Some more newbie Pentax 67 questions

[itai]

hi all
I've read some threads here regarding the Pentax, as I'm considering a MF system that will be good for my style,
street snapshots (of unsuspecting people), portraits (head & shoulder), and the occasional location/theme/lanscape photography.
I shoot 99% available and a lot of low light, (though my Canon 5D2 is still my main workhorse, that wont change so quickly...🙂
The P67 seems like a good option for me, as I cant get used to the WLF and the 45 degrees of the Hasselblad, I want the convenience of an SLR or a RF.

Anyway, this mirror shake thing, I'm wondering, is it worse than a Hasselblad's mirror shake?
Or it has to do with the focal plane shutter together with the mirror's movement?
My photography style puts the 1/60 speed right in the middle of my zone...
The Mamiya 7 is an option, but it's 1 meter close focus will limit me quite often, and most lenses are f4/0 only, though I really like its small mass..

And about the noise, how noisy is it?...
will it scare the birds on nearby trees?...🙂
I guess really need to play/shoot with one, and see for myself I.
Thanks
Itai

http://www.flickr.com/photos/itaib/

 

[gavinlg]

It's pretty loud, and it's not really a "neat" noise - I've described it before as a KA - THUNK regardless of shutterspeed.

I don't know if the vibration is because of the shutter or the mirror - I suspect the mirror. If you're a solid dude with good grip on your camera you can handhold it at 1/60th no problems. I'm well built and tend to be pretty good at handholding cams at slow speeds, I'll give you some examples (posted some of these before in this forum, but oh well).


Around 1/15th

And this one here was taken at 1/60th, f5.6ish

So as you can see it certainly is handholdable - not as much as a leica M but not really much worse than (say) a canon 5d, which is my other workhorse. I'm happy down to 1/30th in low light, and 1/15th is pretty easy if you steady up, hold your breathe and squeeze.

It's a great but huge camera. I might suggest a mamiya 645 though, it's lighter, has close focus and more frames on a roll, and doesn't vibrate as much. If you're shooting at slow speeds a lot it might be a more suitable camera. They cost around the same as well.

 

[Keith]

It's louder than the Hassy by a fair margin and it's a different sound ... the Hassy is loud but sounds more muffled ... the Pentax has more of a definite clatter!

It seems to kick like a mule in the hands when you fire the shutter but the results don't indicate that the camera is jumping around too much ... the 67ii is better in this area!

Just get one ... if you don't like it you can always sell it again.

🙂

 

[ethics_gradient]

Surely you can get a 90 degree prism for a Hasselblad?

 

[ruby.monkey]

A Pentax 645N or NII sounds like a better choice. It's slightly less noisy than a P67 (the mirror isn't too bad, but the film feed makes itself heard), is light, easy to carry, easy to use (it handles much like a 35mm SLR), has very little mirror slap, and mounts some truly superb lenses - including the P67 glass if you add the appropriate adapter.

 

[itai]

fdigital
Thanks for posting the frames, they sure look good from here...
ethics_gradient
I can get it, i got a 45 deg on the way, but it's not that easy to hold, for me.
Also the lack of light meter... it's a different type of camera.
I used to shoot a lot with a kiev 88 with a 45 deg, so i know it.
ruby.monkey & fdigital
That's what I'm thinking too.
For the past 2 months, doing my forums-reading, net researching, these
645's keep poping up to me as the best solution, or compromise.
But, I really want the 6x7 format, or at least 6x6, and also the 6x4.5's aspect
ratio isn't something I like too much in this type of photography.
i would probably crop it, and than it's a 4.5x4.5 camera...
But these camera's are smaller, auto-focus, auto exposure... easy to hold and operate, lots of lenses, ect...
I really don't know what to do... kinda stuck from too much thinking...
🙂

 

[itai]

I highly recommend the Mamiya 7. I have owned two Pentax 67 cameras at two different times and both were sold. I used them a lot at first, but eventually they were being left at home more often, due to weight and size, and I eventually sold them. The second time I sold, I said 'never again.' I am now a Mamiya 6 owner and could not be happier. Huge difference compared to the Pentax. Not much heavier than an 35mm SLR with a zoom and the lens is tack sharp. Very quiet.

My initial instinct was the Mamiya 6 or 7. (The 6 are hard to find).
It caught my attention years ago, and I said to myself, this is how
a travel/outdoors MF camera should look.
But from reading, I learned that it has a close focus limit of 1 meter,
and the lenses are all f4.0, no f2.8 normal lens.
This is why I though of the Pentax, with it's wider lens choice.
I too don't like the weight penalty.
As I said, I'm slightly stuck right now.
If I had an oportunity to get my hands on a Mamiya or a Pentax, it would
help me decide I think.

 

[gavinlg]

I really want a mamiya 7 to compliment my pentax 6x7. They can't really be directly compared I don't think.

Knowing that you like 6x7 format and you like close focus, buy yourself a rough old pentax 6x7 for little money and shoot with it for a few months. If you decide you like it, sell it and buy a really nice one. The rough old ones are still really reliable and work the same as the newer 67 models. Make sure you get the metered prism if you want metering. The 105mm takumar is super cheap and exceptionally good optically. Both my above shots were taken with the oldest single coated version.