Plaubel Makina 67 extreme cold

MattKing said:

I don't know if you have ever read Harley Mowat's "Never Cry Wolf", but he used a Kodak Medalist for all his arctic and sub-arctic photography for that. My Dad met him a few times because the Kodak Canada lab where Dad worked had a camera repair department with a Medalist (and Retina) specialist, who happily re-winterized Farley Mowat's Medalist every year.

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I've never read the book nor watched the movie but now I'm curious. Thanks for the recommendation of the Kodak Medalist.

Regarding the winterization of the camera:
I asked my analog camera repair guy if he knows how to make the Pentax 67 winter proof.
He said (I'll try to translate it correctly) that the camera is too complicated to make winter proof. According to him it's better to do it the old school way and put it in an isolated (camera)bag together with a (heated) cherry pit pillow bag.
He continued saying putting extra oil and lubricant will stiffen in extreme cold temperatures.

Any thoughts on this?

Your repair guy is telling you the truth - more oil and grease will not help as both get stiffer with temperature. True, there are lubricants that work well in the extreme cold. But there are other characteristics that are also important for cameras, like lack of volatility and lack of migration, that limit the available choices.

The suggestion of a decent folder is a good one. I have a couple, and when I'm out in winter I'll often keep one in a small chest pack (designed for ski patrol radios) that I wear under my coat. The camera stays in a sealed zip bag in the pack, which is a bit of a pain to open, but by sealing it into the bag before it goes back under the coat I avoid condensation. The newer-style zip bags with the sliding lock are mitten-operable. I keep a few series filters in a small box in my unheated coat pocket. In my work the camera isn't out in the cold for long periods of time so I haven't yet felt the need for winterization.

I also use the Mamiya 7 remote battery kit on shorter outings with no issues down to maybe -12C. This camera lives in an unheated backpack as it's too large and awkward for the chest pack.

Another plus of the chest pack is that it's a lot more accessible than a backpack and I've found I'm much more likely to actually take out the camera and use it. The obvious negative is that you have to open your coat from time to time.

I never serviced your camera model so I can't recommend how to winter proof it.
Once I tried Nikon F2 to get this way and I got instructions from Sover Wong about this (only 1/1000th and 1/2000th if I remember well), you had to modify slightly the camera next to the mirror box and have it serviced every year, I did not continue, better have the F2 inside the coat and shoot when needed.
I have experience with a Retina IIC, it came from UK, I serviced the shutter as usual and all fine in autumn, later one day at -5 the rangefinder stopped working after a while outside, I replaced the old grease in the pivoting arm for a new one, it worked. Then one day at -15 focusing was impossible, again this time I cleaned the old grease and I use Ciatim-201, it's used for aviation, automobile, etc... moving parts without much load, normally used in helicoids in soviet lenses so I gave it a try and now the focus is fine at any temperature I can find around. Maybe just new grease would have been enough but I wanted to try this local solution and it does the job pretty well.
Also in Rolleiflexes and Cords I found problems with such cold regarding the winding/counting and I had to use that grease mentioned above.
Unless you find a pure mechanical and easy 6x7 camera such Rapid Omega (really sharp and nice images) the warm coat will be your best solution.

Makina 67 is an ideal solution for cold weather because it's not reliant on electronics and it folds very well to fit into insulation. No other modern medium format camera without electronics can fold down as thin to fit comfortably under a coat or in a pouch when you're hiking in cold weather.

I use mine for winter mountaineering in extreme conditions and it has't failed on me once. I leave it in an insulated pouch and only take it out for photos when it drops below freezing.

The only downsides are as follows:
- The bellows does not work well in rain or high wind (when ice is blowing at you) due to possible damage or trapping moisture in the camera
- It's incredibly slippery without a grip (improved slightly with the later version)
- The aperture and shutter speed selection can be tough to use with thick gloves, as with storing the bellows

Both of these were taken at around minus 15 celcius with winds so strong I could barely stand up:

nicelynice said:

Makina 67 is an ideal solution for cold weather because it's not reliant on electronics and it folds very well to fit into insulation. No other modern medium format camera without electronics can fold down as thin to fit comfortably under a coat or in a pouch when you're hiking in cold weather.

I use mine for winter mountaineering in extreme conditions and it has't failed on me once. I leave it in an insulated pouch and only take it out for photos when it drops below freezing.

The only downsides are as follows:
- The bellows does not work well in rain or high wind (when ice is blowing at you) due to possible damage or trapping moisture in the camera
- It's incredibly slippery without a grip (improved slightly with the later version)
- The aperture and shutter speed selection can be tough to use with thick gloves, as with storing the bellows

Both of these were taken at around minus 15 celcius with winds so strong I could barely stand up:

View attachment 296519 View attachment 296520

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thanks a lot for your insights on this and the added pictures! Right now I'll try first with the remote battery cord for the Pentax 67 and I'll keep the Makina 67 and other options in mind.

I dont think you want to take the rollei out in extreme temps...