 Excellent choice for entering into medium format 8 of 9 people found this review helpful.
The Pentax 6x7 is a simple to use camera (handles much like a 35 mm camera on steroids) which makes it a great candidate for a person interested in exploring medium format photography.
POSITIVE:
The large negatives!
Sometimes considered large format, the 2.25 x 3.75 in. neg's produce exceptional prints with extremely high clarity (with a good lens). This size, considered Ideal, is directly proportional to an 8x10. Other medium formats waste critical negative size due to being square (2.25 x 2.25 in) after cropping, the usable area of the negative will be roughly 2.25 x 1.25 in, which isn't a whole lot larger than a 35mm negative.
Inexpensive:
Compared to other brands, Pentax 67 is a poor man's camera. Lenses are readily available and affordable.
Reliable:
I have used a Pentax 67 for (my gosh, I'm getting old!) twenty years. I never have them serviced but they have gone down a few times. Look for occasional trouble with the metering chain on TTL Viewfinders with built-in light meters.
I also recall the mirror hanging up on me from time to time (this often can be fixed by sticking a pen into the small round button near the barrel of the lens)
NEGATIVE:
Focal Plane Shutter
The Pentax 67 synchs at 1/30th which without a leaf shutter lens (these are made in 90mm and 165 but I have had a lot of trouble with them!) outdoor fill flash is tough to achieve. If you plan to do outdoor portraits, this is certainly an important issue to consider!
Non-interchangable film backs
The 67 takes a single roll at a time 120 or 220, 10 or 20 exposures. You may find yourself wasting a lot of film if you need to change film speeds/types in between rolls as there is no in between. I understand that there are interchangable backs available if you dig around.
CRUCIAL NOTES:
1. Make certain you place the synch cord in the X and not the FP. I think FP synchs at 1/4 second but I am not sure, at any rate, if you plug it into FP you simply wont get a picture. I had my camera modified so that both FP and X worked at 1/30 after screwing up once.
2. Make sure you get a body with mirror lockup. The huge mirrors, slap hard when you shoot a pic and will blur an image at less than 1/60 exposure. Mirror lock up allows you to lock up the mirror before the shutter is triggered.
OVERALL
Overall, this camera is an excellent value and is a great deal of fun to own. It is ready to go when you are and quite simple to get used to. I highly recommend this camera for people shooting landscapes, still lifes, but caution those gettng into outdoor portrait photography.
Review ID: 10000000001424675  Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our guidelines, it will be posted within 24 hours. You cannot vote on the helpfulness of a review you wrote. Your request cannot be processed at this time. Please try again later.   The Pentax 67ii, not the 67 or 6x7 6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Note that the two prior reviews do not discuss the listed model, but deal with prior models of the Pentax 67 system. The first review indicates problems with the leaf shutter lenses in use; there should be no problem if the lenses are working properly, however they are limited in practical use. Also, contrary to statement of the reviewer, there is no interchangeable film back for any model of this camera, no matter how hard you look. Generally the review's conclusions are correct: the best MF system for landscape and general outdoor use, okay for studio flash work, but hopeless for balancing daylight and fill flash.
There is no cosmetic difference between the earlier 67 and 6x7 models, except for the model name on the body. The differences are internal, and fairly minor, except for the earliest 6x7 bodies without a mirror lock-up feature - to be avoided for that lack and for their age, now pushing 37 40 years old.
The 67ii model adds several useful features previously lacking, including a long exposure [time exposure] function which does not drain the camera battery like prior models. It adds an excellent AE exposure system [requires the AE metering prism to function], replacing the TTL manual system in prior models. The AE metering is the primary reason to buy the newest body, otherwise the earlier models are a better buy.
Note that Pentax has discontinued manufacture of the entire 67 camera and other film camera systems, however Pentax continues to support and repair nearly all of the bodies, lenses and accessories. Based on prior practice, factory support for the system should continue for 10 years or more. Pentax has one factory repair center in the US and a number of authorized independant repair centers regionally. Service should not be a problem.
Review ID: 10000000004200420 Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our guidelines, it will be posted within 24 hours. You cannot vote on the helpfulness of a review you wrote. Your request cannot be processed at this time. Please try again later. | |
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