's and RZ's in the studios. I don't know how people take those outside! Sure I like sharpness but sometimes that's distracting.

Poisson Du Jour · Nov 7, 2017

eric antonio said:
Any old 4L44 work? Or px28 better?

One 6v LR44R battery does the trick. On cameras with mirror lock-up, the MLU button should be taped over before stowing the camera. If it is triggered in a pack through up and down movement, it will quickly exhaust the battery and require a force-reset.

Your first priority of landing the camera should be to inspect the battery compartment -- corrosion is commonly found in the older Pentax 6x7 bodies caused by long periods of inactivity (inactivity, in itself, can lead to a cascade of other problems).

eric antonio · Nov 7, 2017

anfenglin said:
Also never let the cocking lever snap back, the mechanics underneath do not like that, guide it back with the finger, just like with a Pentacon Six.

Good tip here! Thanks. I actually had the new Exacta 66 which was a modern copy of the Pentacon Six. Wow, can't believe I sold that camera too.

The camera is designed for ultimate film flatness so cocking it has higher resistance, always cock it in a smooth fashion, otherwise problems with film stepping could occur.

Alright, didn't know that.

I also like the wooden grip for carrying it around, not for shooting, it is not practical for that.

I'm not a big fan of straps, I like carrying things in my hands. I does look confusing cause how can you hold it with the grip and focus at same time? Since most people are right-handed, it would be cumbersome to hold the grip in your left hand, focus, move hand to shutter and shoot.

I'll look for one, that's exactly what I thought too, I just want the grip as a carry handle.

Thanks for the tips!!

eric antonio · Nov 7, 2017

Poisson Du Jour said:
One 6v LR44R battery does the trick. On cameras with mirror lock-up, the MLU button should be taped over before stowing the camera. If it is triggered in a pack through up and down movement, it will quickly exhaust the battery and require a force-reset.

Your first priority of landing the camera should be to inspect the battery compartment -- corrosion is commonly found in the older Pentax 6x7 bodies caused by long periods of inactivity (inactivity, in itself, can lead to a cascade of other problems).

Ahh, okay. And a little alchohol to clean it up okay? Or like baking soda or something?

Poisson Du Jour · Nov 7, 2017

eric antonio said:
Ahh, okay. And a little alchohol to clean it up okay? Or like baking soda or something?

Let's just hope there is none!
If corrosion is found, multiple methods may need to be tried, and commercially-made corrosion neutralisers should be given consideration over simple DIY methods. It may also not be limited to the immediate battery chamber, but internally.

VARTA batteries are a good choice over the cheap, no-name $2.00 shop Chinese variety batteries that could potentially leak. The 6x7 andn 67 cameras originally specified silver oxide batteries, but there is no harm in using alkaline, but lithium batteries (rare, but can occasionally be found) should be avoided.

The wooden grip(s) available for the P6x7 / 67 are formally used as aids to hauling/handling the camera and mounting a flash (cold shoe, with corded connection to the camera through X or FP), not as adjunct accessories to in some imagined way of improving shooting. In that regard they are very much a hindrance and interfere with the normal, intuitive handling of what essentially is a grotesquely over-sized 35mm body. Op/Tech makes some excellent neoprene straps, including one that converts to a simple, short haul-loop e.g. for lifting the camera up and docking into a tripod head.
https://optechusa.com/straps/super-pro-strap.html
It looks bulky on first appearance, but does provide a "lighter" feel to a heavy camera like the 6x7. I removed the large neoprene bit and only use it as a short haul-loop -- nothing gets in the way or flaps about then.

eric antonio · Nov 7, 2017

Poisson Du Jour said:
VARTA batteries are a good choice over the cheap, no-name $2.00 shop Chinese variety batteries that could potentially leak. The 6x7 andn 67 cameras originally specified silver oxide batteries, but there is no harm in using alkaline, but lithium batteries (rare, but can occasionally be found) should be avoided.

Ohhh, lithium's should be avoided? I did not know that! Good to know. I'll look for good old silver oxide or alkaline.

moto-uno · Nov 7, 2017

^^^^^^^^^^ Micheal , you little trickster you , , expounding the virtues of the 45 & 75 lens and then posting a lovely picture taken with the 55 !
Cheers , Peter

Sirius Glass · Nov 7, 2017

I am sorry that you had to part with your Hasselblad. I am sure that you can make any other camera work for you. The only question is will you then be happy?

DREW WILEY · Nov 7, 2017

I recommend using the mirror lock for speeds slower than 1/125th. The 105, 75, and 55 are all extremely sharp (except old Takumar 55's). But the 55 has quite a bit of illumination falloff toward the corners - about 1-1/2 stops, the 45 even more. This is typical of wide-angle lenses in general, but gives a different look than the 75 and 105. The 75/4.5 is dim to focus and benefits from either a chimney finder or flip-up prism magnifier. Still, it's one of my favorite lenses. Or you could spend big bucks for a 75/2.8. I'd rather own this system any day instead of a Hassle-bland. The 300EDIF is in a league of its own.

Pentax 6x7 newbie

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