Pentax 67

How to turn a lovely Spotmatic into a mamoth capable of shooting 6x7 negatives!

[@android61242]

comment from another video " Whether you use the metered prism function or not, be very sure to never remove - and more importantly never replace the prism while there is a lens attached. The aperture setting is controlled by a linkage chain that runs across a channel you can see at the top-front of the viewfinder area just in front of the ground glass. If you remove/replace the prism while the lens is a attached you've a very good chance of damaging, and/or eventually breaking (in time) that chain. You may have heard this before but it's important to note else you'll have a non-metering, metered prism." Eyewanders Foto

[@flowermaze___]

Ooft. What a rig. Love your videos 🎞️

[@paulomoreira007]

Thank you for your comments. The Pentax 67 did not have auto exposure because it was uncharted territory in 1969 for a SLR. The Praktica PL Electronic from 1968, also worked without automation, in spite of having an electronic shutter. Curiously, the mortality rate of the Pentax 67 due to the electronics is remarkably low.

[@flowermaze___]

I am surprised you don’t have a Kiev 60, seems right up your alley - they’re very interesting cameras!

[@paulomoreira007]

@@flowermaze___ I had one but I really I'm not into the square format. In order for me to use a 6x6 camera, it has to be something to me, like the Rolleiflex, some folding cameras or the Pentacon Six TL that is a surprising sweet camera to use, opposite to this Pentax 🙂

[@sherm50599]

always like your videos.

[@paulomoreira007]

Thank you!

[@Percival737]

Oi Paulo, meu nome é Luis e assisti seu video pois comprei uma 6X7 no eBay. Estou morando fora do Br e aqui estou realizando meus sonhos da juventude, comprando estas cameras que lá atrás me chamaram tanto a atenção. Continue gravando seus videos pois acabei de assinar sua conta. Abraço e parabens pela iniciativa.

[@paulomoreira007]

Percival737 Obrigado pelo seu comentário! É isso mesmo, também me move essa nostalgia de ter máquinas que me marcaram tanto quando era jovem. Obrigado por ter subscrito e bons clics!

[@therealchickentender]

Two of my favorite cameras.

[@OneDegreeLife]

Great vids, very helpful for those who are searching or simply curious. I have the 6x7. Cool camera and familiar for 35mm shooters. I'm thinking about doing a video comparing the Pentax 6x7, Mamiya RZ67 and Bronica GS-1. PS - not sure if anyone mentioned it, but you can still get 220 Portra film from some vendors, like B&H. However, it's significantly less economical than 120, eg. $14-15 per roll. Ha. Cheers

[@paulomoreira007]

LightAdrenaline Thank you for your nice comment. A vid featuring those cameras would be awsome! 220 film is long gone here, but I still have a few packs, about 25 years old! Cheers!

[@OneDegreeLife]

Ahhh. Very cool. Ya, If I can find some time to do that video I will. I think some people might find it helpful/entertaining. I want to do some side-by-side "tests" at similar focal lengths and film, but that's a tedious task right now. I don't have the same FLs for each system. If I could get a 100mm for the Bronica then I'd have like a 100, 105, 110 and they'd be the fastest options in each kit. We'll see. Thanks!

[@lowbudgetproduction]

What you have here is the 1989 revision model (67 as opposed to the early 6x7). It is an interesting choice to have designed the camera around an electronic shutter, back in 1969. Pentax haven't even made electronic 35mm SLRs at that time. What was the motivation behind that choice? P.S- I have been following you videos for a year and as a photographer and serious camera repair hobbyist, I want to congratulate you for having the most professional and both interesting camera video reviews on the internet. Regards. -Tom.

[@paulomoreira007]

***** Thank you for your comment. I am just an amateur photographer that happens to love cameras. I envy you very much, I too would love to be a repair hobbyist, but I seldom venture beyond lens cleaning. I try to convey my opinion about a camera, as I am not God, it isn't a question of being right or wrong, just a way of seeing things. Also, I hate passionte reviews about certain products and brands, so I try to be personal in my videos, but not blind. Concerning the choice of an electronic shutter for this camera, it was a brave thing to do, as at the end of 60's there weren't many electronic SLRs and none of them reliable. My guess is that (somehow!) Pentax people got a glimpse of the future and were convinced that electronic cameras were the way to go. What better way to motivate the engineers than to design an electronic camera for professionals, thus tough and reliable with no room for error because of that demanding market. However, if things went wrong because of the shutter, damage to the brand or severe losses wouldn't happen as the 6x7 market was a niche market, Pentax was the new kid on the block, no one one was really crying out for a medium format Pentax, so the reputation of money making Spotmatics would be intact. In case of sucess, then it would serve as the template for the future 35 mm models. Ah well, this is my theory anyway!

[@lowbudgetproduction]

Paulo Moreira That makes a lot of sense. Thanks.

[@flowermaze___]

@@paulomoreira007it’s wild that it has an electronic shutter, but no auto mode. How strange. Maybe something about the timings and mechanisms scaled up to such a size meant they had to use electronics instead of huge gears and the like to get it going at different speeds…

[@earlrogersjr3026]

I own three Pentax 6 x 7 The first one the second and the last one,the Pentax 6x7 iI.I have enjoyed it, very much I have use them for over 20 years and I never had any problem with the weight of the camera at the time I am looking for a Nother another 6 x 7 Pentex iI.

[@paulomoreira007]

That's nice. Perhaps you never had any trouble with the camera's weight because you aren't mad enough like me to use it for street photography! :D

[@earlrogersjr3026]

Thank you for your quick response.The first time I saw this camera I was stationed at Fort Chaffee Arkansas in the military photographers were using them to shoot A10 fixed wing aircraft as they made their run destroying tanks on a demonstration run and I was very much impressed with the camera then and am to this day. I read a article in Shutterbugs magazine comparing the Pantex lens with other medium format lens and I was very much surprised at the results as I am sure anyone who read the article was because they compare the lens with one of the top, if not the top medium format camera then and even today.

[@Reiflen]

Very nice! A true beast ;)

[@neilpiper9889]

I ta a mechanical camera with a electronically controlled shutter.

[@paulomoreira007]

No it isn't. It's a manual focusing camera with manual exposure. This Pentax is as mechanical as the Canon AE-1 or the Nikon D 850. Still, a great big camera.!

[@jakobtragardh]

Great overview. One thing though: The small round black inset button on the front below the shutter is the Shutter/mirror reset button, just push that for a reset of the mirror.

[@ktor538]

Just subscribed

[@gilmar1ful]

Tem em português ????

[@joshhyyym]

There are lots of lenses available for the p6 mount. Here's a link with an image off all of the lenses made in the p6 mount: www.pentaconsix.com/lenstest.htm I have been told that the pentacon six has more lenses available for it than any other medium format camera. And some of them are Schneider and Zeiss. Great video, beautiful cameras. I recently invested in a Pentacon Six, and I'm very happy with it.

[@paulomoreira007]

Joshua Mcateer Thank you for your comment. I am sorry, but that's not true. The native (meaning lenses made by Zeiss ) lenses for the camera are not extensive. You do get other lenses from Russia (that need the camera adjusted) and from Schneider to have a big number of lenses, but they overlap in focal length, it is hardly any good to have 4 standard lenses available. The Pentax system offered lenses from fish eye, zooms, teles, all by Pentax. Be careful, you can't mount Russian and Zeiss lens as if they were the same. Once the camera ajusted for Russian glass, the Zeiss ones will loose the auto diaphragm. If you you don't adjust, the Russian lenses will not close more than app. f4.. So you see, not all that seems to be true is true. Don't get me wrong, I too have a Pentacon Six TL and love it. For me, the original lens program was more than enough. I wished I had money to buy the Flektogon 50, but the Mir 45 has to do. The disadvantage of the Pentax 67 is that lenses from other manufacturers were never available, so there is no cheap alternative for it but they had almost every conceivable lens in their line-up.

[@joshhyyym]

Paulo Moreira The Flektogon is a lovely lens. My apologies for my comment. I didn't realise that the Russian lens needed modification (which is nice to know as I was thinking about more lenses for it :D). Thanks

[@paulomoreira007]

Joshua Mcateer No need to apologize, lol! No, the Russian lenses do not need modification, it is the camera. It is a simple thing, just adjust the screw in the top of arm that closes the diaphragm of the lens. No big deal, except that you loose the auto diaphragm with all German lenses ( I think Schneider lenses too). Keep using the Pentacon ! :-)