Pentax 67 Gas!

agoglanian said:
I'm yet another victim to succumb to the call of the Monster Pentax. I've wanted to try one out for many years now but always put it off. Wound up acquiring a 67II and 105mm in a trade so I'm going to be giving it a whirl!
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Congrats! But one does not "whirl" around with a P67... unless you want your arm to come out of its socket. :D
 
Ha! Thanks for the info gents. The 55mm (late, f/4) is definitely of interest and will very likely be one that I acquire. I wanted to see how I get along with the 105mm (I know there are mixed feelings regarding this lens) before I decided to keep or sell it.

My thought was that the 55mm would pair fairly well with the 105. The 90 is of interest as is the 75. Typically speaking in 35mm terms (not a perfect comparison, I know) I gravitate towards 28 and 50mm. Seldom going longer than that anymore but often going wider. I'm no stranger to 21mm and am quite fond of them in general.

I do like lenses in the 70-100mm range as well but I haven't really used anything in that space for some time now, though I'm not opposed to it. But as I mentioned, if I have to pick two, it's almost always going to be 28/50.
 
agoglanian said:
Ha! Thanks for the info gents. The 55mm (late, f/4) is definitely of interest and will very likely be one that I acquire. I wanted to see how I get along with the 105mm (I know there are mixed feelings regarding this lens) before I decided to keep or sell it.

My thought was that the 55mm would pair fairly well with the 105. The 90 is of interest as is the 75. Typically speaking in 35mm terms (not a perfect comparison, I know) I gravitate towards 28 and 50mm. Seldom going longer than that anymore but often going wider. I'm no stranger to 21mm and am quite fond of them in general.

I do like lenses in the 70-100mm range as well but I haven't really used anything in that space for some time now, though I'm not opposed to it. But as I mentioned, if I have to pick two, it's almost always going to be 28/50.
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If you use flash (I don't) and need higher sync speeds, the 90mm f/2.8 Leaf Shutter has its purpose. I bought one and used it for a while, but now that I have the 105/2.4, the 90/2.8 sits with a pile of things I need to sell. In addition to the leaf shutter option, it's also a little smaller than the 105/2.4. The 90/2.8 is slightly wider than "normal" while the 105/2.4 is slightly longer; around ~45mm vs. 58mm respectively, in 35mm terms.

I primarily use 50mm, so with the 105/2.4, I find I have to take a step or three back from my usual framing distances.
 
I'm not much of a flash user to be honest, but if I really wanted to, I could always use my Hasselblad and its leaf shutter lens. When I used to shoot with an RZ67 I found that my main lens was the 90mm so it definitely is something that's potentially on the table. I'm not rushing to buy a bunch of lenses though.

Anyways! Here's some images from me on TMAX 400 and using the aforementioned P67II and 105mm

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Yeah I was quite pleased with how that turned out! He’s s good boy for the camera. I’ve had a lens in his face from the day we got him lol. I guess he’s getting used to it.
 
agoglanian said:
Yeah I was quite pleased with how that turned out! He’s s good boy for the camera. I’ve had a lens in his face from the day we got him lol. I guess he’s getting used to it.
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Haha, kind of like my son. Or at least the latter part, about having a lens in his face from the day we got him. :D
 
Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary!

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the public release of our beloved Pentax 6x7, so I thought the event was worth a little mention here!

The first prototype, called Pentax 220, was presented at the 1966 Photokina in Cologne. It was a medium format camera shooting 10 6x7 pictures on 120 film. But it was also designed to take profit of the new 220 film format that had just been released in 1965. The prototype looked somewhat strange with a chrome body and a black prism finder:

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Two years later, a prototype of the Pentax 6x7, as we know it with its black finish, was presented at the 1968 Photokina.

The camera was then released to the public in 1969. When the Pentax 6x7 was launched, Pentax was a very well known brand amd the most popular SLR worldwide was the 1964 Spotmatic, with more than 3 millions units sold. It is therefore no surprise that the 6x7 looks pretty much like an oversized Spotmatic.

But the first version of the 6x7 also had a few remarkable specifications. Most notably, it was the very first SLR with an electronically controlled shutter -the Asahi Pentax ES (Electro Spotmatic), which was the first 24x36 camera with an electronic shutter, only appeared two years later in 1971.

The 6x7 also had interchangeable viewfinders and was a dual format camera (120 and 220). It was able to squeeze 21 pictures from a 220 film roll, which partially made it for its lack of interchangeable backs for professional use. It was therefore rapidly adopted by a dedicated following of pro photographers (most notably in the fields of fashion, landscape and aerial photography).

Tonight, I will light a few candles to honor my two Pentax 6x7 cameras, which are still going strong despite their age!

Cheers!

Abbazz
 
Finally got one of these, but still waiting on a film transport repair. Gonna be shooting the Pentax 67 MLU w/45mm, 90mm, 105mm and also got a set of extension tubes. Pretty damn excited to get this thing moving after taking a long time to acquire my final kit and repairs.
 
agoglanian said:
That's awesome! I love hearing about camera design history.

Thank you for sharing!
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You are very welcome!
The P6x7 was indeed a revolutionary camera for its time.

It is quite surprising indeed that Pentax never advertised the electronic shutter at the time the camera was launched. Maybe it's because the marketing guys at Pentax were afraid the pro photographers crowd (which was obviously the target market of this camera) would never buy a camera featuring an untested new technology.

All the advertising hype was reserved for the Electro Spotmatic two years later (which also sported an aperture priority automatic exposure mode):

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Credit: Camera-Wiki

Cheers!

Abbazz
 
Thanks, Abbazz, lots of interesting history. My Asahi Pentax 6x7 has a serial number 403XXXX. I read somewhere that the serial numbers started with 4000000, so I'm guessing mine is an early model. Nearing its 50th birthday, and still going strong so far! No idea if it has had any service during its lifetime.
 
dourbalistar said:
Thanks, Abbazz, lots of interesting history. My Asahi Pentax 6x7 has a serial number 403XXXX. I read somewhere that the serial numbers started with 4000000, so I'm guessing mine is an early model. Nearing its 50th birthday, and still going strong so far! No idea if it has had any service during its lifetime.
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Contrary to what I read everywhere on internet, I think the earlier 6x7 were better built than the later ones. I have an early 6x7, which is still going strong and never caused any trouble, while my newer 6x7 with mirror lock-up has recurrent problems with frame spacing (and a broken aperture linkage chain).

Of course, two cameras hardly represent a statistically significant sample, but I prefer the earlier 6x7 because its film advance feels smoother than the 6x7 MLU's one and its shutter sounds more rounded. I also must add that I never use the mirror lock-up because I almost always shoot handheld. Finally, it's a shame that the 6x7 MLU is limited to 20 exposures when shooting 220 film, while the plain old 6x7 shoots 21 exposures --and I still have a bunch of Fuji 220 in the freezer.

Cheers!

Abbazz
 
Abbazz, I had the opposite experience... :) My non-MLU 6x7 was the one needing service early-on, while my late (just prior to the change to 67 naming) 6x7 has been flawless! Good point on the 20/21 frames on 220, but the P67II returned to 21 exposures along with numerous other improvements that make them my faves... :)
 
I totally loved my Asahi Pentax 6x7 camera, 135- Macro and 75mm.
Results were spectacular, never missed MLU.
I had to sell, too heavy!
Totally reliable, heard of one guy complain at a Pentax evening.
A pro shooting on average 7~10 rolls per day in portrait studio.
6 days a week, no services for a few years..
Wind mechanism was jammed with paper dust from film rolls.
But the weight!!
 
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