Introduction to the Pentax 6X7 MLU (Video 1 of 3) 

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

You're very welcome.

Thank you! I live the 6X7. It's hard to go wrong with it and the lens lineup is spectacular.

Hey David great in depth series. But I may have missed something, did you cover the MLU function itself?

I forget if I did, but there's an MLU button on the side. After composing your image and getting your settings in place, then press the MLU button. The mirror will not unlock until the exposure's been taken once the MLU button is pushed. I've lost more than a few frames accidentally pushing the MLU button.

Thank you! Enjoy the 6X7 and take great photos with it. These are amazing cameras.

Thank you!

Awesome kit!

This is one of my cameras that will be owned by someone else after I've died.

Thanh Huynh You're very welcome. That's a good set of lenses. The 200 f/4 is really under-appreciated. It put my 200 on my K-3 and it's every bit as sharp as a top-quality 35mm lens.

You're very welcome. It's a great camera. By coincidence, I had this out today for the local Pirate Festival. I humped it around on my neck with the 35mm fisheye, 135mm close-up, and kit 105. And yes, it got heavy. I use a two-inch strap with mine, though, so I can carry it a pretty good time before it really starts to strain my neck. I can't fathom why Pentax shipped it with a half-inch web neck strap.

I miss my 6x7. I used the good ole Braun RL915 flash with that system.

That is quite the strobe.

Needless to say a 510v battery today is a tad expensive.

Don't forget that a LOT of the weight is in the prism. If you get the waist level viewfinder, it probably reduces the weight by 40% (give or take). I would only use the WLV for this reason.

+John Geary Thank you! Film works similarly to digital -- digital sensitivity is based off the ISO standards used for film sensitivity. So aside from the look being much different than you're used to with digital, the technical aspects should be familiar.

Thank you very much!

Thank you and you are correct. The alkalines work a-okay, but don't leave one in your camera for a long period since alkaline batteries are more likely to leak over time.

Shanti G You're very welcome. Take great photos!

Thank you and that's fantastic! These are exciting cameras.

how is it

Do you have Eric’s contact info? I might need a repair!

guiltypeopleco You're very welcome. I actually did the exact same thing and my first thought was 'did I just spend $550 and ruin this before I took the first photo?'

Thank you!

This is an amazing portrait camera. You could still use it for weddings for the bridal party shots and so forth. At the reception the noise won't be an issue. During the service, it may be good to have a second body. A lot of people say Hasselblads are great cameras. I talked to a wedding photographer who used a Kowa, and one of my friends has the same camera. They both raved about how great it is. Another small, quiet option might be a TLR. Their leaf shutters are almost silent. Rolleis are great but you just as much quality from some of the Japanese makes for less. I hope that helps!

+nizuri That's fantastic. It's easy to all in love with the images that the 6X7 returns. The look is vastly different, and I think more pleasing, than either digital or 35mm.

Thank you, Richard!

Thank you!

Taylor Carlson That's correct. I think what I meant to say was that if someone pushes the MLU button accidentally that there's no way to get the mirror back down without taking a photo.

Ok, I thought you might already know that, but just wanted to make sure it was clear. By the way, I enjoyed the video and it was a good review for me. Thanks for posting it!

Taylor Carlson You're very welcome, and thank you. I might do one more video on the 6X7 in the next few months -- a brief review with just my thoughts about it and sample photos.

Yes on both and that Bronica did have a three-mount system in one flange.

I wish I could remember where I found that, or if I learned that talking with Eric Hendrickson about this camera. As for the Contax info, I had not heard that and that is incredible! I was going to suggest that a vacuum plate sounded like aerial photography technology. I do want to shoot and RTS III but it's not a camera I have in house right now.

Thank you! That could definitely be accurate.

@@DavidHancock it is accurate 👍

photoboy2005 XD

Replaced a 645 Pentax film camera.shot one roll of print film .the cost of processing brought that to an end.

Nice! A cared-for 6X7 is a wonderful camera to have and use.

@@PeckhamHall nope. The flash sync is based on the shutter travel and, with this camera having such a large negative size, the curtains just take a long time to open.

Hmm. Good question and I don't know the answer. I've never tried to do that. I've always used bulb and a locking cable release when I want to use "T".

+Miguel Escalante First off, thank you. Also, great choice on your camera and lens. The 55mm f/4 is generally considered sharper than the 3/5, but the 3.5 looks fantastic and renders scenes with a very cinematic quality. For tips, check on the operation. Also, plan to get it overhauled in the next year if it hasn't been recently. That will probably run about $300 or so, but it absolutely worth it to make sure it runs properly and meters well. The light meters on these have started failing and becoming increasingly inaccurate, so that's a thing to be aware of. If you want film suggestions, I'd run a roll of Ultrafine or similar-cost film through it just to make sure it works properly and has no light leaks. If it's in good shape, there's a whole world of great films to choose from. There are some amazing 6X7 lenses, and some dogs. I'd avoid the 90mm f/2.8 leaf shutter. But some good ones are: - 105mm f/2.4. This is a spectacular lens and is the fastest standard lens that Pentax made (scaled up for focal length and format, it's faster than the 50mm f/1.2). This lens has generally good reviews. My copy is very good but some are only average. -135mm f/4 macro. It's actually a close-focus lens without tubes, but it's spectacularly sharp and takes great photos of whatever you want. - 200mm f/4. Great portrait lens, typically pretty cheap. This lens has mixed reviews. My copy is good, but not all are. - 75mm f/4. I haven't used this, but I'm told it was the sharpest lens (especially the later versions) that Pentax made for the 6X7. Everyone I know who has used one loves it. I also love the 35mm fisheye, but it's soft (typical of fisheyes) and requires that the image be framed for zero or nearly zero cropping to maintain image quality. One thing you can do, too, is get a 6X7 to whatever DSLR make you have adapter. There are Pentax OEM ones for Pentax DSLRs and third-party for Pentax, Canon, and Nikon (and probably Sony.) The 105/2.4, 200/4, and 135/4 are all suitable for FF and APS DSLRs. The first two -- 105 and 200 -- are as sharp as 35mm lenses and hold up well on the smaller format. That would be a good $30-50 investment as you could then use a DSLR as a backup body when you shoot your 6X7. Also, if you've never shot medium format, especially 6X7, you're in for a treat. The images on this format are simply spectacular owing to the physics behind the optics. For portraits, medium format is simply incredible and provides quality, especially subject isolation, that 35mm full frame can't touch.

+David Hancock Some really great information here David! I can't thank you enough. I know there are few ways to check for light leaks but is there a particular method you suggest?

Miguel Escalante You won't know until your film comes back.

Thank you! For tubes on the 105, I'd look at a macro focusing helical. I have one, an off-brand, but it works fine. The focus allows much finer macro control, effectively creating a double-throw macro lens on the 105 (the tube helical and the lend helical.)

For landscape medium format, 6X7 is probably the best choice. To that end, either the Pentax or the Mamiya RB67 are excellent options with very well regarded wide-angle lenses. I prefer the 6X7 format over 6X6 and 645 for landscapes and they print with less cropping on standard print sizes than both of the smaller formats. 6X8 is also good, and some latter RB67 models have a 6X8 options. So that could work but they tend to be more expensive than 6X7 bodies.

David Hancock Thanks for your response.

Yup. That is my number one complaint about the camera. It's way to easy to trip the MLU and there's no way to undo it. Best option then is to kind point the camera at something, guess the focus, and take a photo.

Thanks for the info and the great tutorial here,@@DavidHancock! I love this camera, just need to take care when handling it. I thought the "Lock" feature would prevent this at least. Anyhow, thanks again!

+BENGERZ BANGERZ I almost never use a tripod with my 6X7. And, in all reality, it's possible to hand-hold this camera at slower speeds than with a 35mm camera. There are two main reasons for this: 1- It's a HEAVY camera. Because of that, it takes more energy to move it. So the 6X7 is not as susceptible to camera shake from the mirror because of the camera and lens weight. Also, it's less susceptible to movement from your hands because you'd have to move your muscles more to move the camera. 2- It's wider than a 35mm camera. BEcause the camera is wider, it takes more movement to affect the image. Think of it this way, if you hold a pencil by each end and move your hands up and down two inches, that pencil is going to move a lot. If you grab a yard stick by the ends and move your hands up and down two inches, that yard stick is going to move a lot less. So your hands have to move a lot more with this camera to get the same amount of camera shake as with a 35mm. I've hand-held this camera to 1/4 of a second (with a 55mm lens, which is about the same as a 28mm lens in 35mm format), which is two stops faster than I can hand-hold with a 35mm camera, without camera shake. Here's the image that I took hand-holding the camera at 1/4 second: lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4brxPpO9ctk/UgC5jDNvgXI/AAAAAAAA1Is/KZua-UMtdns/s912-Ic42/18.jpg

Get a good monopod, much lighter and works great for down to 1 second with a nice heavy camera like this one.

+MarcS4R Good luck! I'm having problems with my light meter, too, and am hoping to figure out a way to find out if it's my camera or the meter. These are really great, though, so even without a meter they're still stupendous cameras.

i threw in a new battery today and everything seems to work properly :). i also bought three rolls of portra so i am ready to shoot this beast. keep up the good videos.

Zhi Xian That's a good solution! I'm going to give that a try next time I take my 6X7 out on a hike.

There's no autofocus on this camera. The auto had to do with the aperture in the lens and the metering with the metered prism.

Yes you can. The 6x7 mount was the same for each 6x7 camera.

@@DavidHancock thanks David!

I have done and it's not the best tool for that.

@@DavidHancock thank you so much for the reply ! Is it because of the size hindering your bag storage or it’s the weight for carrying it around for long period of time ?

@@nocomfortzone69 you're welcome and all of the above. Carrying it is far from easy on the back, especially if you want a few lenses to swap out.

Well, 645 and 6X7 are entirely different shooting experiences. The format and aspect ratio are much different. I prefer 6X7 personally. I don't see 645 as different enough from 35mm to be worth my time. But that's personal preference.

Hmm. That's a tough one. If it winds then it is probably still working. Do you have film in it and do you know if the film is advancing (if the counter alone is broken, that's not the end of the world.) Your best bet on this is to check with Eric Hendrickson (www.pentaxs.com) to see if it needs a repair, or if it can be repaired. He know this camera better than anyone else on the planet and can help figure out if it's a debilitating issue or if it's repairable.

+David Hancock yes, as far as I can tell it is still advancing film. My only worry about that is the ability of the camera to detect it is done with all 10 frames. I will check with him, thank you.

Yeah. The cheapest I've found is on eBay where they run $80. Actually, this lens is what got me over my fear of using a lens without a filter. Now I almost ever use a filter unless I'm looking for a specific effect.

Jonilo Medina I'm glad to help, and you'll be very happy with your 6X7. The ISO is set on the metering prism only. If you have the metering prism, look for a dial called ASA -- ASA and ISO are the same thing. Only the metering prism has an ISO setting, so if you have a different prism, such as the standard prism or waist-level finder, then there will be no ISO setting. The ISO dial on the metering prism is, when holding the camera and looking down at it with the lens pointing away from you, on the left side on the top.

David Hancock Thank you very much sir! Been circling my city here in the Philippines yesterday,and found out that nobody develops 120 film here in our city. It's weird cause they develop my 135 film with the same process. Need to save more for home processing. Again, Thank you so much sir!

Jonilo Medina You're very welcome. If you'd like, check out apug.org (analog photography users group). There may be users there who know of some shop that still develops 120. If you're trying chain stores and pharmacies, you're right, they won't. I'd be surprised if someone doesn't have a specialty photography store that develops 120. Manilla, Luzon, or Bauilo (if you're in any of them) may all be large enough, but someone on APUG will know for sure. That said, home developing is awesome and definitely worth doing. There's a lot more flexibility with your photography when you develop at home.

David Hancock This is really great sir. Thank you again for all the help!

Dhiraj Shetty I do not. I haven't been able to find a 67II that I can afford. They're really nice cameras, though!

David Hancock no worries , if you do come by one & get a chance to review it do tag me on it .... and yes they are really hefty but nice cameras ! The wooden handle has a charm of its own i must say !!

David Hancock also i really do enjoy your videos , very informative & fun to watch ! Thanks again !

You're very welcome. Take great photos!

If you don't have a flash already, get one that can have its power level adjusted in the flash unit. Even the Amazon Basics flash can do that. So then you have two choices to trigger the flash. New units can often be triggered by another flash being fired. The Amazon Basics, for instance, can do this as well as Neewers, Pentaxes, Yonguos, etc. Or you can get a remote trigger. I used a $45 one-bade three-trigger setup from Neewer with 16 channels. That allows me to use up to three flashes from one trigger and a fourth on the camera or that's tripped by the camera's PC port and a PC port cable. A radio trigger is FAR more reliable than flash-triggered flashes which often don't work in anything except dark spaces with the flashes in close proximity.

If you keep these in a plastic case, which I do, then get a rechargable Pelican (or similar) dessicant pack. When it changes color, pop it in the over per the directions to recharge it and that will keep your gear from getting musty and fungusy.

I sure do! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8Y586-3KdOA.html

Probably, yes. Actually, I just filmed the H1A video last night -- it took a while to get it repaired.

There's no resetting the MLU. You have to just take a shot.

David Hancock I think so. That sad. They didnt think about it and touching that MLU is way easy to accidentally push it. Even in a bag.

It's about the size of a U.S. dime.

David Hancock thanks for the help man XD

adji waseso segoro They would scan the negatives off onto their computer then upload them from there.

adji waseso segoro This camera only shoots film photos and does not take digital images. To make digital files, you'll need to have the negatives scanned.

I'm glad to hear that these are still being used for weddings, definitely, and that your clients are happy with their results. Were I to make this video today, I would suggest this is a good wedding camera, too.

I know. It's mad how expensive old film cameras have gotten versus how quickly digital cameras are losing value.

That's the line that tells you what shutter speed you've selected.

ahh! thank you.

couple hundred prolly

@@JasonCorning thank you for replying after 7 years! :)