Thinking of trying a Pentax 67

[250swb]

Surely you can, at least with the RB67 which has a mirror governor to slow down the mirror speed. I have done shots even as low as 1/4, handheld, with good results.

The Hasselblads, i can't comment, i don't really care for them.

Many people say things like that, it's like a badge of honour, an example is how many times do you hear 'I can shoot my Leica at 1/8 hand held'? What they mean is that once, or sometimes more than once, they have hand held at that speed to give a useable image. But to be honest if I'd driven 100 miles and walked 20 miles (I'd settle for driving five and walking one) I'd want to know my shot would be sharp, not trust to having pulled it off hand held once or twice before. If the answer is 'nah, so what, it was a day out' that's fine, I just like my photography failures to be my failure of exposure and composition, not something as basic as going prepared to keep the camera rock solid.

 

[flavio81]

Many people say things like that, it's like a badge of honour, an example is how many times do you hear 'I can shoot my Leica at 1/8 hand held'? What they mean is that once, or sometimes more than once, they have hand held at that speed to give a useable image. But to be honest if I'd driven 100 miles and walked 20 miles (I'd settle for driving five and walking one) I'd want to know my shot would be sharp, not trust to having pulled it off hand held once or twice before. If the answer is 'nah, so what, it was a day out' that's fine, I just like my photography failures to be my failure of exposure and composition, not something as basic as going prepared to keep the camera rock solid.

Sometimes you don't have a tripod and want to capture something interesting, and thus need such a slow speed. Your kind of photography is definitely different to my kind of photography. I usually shoot at low light levels, and without a tripod. You're a landscape photographer, i'm far from one.

I want a camera that is versatile. The RB67 indeed is. It can handle those events of low-speed handheld shooting and the regular high-speed daylight stuff. Excellent results with 1600-speed film like pushed HP5. The Pentax 67 wasn't as versatile as I wished it to be.

 

[craigclu]

The P67 is a great system, and has a huge number of great lenses. In the end I found I feel better with the more compact "hassleblad style" cameras, so I bought into the Bronica GS system. I still have my P67 but will probably eventually let it go. Nonetheless, it hard to part with since they are so well made, and I love some of the lenses. (also when you consider how cheap some of the lenses sell for today.)

My story mirrors yours... Have had a P67 system for many years with many lenses. Also have their 645 gear and the lens adapter so that added versatility for me, too. I still have it and added a GS-1 rig over the years as the switchable film backs were a plus for me. Neither gets much exercise as I get older and tend to use MF rangefinders more and more. Light gear and very moderate tripods can easily deal with stabilizing needs for the RF's. Every medium format decision is full of compromises but most are excellent image makers. Hard to screw up on a decision!

 

[M Carter]

Don't forget the P67's fairly miserable sync speed of 1/30th if you want to use flash with it - you'd probably want one of the leaf shutter lenses!

 

[Neil Grant]

....I've used both the RB67 and the P 6x7 and they are different enough to be 'sort of' complimentary. The Pentax's focal plane shutter and comparatively short flange to film distance mean that more 'extreme' lenses are possible. Worthy of mention would be the 45mm superwide and the 105mm f2.4. There's nothing really comparable in the RB lens lineup. What really surprised me about the P 6x7 is how it manages to feel quite clumsy against the RB, but then the Pentax has a prism and I rarely use one with the RB. The Pentax is very slow to load and there's just not the same feeling that it will carry on working almost indefinitely, like there is with an RB.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I can't speak to the Pentax - never used one - but I can speak to the (relative) repeatability of slow exposures with an RZ. That of course depends on the lens you're using - I have a hard time with the 180 doing anything slower than 1/125th hand-held, but I have absolutely pulled off 1/15th and even 1/8th with the 65, 50 and the 37 Fisheye. I pulled off a 2 second exposure with the fisheye with just a railing to brace it against. I think some of it is the overall mass of the camera, some of it is the mirror dampening (the Pentax is notorious for mirror slap), and some of it is that I have freakishly steady hands. I routinely get sharp exposures at 1 second with my Rolleiflex, just hanging from my neck on a strap.

 

[drmoss_ca]

I was looking at a book of Terence Donovan's work today. An awful lot of it was taken with a Pentax 67, and he did seem to favour very close up shots with every pore shown in great detail. Very impressive quality though.

 

[mtjade2007]

Don't forget the P67's fairly miserable sync speed of 1/30th if you want to use flash with it - you'd probably want one of the leaf shutter lenses!

Pentax P67 has two lenses that have leaf shutter in them, 165mm f4 and 90mm f2.8 each with shutter sync speed up to 1/500th. Both are great very sharp lenses.

 

[DREW WILEY]

1/60th or faster, and the curtain shutter is completed before the mirror slaps. Any alleged camera shake at higher speeds is more likely an inability to hold the camera steady. Handholding with longer than normal 90 or 105 lenses is always problematic. But more overall mass and weight does help dampen the mirror slap if you aren't able to use the mirror lockup feature. I've even shot my huge 300EDIF lens without lockup and without tripod by simply resting it on a jacket atop a car roof or fence railing at reasonably high speed. But I did get away with a 1/30th shot 300 tele that way recently. It surprised me that it came out completely crisp. It's a really fun system.

 

[Dwayne Martin]

I couldn’t be happier with mine. I mostly use mine with a aero ektar on it so it weighs a ton. One reason I really like it is it’s very easy to focus in low light. I have the wood handle and the knob thing that attaches to the focus ring to make it easy to hold the camera and focus at the same time with only your left hand. I literally just loaded mine with film for tomorrow…

 

[choiliefan]

It's an easy matter to frame one's shot using the prism finder on the P67 and pushing the mirror-up button with the second finger just before tripping the shutter as one normally does. If Pentax made available a sports finder for these, everybody would be using this technique.

 

[ignatiu5]

(snip)I routinely get sharp exposures at 1 second with my Rolleiflex, just hanging from my neck on a strap.

Daaaammmnn, son!

I'm considering buying one these beasts and would like to hear from those own them.

Like you, I’ve owned the Mamiya 645 Pro, and an RB. The latter is a legendary system, but the ergonomics just didn’t work for me, so I replaced it with Pentax 6x7 (the non-MLU version). It is my favourite system, although not the one I use most often (Bronica ETRSi). I like that it handles similarly to most 35mm SLRs I’ve owned. The lenses are well-regarded; I have 4, of different vintages. I have the wooden grip, which I sometimes use, and I bought an aftermarket righthand grip that I love for extra stability. I rarely use a tripod for anything south of 4x5.

It’s a great system, and like many MF platforms, has the advantage that if you decide you don’t like it, you can sell it for what you paid and be no worse for wear.

 

[craigclu]

I also found that the right hand grip made the use of the P67 much more friendly. If you can find one of these (the guy sold them on eBay), it really helps. Thay also have a bubble level on top.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Scratch the itch and buy one. A train photographer friend of mine had two, and loved them. Personally, I prefer the RB for the simple fact I can switch two a different film on the fly.

 

[Paul Howell]

In terms of using waist level finder, a C220 or 330 coupled with a eye level finder on a monopod will allow you to use it without lifting over your chest high. With a waist level finder, bring the finder right up to eye with support. Not sure how the set up would work with a Pentax 6X7 or RB 6X7.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Daaaammmnn, son!

Proper technique for long exposures on a Rollei hand-held:
1: have a good neck strap - preferably 1" wide or wider, not the original leather spaghetti strap they sold.
2: lean slightly forward so the camera is not touching your body.
3: pull downward on the camera with both hands, while pulling up a little with your neck/shoulders.
4: inhale, then hold your breath.
5: gently squeeze the shutter button, and wait for the shutter to close. Then relax and exhale.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Most TLR shooters, being "street" types, have far lower expectations of enlargeable detail than the majority of P67 shooters. And using a waist-level finder with a P67 except on a tripod isn't fun at all. It's designed foremost as an SLR. If you want something really deluxe looking down into it from the top using a shorter tripod, select the chimney hood finder.

 

[flavio81]

I had a mint Pentax 67. Shutter shake was too much. Handheld, even at 1/60 and 1/125 you could get motion-induced blur that robbed the image of the high quality detail medium format should be used for.

The Mamiya RB67 had none of this issue and could be used down to even 1/15 with confidence. Thus, I sold my P67 and kept the RB67.

However, i didn't have the big, huge wooden handle accessory. The people who use this accesory seem to be very satisfied. So get it! (I didn't because it made the machine even bigger).

And...

Yesterday i bought back my old Pentax 67 again.

I'll give it a second chance to see how steady I can hold it.

 

[aoresteen]

I've had a Pentax 6x7 for a few years now. It (and the RB67) belong on a tripod. Handheld, it's a Rolleiflex, Hasselblad 6x6, or a Mamiya M645 1000s for me. The 45mm Pentax 6x7 lens is fantastic!

 

[dpurdy]

I have a P67 and several lenses. The image quality is special. However if I load up a camera bag with several lenses and go hiking, I will be exhausted in a couple hours from the weight. ( I always carry a tripod). I learned to reduce my carried lenses to just 2 and the weight is very manageable. I also like using my Rolleiflex and it only has the 80mm lens, I don't feel hindered at all by the one perspective. So to me it follows that I could go out with my P67 and my one favorite lens and the weight is a non issue. Having several lenses it is hard not to bring more than one. So perhaps you should buy the P67 and only one lens for now. The 105 is great, the 55 is great. the 75 as well. The only lensesI never consider are the 165 and the 135 macro.

 

[bluechromis]

The warnings that one should never dare to use the P67 handheld are overstated. I learned to flip the lens up handheld before shutter and it works fine. The 105 mm f/2.4 is remarkably fast for a 6 x 7. You will be hard-pressed to find much faster. So I think qualifies in the top ten of bokeh for medium format. I remember a nature photographer who said he liked the 67 because he could just lift it up to his eye and shoot away. The point is that with the prism finder it really does function like a giant 35 mm SLR and feels very natural to use, unlike ones that use a WLF. I find the meter in my prism finder to be accurate. It is a bit difficult to load and the battery really does not like cold conditions. They have an accessory to have and an external battery you can keep warm. Although one might think that a camera of this vintage could work fine without a battery, but this is not the case as it has an electronic shutter that, with few exceptions, will not function without current. Some have suggested looking at 645. But the 6 x 7 negative really is gorgeous. My thinking is that I spend a bit more effort to capture images with a substantial camera, but there is a payoff in post-processing with the big negative that gives so many options for printing.

 

[Neil Grant]

[QUOTE="

The 45mm Pentax 6x7 lens is fantastic![/QUOTE]

 

[flavio81]

It is my favourite system, although not the one I use most often (Bronica ETRSi).

Wow, we use exactly the two same systems... Interesting.

I like that it handles similarly to most 35mm SLRs I’ve owned.

More precisely, it handles like an ill-designed 35mm SLR...

The lenses are well-regarded; I have 4, of different vintages. I have the wooden grip, which I sometimes use, and I bought an aftermarket righthand grip that I love for extra stability. I rarely use a tripod for anything south of 4x5.

I'm open to any grip suggestion. Which lenses do you use?

 

[flavio81]

I also found that the right hand grip made the use of the P67 much more friendly. If you can find one of these (the guy sold them on eBay), it really helps. Thay also have a bubble level on top.

View attachment 289675

I have been looking for grips on eBay and didn't find this one, do you have the link? I bought one from france, from a guy that specializes in 3D printing.

 

[craigclu]

I have been looking for grips on eBay and didn't find this one, do you have the link? I bought one from france, from a guy that specializes in 3D printing.

I got mine quite awhile ago and recall him listing these for many years.... Apparently, he's not active anymore? I thought I might have 2 in the P67 bags but I don't. Perhaps someone knows of his status or identity.