Topcon six TL??

Hi, does anyone have any experience with the "Pentacon six TL"?

I know of one that is available (rather a high asking price) but, on searching the net, I seem to get the vibes that -though the lenses age good- the body (especially the gear train) is rather fragile and (loading film) is fussy, and the winder is not robust or dependable.

What do you think? Is it worth taking a risk -or not?

Well, all I can offer is that I owned one for a brief period of time, and it had a terrible rear curtain lag, making uneven exposures (overexposures) across the negative. I guess it just needed a cla, but my russian 35mm zenit has recently developed the same problem, while my german and japanese cameras of similar ages have never given me any trouble at all. You are right about the lenses. They have a very cool look that only old single coated lenses can give. Its not bad by any means. I'd honestly say it is just different from the tack sharp precision of say a t* zeiss lens.

There are plenty around, so unless you know its history, it's not worth paying over the odds. There are several reputable sellers on ebay and the like that will sell you already CLA'd bodies.

I've had mine for several years, and got it CLA'd early on as a precaution. I've had no problems with the camera. I did have a winding mod (indicator) fitted at the time (again, as a precaution), but as long as you load the camera properly (not hard), you should have no problems with frame spacing.

The lenses are pretty good, and are very well priced - I've got single and multi coated lenses from fish-eye to 180mm. I've had a couple of the lenses serviced - to be expected given their ages. I also enjoy using the 30mm Arsat, which gives a different view on things

If you want another well priced option, consider the Bronica SQ-A/B series. Accessories & lenses are more expensive, but still very good value compared to some of the more "revered" brands

Thanks both for responding.

I think I'll pass on this one.

I shoot with various MF systems such as Mamiya 645, RB67 and Bronica and I always try to find a reason to sell my P6 stuff but I just can't let it go. Even with all the quirks and reliability issues it's one gorgeous camera and lenses are bang for the buck. most of the lenses have nice coverage area so I mostly use it for handheld tilt/shift stuff [ http://www.flickr.com/photos/overdear/tags/ts/ ] lately. If the price is nice then it's not much of a risk because you can always sell your stuff later. one extra plus is that most of the lenses available are quite fast, in MF terms.

NJS said:

...but I just can't let it go. Even with all the quirks and reliability issues it's one gorgeous camera and lenses are bang for the buck...

Click to expand...

Well, I still have some time to consider it.

In the meantime, I have purchased a Yashica 635 TLR (as cheap as they come ) with a set of #2 close-up lenses, in order to check out if MF is for me or not.

So far, I have run a roll of Fuji 120 400 H through it (with the help of a Gossen Lunasix-3) and it's with the processors as we speak (back Friday: I can't wait to see it )

So far, the experience has been quite pleasant: easy to load, all the controls are handy and intuitive. The shutter button is easy to access and release (easy to hand-hold) and the shutter is very quiet and quick (no long train of mirror lift, first shutter, second shutter, mirror down etc): just a barely audible click, and that's it!

Now waiting to see if it all worked