Why didn't Pentax ever make a rangefinder?

[amateriat]

Pentax, of course, did venture into the medium format. Their 6X7 looks like a Spotmatic on steroids. I borrowed my friend's once and people would look at this strange camera and ask it was a real camera or a toy camera. It never really caught on, however; I think Pentax intended it for pro use, and some pros did buy it, but it didn't have the panache of a Rollei, Hasselblad, Bronica, Kowa 6, Gowlandflex, etc., and couldn't catch up.

Whoops, my bad...I'll blame my error on staying up too darn late. I even handled a friend's 67 decades ago, after which I cracked, "Groovy! Know any good chiropractors?"

I got my first Pentax in 1963, an H1a, then an H3v, and finally Spotmatics and I still have four bodies and something like 10 Super Takumar lenses. No Pentax has ever malfunctioned or quit on me and the glass is as good as anyone's. If Pentax released an RF I'd buy one tomorrow just to have one. I'd probably use it also.

That's what everyone told me, and that was my experience, however limited, with earlier Pentaxes, which was why I bet the farm on the LX way back. In retrospect, I still think it's a great camera, but I learned my lesson about being the first on the block with something like that. But the MX might in fact be my fave Pentax, followed, interestingly enough, by the Spotmatic F.


- Barrett

 

[sevo]

No.Gamma Duflex (1948), and arguably Praktina IIa when fitted with motor drive (1953).

And all of them were preceded by large and medium format reflexes - by something like a world war or two...

Sevo

 

[Freakscene]

I have this lens! It is large in size for a RF lens, but it is superb.

I have one too; and I also think it is exceptional.

Marty

 

[David Murphy]

You know I'm glad they didn't make a rangefinder! Instead they focused their efforts on really superb lenses (incredibly so in some cases), and pretty darned good SLR's too. What would really have been sweet (and still could be) would have been a Takumar or SMC set of LTM or M mount lenses (besides the one they actually did make as a rare collectible)

 

[Kim Coxon]

It's a lot more than just a "rare collectible. 😉

Kim

What would really have been sweet (and still could be) would have been a Takumar or SMC set of LTM or M mount lenses (besides the one they actually did make as a rare collectible)

 

[Roger Hicks]

And all of them were preceded by large and medium format reflexes - by something like a world war or two...

Sevo

Indeed. I should have been clearer, but as we'd been discussing 35mm until then, I neglected to do so.

Cheers,

R.