Pentacon Six - First Hand Impressions

[Nokton48]

Here are a few P6 Pix:

Here are a few P6 Pix:

Pictures, from 6x6 P6 lenses (120mm Biometar & Fisheye):


Also, http://hassydan.tripod.com/ to see some P6 wedding photos:

 

[Nokton48]

One more; Rodenstock 120mm Imagon (soft-focus), H5.8 disk, Pentacon-Dresden P6 with tripod, 8 second exposure, no mirror-lockup:

 

[ruben]

Hello everyone, just my two cents, ............... Never ever had a single failure with this camera ever since it was serviced by Pentacon. I've always been a Contax lover, but I would rather see my Contaxes go than my Pentacon Six.

Cheers,
Max

Hi Max,

A lot of time has passed since I met a post from you. Hope you are doing well and found a nice companion at the Italian coast.

As for the Pentacon I am still looking for the fellow who will tell me:

"Never ever had a single failure with this camera ever since it was serviced by Cupog"

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[ruben]

My Point

My Point

You may be surprised, but is was at the former Kiev forum, somewhere else, that I got the harshest cold showers about the Kiev 60 and Pentacon Six.

Yet there is a common point where the Kiev 60 (6c as well), the Pentacon Six, and to a lesser extent the Bronica RF all meet: they all share the same ergonomics - in very very broad lines - making them a sort of enlarged versions of 35mm system cameras, instead of strange devices of the most variyed forms.

This feature is what I, with my humble two cents knowledge, am looking in a medium format camera. A medium format film carrier, as close as possible to enable me outdoors photography, without tripod.

It is no secret for any of us that medium format cameras are much less versatil than 35mm format. Hence to opposite interpretations can follow. Either to take for granted medium format cameras are going to be cumbersome so let's leave them their studio and/or tripod role. Or to explore some medum grounds between the last assertion and 35mm versatility.

Therefore it is very possible I will have to pay twice for each of my beauties, once for the camera and then for the CLA, but not other medium format system camera is out there for me.

The Pentaxes 6x7 are too too heavy, the Fuji medium format rangefinders are fixed lens.

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[darkkavenger]

Hey all,

it's nice to read your opinions and comments. I've got two films drying in the bathroom at the moment, hoping to scan & post them at flickr either tonight or tomorrow 🙂 As for MF systems, it all depends from what You will do from the camera. I've been doing street photography with my PSix and a 180/2.8 Sonnar, it's heavier than going around with your usual RF but ultimately you're the photographer who will get what he/she wants out of the body/lens combo.

Ruben: I've been back in Prague for about 14 months now. Still no italian lady, but only (god/destiny/randomness) can tell who will be "the One" ;-) Not doing much efforts about it at the moment, and floating like a nutshell on the vast ocean of human relationships 🙂

Good night all,
Max

 

[imajypsee]

suddenly I feel like I've bought a lemon...

suddenly I feel like I've bought a lemon...

I bought the P6 that David listed today in the classifieds. HMMM....

I have a Pentacon Six three lens kit. I'm not impressed with it at all. The design is a good idea, but the camera is of mediocre quality. Most bodies need servicing and sometimes this is must be done regularly. The lenses like the ones from Zeiss do have good optics, but again marginal mechanical build quality. Stuck irises, wobbly or stiff mechanics, etc. are common issues. It has one big advantage: low cost. I may switch to the RB67 one of these days -- in my view a system that offers the most quality and flexibility for the least money in medium format.

EDIT: David has contacted me to offer relief if I find the kit unacceptable.

 

[imajypsee]

here's some info on overlap/loading film issues

here's some info on overlap/loading film issues

http://www.flickr.com/groups/pentaconsix/discuss/72157613708158524/

 

[Roger Hicks]

Mine was overhauled by Skoda Photo's technicians under guarantee, and I follow the film loading instructions religiously (under tension, no flyback, etc) and I have never had a problem -- though in all fairness I have not put a vast amount of film through it.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[imajypsee]

I've googled Skoda Photo

I've googled Skoda Photo

and didn't come up with anything related to camera repair/service. Would you care to point me in the right direction?

Mine was overhauled by Skoda Photo's technicians under guarantee, and I follow the film loading instructions religiously (under tension, no flyback, etc) and I have never had a problem -- though in all fairness I have not put a vast amount of film through it.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[ruben]

Hi Mary,

It's not Skoda nor soda, it is Dresden !

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[imajypsee]

If Skoda is in Dresden

If Skoda is in Dresden

sending it there for repair is out of the question...

Hi Mary,

It's not Skoda nor soda, it is Dresden !

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[Nokton48]

Most reasonably-priced Pentacon Six repairs, in the USA, is Eddie Smolov. You have to call him on his cellphone, he works out of his apartment. I believe this info is still current, BUT CALL HIM TO VERIFY his current address, etc. Eddie is great, not big on small talk, but a master repairman.

Edward Smolov
1-347-922-7275

 

[Roger Hicks]

and didn't come up with anything related to camera repair/service. Would you care to point me in the right direction?

Sorry, no. I just returned it and they fixed it. They're in Prague.

Cheers,

R.

 

[ruben]

sending it there for repair is out of the question...

Actually I was thinking you will go personally with the camera, but if not.....🙂

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[Eugen Mezei]

Nevertheless, I still would like to darken the exterior and one of the zebra rings with black tapette . As it comes, it is some 60% black and 40% chrome. I am used to 90% black and 10% shining chrome. Of course when you black tape a camera, you are obliged to leave much more areas untouched as many surfaces are unpossible to mask.

Why not simply buy the newer, MC version, of the Biometar. It is completly black.

Eugen

 

[Eugen Mezei]

The main thing the Pentacon Six has speaking for it is the great industrial design (which you lose when you stick a Kiev finder on it to get better usability). But for this I'd prefer the original Praktisix 😛

Why that? Would you care to explain? Why the Praktisix instead of the Pentacon Six?

Eugen

 

[Eugen Mezei]

Pictures we see about the Pentacon Six, lie as well about its WLF. Pictures give the impression that it is a small and shallow one,

It _is_ small. Compare it with the Kiev 60 or Kiev6C.

I agree with you that they are beautys both of them, camera and WLF. Nice curvy lines. And the camera lies very nicely in ones hands.

But than, beside the problems other mentioned, a big problem of the P6 is the grease used to lube it.
Some will argue, that it's 40 years old grease so no wonder. But then I could reply most of my japanese cameras are the same age or older and have no grease problem.

Eugen

 

[rxmd]

The main thing the Pentacon Six has speaking for it is the great industrial design (which you lose when you stick a Kiev finder on it to get better usability). But for this I'd prefer the original Praktisix 😛

Why that? Would you care to explain? Why the Praktisix instead of the Pentacon Six?

Well it's weird actually. The outward appearance of the models is more or less the same, so when buying something for its design only I'd prefer the variant that started the design tradition.

When I come to think about it I'm not very consequent about this. I'm not much of a design collector anyway. I have a Bialetti coffeepot, and a Tizio desk lamp, and an Elektronika digital clock, but then again I got those cheap and use them for making coffee, lighting my desk and showing the time 😉 I also have a Mac Plus and a late Series M keyboard where I would have had to stick with earlier models if it was all about being consequent about the design. With cameras, I have a Zorki-1, but no original Leica, and an early Kiev, but no Contax, for example. But I probably didn't get those for their looks either.

 

[Eugen Mezei]

I still cannot understand why the Soviets so well known for having manufactured so many cases, left this camera nude.

The K60 and K6c were both sold as systems. They came in a big case (the one from the 6c is better worked, finer leather brown case while the one for the 60 is also strong worked but not such a fine leather and black) containing the camera body, standard lens, prism, WLF, rubber hood and 2 filters.
They were never sold as separate cameras.
I think the same is true for the K88 but don't know about the predecessors of it (Salyut, etc.)

Eugen

 

[Eugen Mezei]

rxmd: I thought it has a tehnical reason.
Speaking about I unfortunately lost my big collection of some hundreds of classic computers but sawed the Mac Plus/SE/Classic ones. Unfortunately no one of my about 20 M keyboards.
One day I wish to have a Mac Cube and one of this translucent integrated in the monitor Macs. Purely for design.

Eugen