Even with the eye level prism it sill focuses on a ground glass. There's something non-digital about this. It makes you stop. It allows you, somehow, to see wonder and appreciate life. Don't get me wrong, I love my Nikon d850 and the glass that goes with it but there's a different experience between the two. It's a non-tangible. I have the 165mm f 2.8 permanently attached to it for portraits. The Pentax says, show me your soul. What does that mean? Who knows. It's human
I just found your videos on the Pentax 6x7. Thank you so much! Very informative. I have had my Pentax 6x7 for at least 7 years and have never really known the proper way to use it. This has been so helpful!
Thank you and I'm glad my videos are helpful. The little lever is for manual metering, DoF previews, and for use when you adapt the lens to other formats such as 645 or Pentax K. Mostly, you'll use it for DoF preview, though.
Hi David, having just purchased a Pentax 67 and 3 lenses I decided it might be a good idea to watch all three of the videos in this series. I have found the videos particularly helpful. Thank you for taking the time to make and post these videos.
You're welcome, and you'll be very happy with the camera, too. If the camera hasn't been serviced in a while, I strongly recommend sending it to Eric Hendrickson at Pentax Repairs. My CLA was a bit spendy (I needed a few parts), but well worth it. I'd do it again if I had a second 6X7.
You're welcome and those are some good insights about the camera's weight as a DSLR. I hadn't thought about the fact that the newest, lightest 67 models were only a bit heavier than my K-7 (I don't know the exact different off the top of my head), and as a DSLR all the hardware needed to support the sensor would probably be difficult to manage at best.
I broke that little chain 3 times, 2 on my own cameras and one on a friends simply because i thought you needed the lens on first. I knew there was a specific order, I just had the incorrect order in my mind. I'm glad they fixed that flaw on the 67II.
Ouch. That's not a cheap repair, either. The chain is one of two design issues on the 6X7, the other being that if the side with the film size adjustment takes a hard hit then the chassis can crack.
Hi David, thank you so much for your videos. I would like to add that the prism finder has a coverage of only 90% which can be a bit "surprising". I thought this needed to be pointed out. I don't have so much experience with this camera but tend to prefer my "new" waist level finder for two main reasons: it produces a 100% coverage, and the camera seems suddenly so "light" (as you mentioned) that i hesitate less in bringing it with me. Thanks to this accessory (paid 50€ on the bay), i have now the choice in using the camera "nikon style" or "hasselblad style" if you see what i mean. it really is a plus. Thanks again.
+Feel the rain Thank you. I didn't realize the prism cropped some of the frame from the focusing screen, but it makes sense. a 100% 6X7 prism would be a very difficult engineering feat.
A very good video, even if people think the 6x7 / 67 is a rudimentary, "dinosaur" system (which it is not!), it must be said it one of the best in the world. Broken chains are a repeating them and it really does frighten people to know this can happen. The most critical, most important thing for new users of the 6x7 /67 (not the 67ii) to keep in mind at all times is that if you remove the prism and a lens is mounted, then, BEFORE putting the prism back on, remove the lens. Then, RE-MOUNT the prism and then re-mount the lens, all in that order. This will protect that tiny meter coupling chain from stress - and it doesn't take a lot of that for the chain to snap. It can be a DIY to repair it, but you will lose the original critical focus measurement of the flange during the re-assembly. I think the chain design was improved somewhat in the 67 model that came out around 1992.
The 6X7 is one of the most coveted medium format system cameras -- up there with the Hassleblad 500 and Graflex Norita. I think that the 6X7 is the best of them, though.
Not necessarily, but I think the bigger problem is the weight of the camera which makes is less desirable than a digital 6x45 and the fact that it's nearly impossible to convert a Pentax 6x7/67/67II to accept another back - even when it comes to polaroid backs (which is why there are mainly dedicated Pentax 67 bodies with integrated Polaroid backs. Thank you for your videos, they convinced me to buy a Pentax 67 myself, which should arrive on monday :)
very informative video. Thank you for taking time to record this. I just bought this camera and 2 lenses this evening, going out to shoot tmrw morning.
I know you posted this 3 years ago but you helped me alot. Couldn't find any info on the metering prism and wanted to shoot these last 2 rolls before getting rid of this camera I inherited so thank you.
Two comments on the 67 metering prisms. First, the meter-prism David shows fits the 67 and the earlier 6x7 bodies. The 67-II (last) body uses a different meter-prism. Second, the meter-prism David describes came in two versions. The earliest uses a switch shown in the video for the user to turn the meter on and later turn it off. The later version uses the same on/off switch plus the meter will automatically turn off after 30 seconds or so, which avoids battery drain from accidently leaving the meter on.
Hi David and many thanx for the fantastic post, as usually. Is there any reason to first remove the lens before removing the prism. The manual does not state that. I was told tha was only valid for the the first model is 6x7 without MLU
In my (short) experience with this camera, setting the ISO on shutter speed wheel by pulling it upwards and turning it has direct impact on metering too. So far I didn’t see anyone mentioning it. Perhaps it’s considered as obvious. I wasn’t aware of extra metering viewfinder manual existence, gonna search for it now. Thanks for informative vids.
Thank you and you are correct. Adjusting the film speed one stop, for instance 200 to 400, will affect the meter reading just as much as adjusting the aperture or shutter speed one stop.
This was a hugely popular fashion photography camera. The 645D is now Pentax's best camera, I think, and I wish I had one. Unfortunately, Pentax has no intention of reviving the 6X7 format or creating a 6X7 DSLR. It makes sense, though, since that sensor would cost more than most luxury cars.
Hello David. Your videos are amazinga. I have a doubt, see if you can help me please: in the base of my lense there is a leverage (kind of a leverage) that I can put into or manual. What does it for? I have this feature in several lenses, but one, for instance, is SMS PENTAX 67 1:2.4 105.
I agree that on a lines per mm basis, Zeiss & Hassleblad are superior. To my eye and in comparisons, Pentax lenses resist flaring better and have less chromatic aberration (even at wide apertures.) So, in some metrics each major maker has an edge. I think these are the best because, for me, flare resistance and chromatic integrity trump lpmm as a measure of quality. I certainly would not argue the point extensively against good points about ways in which other makes are superior.
Thank you and great question. So, yes, you can use the camera without a viewfinder. The focusing screen is fixed in place so your focus will be correct. You do risk some added light leakage around the mirror and that will either show as image ghosting or as a general contrast loss. Also, if you do this, make sure that you remove your lens before you re-mount the prism. If you don't, you risk breaking the meter linkage and crippling your camera's ability to meter.
I used this Pentax 6x7 for many yeard specialy for Fashion Photography because like you say there were not croping And we call this camera at that time THE TANK i am still a Photograher but now it a Pentax 645D that i used still with Pentax
Hi i just picked up a 6x7 and your videos helped me make that decision ... have a series of lens now & 2 bodies 67ii +6x7 ...200, 75, 90 , 45 & 67 lens group so i guess i am pretty sorted
David Hancock unfortunately not but I do want to request you to make a video on how to use a modern day external trigger like Yongnuo to trigger an external flash using the 67ii or 6x7
David Hancock yes I mean a radio trigger from Yongnuo, it's the 622 ... I can't seem to use those & do flash photography using external flashes or strobes in the studio .... as u well know this camera is perfect for portraits too so I wanted to try it.
Hmm. It should work. I have some knock-off RF triggers that I got for $12 on eBay a few years back and they've worked with the 6X7. Since they run on X sync, then they should just work right out of the box. Do they work on other cameras? The important thing is the shutter sync. You'll need to have the 6X at 1/30th to sync the shutter properly. You could use a leaf shutter lens if you need a faster sync (but skip the 90mm leaf shutter -- it's the worst prime in the 6X7 lineup.
Would this maked a great first 120mm camera for someone who is new to photography? Oddly enough, I just received a K1000 that I ordered today! My goal is to shoot with the K1000 for a few months and then try 120mm. Thanks for these videos.
Hello, your videos on the Pentax 6x7 have been most helpful. I have the 90mm lens for the 6x7. The lens has a U/S lever on the bottom of it. I know that U mean "usual" and "S" mean "Special", I want to use the "U" setting, but which is which? Meaning when I move the lever covering the "U" does this mean I am know in Usual mode or am I in Usual mode when I move cover the "S" and I can see the "U"?Thank you!
I can, but it won't be for a little while. I have a LOT on my plate at work for the next couple of months. I can put it at the top of the videos for which I haven't yet written scripts.
Just watched every minute of all 3 videos and I loved it. Very awesome and informative set of videos! Helped me make my decision on getting one of these or not.
David Hancock Yes, actually! I have a friend on instagram who I'm planning on making a trade with for my voigtlander rangefinder... Found the rangefinder wasn't really for me
gameboyboyboyboy Good call. The 6X7 format is fantastic. And I agree, RFs are not my passion. I see the advantages, but man, your 6X7 will be a great upgrade. Here are five films that really shine in this camera: Ilford Delta 100 @ 50 ISO Ilford PANF 50 @ 25 ISO Fuji Velvia 50 TMAX 100 @ the rated speed or slower Ilford Delta 3200 @ 400, 1,000, or the rated speed I'm not a huge color negative fan, but Ektar 100 and Portra 160 both have great results in the 6X7, too.
In the Pentax 67 user manual it states that you can remove the prism first before the lens. I See that you did it opposite from that. Does both work? Maybe it's just how you reattach it that really matters?
Good question. I do not recall. Since I only have one prism anymore I haven't removed it in ages. I recall that the removal process is forgiving but the installing process is not.
Hi David and thanks for the 67 videos. What is the purpose of the Bulb setting on the shutter speed dial when the manual just says set the dial to anywhere between X and 1/1000 for a timed (and I assume long) exposure? I havent had my camera very long. I absolutely LOVE it. But knowing how to do long exposures in MF would be a real string to my bow.
***** Good choice on your camera. The 6X7 and 67 series are amazing. The bulb exposure is for any exposure longer than one second. So when the manual says timed, it means that the camera's internal timer is giving you a precise exposure. Bulb allows you to leave the shutter open as long as you'd like. There are some good uses for it: 1- waterfalls and low-light photography. If you can open your shutter for four or five seconds, you can make waterfalls have that really smooth look. 2- Astronomical photography. You can leave your shutter open overnight (or for maybe 30 minutes) to get star trails or detailed shots of the stars. 3- Dark room flash work. If you're in a black room and open the shutter, then you can freeze motion with a flash. Likewise, if you're in a dark space, say a road without lights, you can get a car's headlights and then use a flash to freeze it in place at the start or end of an exposure. Basically, any time you want to have the shutter open for longer than one second, you'd use bulb.
Hi David, your videos are very educative, and informative, very useful for the new film camera users, thank you for your effort. Recently I've purchased a Pentax 67, the one with the mirror lock up button. The shooting was smooth and the photo are stunning. However last time I forgot to put in my battery before I get out for shooting, the shutter fire and then never come down again, even when I put the batter in. So I check on the internet, RU-vid video including yours, I click up the MLU button, also try to push down the middle little dial at the frame number counter, the shutter just won't release. Is it meaning the camera is dead and need repair? Appreciate if you have any suggestion. Thank you.
Hmm. That's odd. I did the exact same thing to mine the first time I had it. I popped a new battery in and the shutter finished cycling. So check that the battery is installed correctly first. With the battery cap on these, it's easy to put it in backwards. Then repeat the process with the MLU switch. You may need film (or a used backing paper with no film on it) to get the camera to work. If all else fails, check with the folks at PentaxForums.com. Someone there will know for sure what to do.
Shanti G Thank you for the subscribe! I'm always glad to answer questions. I just uploaded the first video in a new series this weekend. It's called All About Film and I'll be doing a long-term series looking at in-production films and how to use them well.
Thanks for another informative video David! I had a quick question. I find it's really difficult removing my prism finder from the camera (sort of stiff?). I make sure to do so with the lens removed. Just wondering if this is a common thing or maybe I'm doing something wrong? Thanks!
When you remove or place the metering prism on the camera, be sure that there's no lens mounted on the camera body. It sounds like you've got that down. So if it's really stiff it may have some dirt or it may just not have been removed very often. Sometimes my metering prism doesn't really like to come off the body. As long as everything is lined up and clicking in place properly, you should be okay.
Hi David, I recently purchased one of these cameras, and after watching all your videos & also reading plenty of posts on several forums my chain has broken! I was replacing the non-metered prism with a metered one I purchased with it, it broke after changing aperture from 22 to 2.4 on my 105mm lens. Any idea how or why this would have happened? I made sure the lens was not attached while switching prisms. I also made sure the latch was all the way to the left so the tooth on the prism lined up with it. Thank you!
Hmm, hard to say how that would have happened without seeing how it was installed. The chain linkage could have been in the wrong place, or a part could have been weak and the strain of that much movement could have broken it. There are a number of possibilities. Getting it fixed isn't impossible, though it will be a bit spendy as most of these need other repairs or preventative maintenance when one thing goes wrong.
Hello David, Thank you for your videos! Very helpful and informative :) Do You have any advices for focusing? I just bought this camera and whole first roll of film is not in focus :P But I double checked every time before took picture...
Are you shooting wide-open? If so, the DoF on medium-format cameras is WAY narrower than on 35mm and smaller. The reason is that, on this camera, the standard lens is 105mm. The DoF on a 105mm lens on 6X7 is the same as on 35mm, but the larger image circle makes the DoF effectively narrower. So if you're shooting the 105mm f/2.4 wide open and you move slightly as you take the photo, it could throw off the focus. To test that, set the camera on a tripod and take some test images with a ruler in front of the camera. One thing you can do is use a pencil next to the marks on the ruler to show you where you're focusing in your images. Then take a series of shots at different focus points (including infinity and closest focus). If the images are in focus, then you know it was either photographer or subject movement that caused problems the first time. If the images are not in focus then there's an issue wither in the camera's prism or the focusing screen stack. If the latter is the case, let me know and we can figure out what's going on from there. One thing you can do to help with data for that eventuality is shoot half your roll with the prism on the camera and half with it off using just the naked focusing screen to focus in the latter case.
@@DavidHancock thank you for quick response! Today I made test. But during testing I found something strange: - First I put a person 5 meters away, in front of camera (checkd with measure). Than I choose 5 meters distance on the lens. But when I looked at a prism person was totaly out of focus! So I started turning focus ring to chceck where camera/lens will find sharpnes... Person was sharp at 3.5m mark on the lens (!?!?!?!). Later I choose infinity on the lens and looked at a prism. Trees, at least 30 meters away were unfocused... I decided to do two pictures at each distance. For example: person standing 5 meters away from me. Than I shoot first picture with 5 meters mark on the lens (prism showed unsharp result) and second picture with 3.5 meters mark on the lens (prism showed that person should be in focus). Tommorow I'll give roll to scan it should be back at wendsday. When I got back home I looked at pictures I did las time... And I dicvoverd similarities - persons at whom I choosed focus where unsharp BUT some objects between camera and person where in focus! So maybe my lens (?) or something inside camera give me bad readings? It suggest that I should focus closer, but in reality object is much more far away. I cant wait to see results of scaning. Especially pictures with focus put at the same distance as the measure showed.
David I have the same metering prism on my Pentax 6X7. Can you still use the camera with the prism switch turned off or does it have to be on. I would like to know because I prefer to use a handheld meter.
Shanti G The camera operates independently of the metering prism and the on/off switch only operates the meter. You will still need a battery in the camera for it to work because the shutter requires battery power to operate. The metering prism does add a bit of weight, so you may be happier picking up a standard prism. Also, a fun trick, you don't even need a prism. So if you want to hold it at your waste, you can do that and go without any prism weight.
I made mine out of old glasses and using a fine-tooth coping saw. Then I sanded the sides with 220 until it for snuggly and good it into an eye-opener holder with Plipbond. You'll need your glasses place out opthalmologist to mark the optical center of the old lens. If you have an astigmatism, like I do, then the lens will only work in one orientation, so you'll need a rotating eye cup or holder.
I just got mine in today! It did not come with a battery (easily findable) or a film spool (less cool, have to waste a roll of my 120 film I guess to get the spool out of it unless I can find one locally) and the manual is in Japanese but I already love it. And I don't find it that heavy, actually, at least to hold. Round the neck, yeah, it drags. I've noticed that colours seem different through the viewfinder, maybe a bit more yellow. I'm going to assume that this is a thing with the viewfinder that doesn't matter too much and might be normal. So long as the colours on the film are right I don't care
Nice! You can probably find a spool on eBay for a few dollars. If not, shoot me an e-mail through YT and I'll see if I have one I can send you. At one point, I had a box of about 140 120 spools and managed to sell them on eBay for the princely sum of $3.50. I try to keep a couple now but mostly just recycle the spent ones. Anyway, the yellowing is either from the lens glass or viewfinder screen. If it's the lens glass, which some old Takumars develop due to radioactive bits in the glass, then the yellowing will add a slight contrast boost to black and white images and some warmth to color photos. If it's in the viewfinder or focusing screen, no effect on images. If it is in the glass, you can remedy that by letting the glass soak up a bunch of UV light in the sun for a few days. I do not do that, though, as I like the added contrast and warmth the old, yellowed Takumar lenses provide in images.
Hello there! I found out that the yellowing was from the lights in my kitchen, not the lens :3 So whoops about that. And thank you for the offer of a film spool but I live in Canada and it would be really expensive and slow (our postal system is run by moose, you know). I'll just eat the cost of the roll of film since I didn't ask the guy if he could send a spool. Looking forward to shooting with this thing tonight!
Hello, nice videos and info about this beautifull camera Pentax 6X7 ! Could you tell me wich battery does it uses and if it is necessary to use it always or if it is a mechanical one? Thanks! alrerady suscribed! Best regards from México
Hi! So I recently just got this camera and I have this metering prism but for whatever reason, I cannot get the needle in the meter to move. The battery works and I also moved the switch to on but when I look through it still will not move. Any thoughts on why this might be?
Jade Williams A few. All this assumes you have a fresh battery. The shutter requires a good battery to operate. Have you tried the shutter? If the mirror sticks half-way up, then the problem is that your battery is dead. My assumption is you have a good battery, so if so, remove the metering prism and then remove the lens. While you have the metering prism off, look at the front of the metering prism housing on the camera's body for a small chain. (here's a photo of the top of the camera body with the chain immediately above the focusing screen from this perspective www.pentaxforums.com/forums/attachments/48-pentax-medium-format/82451d1296615258-pentax-67-body-lenses-dont-wont-match-p1180508-copy.jpg). If the chain is missing, then it's broken and the camera cannot communicate open-aperture metering with the metering prism (if this is the case, let me know and I'll tell you how to do stop-down metering, which will still work.) The camera will need to be repaired if the chain is missing. Assuming that the chain is present, put the metering prism on and then put the lens on. The metering prism always has to be mounted before the lens to operate. Check to see if the metering prism works. Let me know if those do or do not work.
The battery works as far as I can tell (light comes on when pressing the battery check). It is loaded with film and the shutter also works. The chain is there, it doesn't look broken or anything. I put everything back together...still nothing :/
Jade Williams When you go to take a meter reading, are you flipping the meter switch to on? Each time you do that, the meter runs for about 16 seconds and then turns off. My assumption is that you are. What lighting conditions are you in? If you're inside, try pointing the lens at a light bulb (directly, no lamp shade.) The meter won't turn on, or at least won't register, if there's too little light. Have you tried to get a meter reading outside during daylight?
I just picked it up this afternoon from the post so I haven't had a chance to check in daylight. But yes I did point it a bare light bulb which is why I think there might possibly be something wrong? It's quite confusing to me haha
No problem. So try it out in daylight. Make sure to flip the switch on the light meter, too, so that the meter turns on. That's an easy step to forget and I often miss it. If it still doesn't work, then it might mean the light meter is bad. As these light meters have aged, the meter cells in them have not aged well.
