Pentax 6x7 is so frustrating! Getting to know my new film camera

I finally bought the camera that I have been interested in for a long time. The Pentax 6x7 is a massive medium format camera that produces 6x7 negatives. It is big, heavy, and imposing. I thought I could just pick this camera up and start shooting asap, but it in fact requires you to know a couple of things. Here is my first experience!

0:00 Intro
1:10 First Impressions
3:08 My BAD experience
5:35 Take out the Battery
6:26 HELP ME!

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[Pentaprysm]

#1 thing with the Pentax 6x7 is film tension. When you load the film, keep your thumb against the film roll as you pull the leader out. Thread the leader into the take up reel and then advance the film to the arrow all while dragging your thumb against the film roll. Keeping your thumb on the film ensures there is enough tension on the film and will eliminate film winding issues.

[Regsfoto]

I've owned mine now for about three years and have shot many rolls through it and here's what I can tell you based on my experiences. First off, I love this camera, LOVE it. That being said it is finicky to load and you just need to be patient. Sometimes I find it hard to get the roll into the camera properly to load it (you need to get the top of the film to slot in with the male receiver and sometimes this can be hard to do). However with practice you'll get the hang of it, but it can be really frustrating at times. Best thing to do is just take a breath, slow down and take your time. Eventually it won't be an issue. Also, as you found out, make sure you line the arrow on the film to the correct spot inside the camera. Remember, this camera is designed to take both 120 and 220 and there are different alignment dots for both, as well as a setting switch on the right side of the camera near the top. Be sure that that is set to 120 (220 is nearly impossible to find these days, unless its old stock). Same for the pressure plate in the back of the camera. What the battery really does is just power the shutter and if you have a metered finder, provide power to that as well. Batteries for it are easy enough to come by and your can order them from places like B&H, Adorama, Amazon etc. Buy three or four and just keep them with you. I'm still on my first battery and I picked my camera at the end of 2017. As for not having the mirror lock up feature, its not the end of the world but what I'd recommend is to test it on a tripod and shoot a roll or two at slow speeds (using a cable release might also be helpful) and see just how bad the mirror slap effect is and at what speeds you notice any camera shake. Then you'll have your parameter. Also check your camera seals, particularly rear film compartment door, make sure they are in good shape. If need be you can run some tape across the top and bottom door seams (going across the back of the camera) and that would help with any light leaks if you have them till you can replace the seals. Otherwise it's a very straight forward camera to use, just like a giant SLR. This camera is amazing and was a mainstay with many fashion photographers for years who shot a lot iconic images with it, I know you'll get great results out of this amazing camera.

[stevenmccormick]

Welcome to 67s. They can be frustrating at the start as you don't know if you've got a fully working version. Some hints, dos don'ts. Do not take off the prism without taking off the lens first. There is a small chain that can snap if you get the order wrong. Lens first then prism. Film loading can be a pain; I try to get the receiving spool lined so the slot is pointing straight up and not to the right-hand side as it were. Can mean moving the winder on a few times to get the spool in the right position. Take your time with the loading as well. You can get the shutter to fire without film, it can be fiddly. Open the door, place the body on a firm surface, where the film counter is you will see a small circle with serrated edges. Pressing just this small circle and turning it so that the film counter moves from 0 to say 5 and then keep your finger pressed on the small circle close the rear door. You should be able to dry fire the shutter now and you will get resistance on the film winder. To reset, open the rear door and the film counter should flip back to 0. Sometimes you need to help it with the small circle press again. Hope this helps and I may do a video or similar on 67s sometime soon. Ohh the right-hand grip or lack thereof. If you order a 3d printed item that provides this grip from ebay for £20 or similar. (I have a 67ii and 2x67s atm). The wooden handle you can get some folks like it for stability when taking portraits in portrait orientation. The 1/60th second and hand-holding, more the mirror slap in the body than you and stability. Interested in your findings.

[BrettWilsonEtc]

I think the shutter vibration is overblown. I have a mirror lock up version and I did a test with ant without MLU at 1/10 on a tripod and actually couldn't tell the difference. Although it was on a tripod, I heard that 1/10 without MLU was unusable. Especially if you do portraits, you'll never use it anyway.

The battery is used for the shutter timing. The nice thing about this is you don't have to worry about the delicate mechanical shutter timing mechanism running show and needing service. The only time I ever had a problem with it jamming as you described was shooting without a battery. You seemed concerned about the order of operations being wrong but I've never thought about it too much and never had a problem. I'm also unsure how loading the film wrong could cause it to stop winding. Maybe your battery was loose or backwards? (This is pretty easy to do.)

Loading the film is notoriously annoying, but I don't find it more difficult than a Hasselblad. The one tricky part is that sometimes I find it hard to get the film rolls seated properly. You have to make sure the lugs on the bottom are fully locked and the film isn't loose.

The most common thing to break it is if you have coupled viewfinder, you have to take off the lens before mounting the viewfinder or the chain will break. Since it looks like you have the regular prism, you don't need to worry. The light seals might also need replacing.

I think the investment is worth it. I got a 6x7 many years ago randomly (very cheap) without knowing much about it. And using other cameras over time has only made me appreciate the 6x7 more.

[jenohogan]

I'm glad I saw this. It'll prepare me for when I load mine up. I'm looking forward to future videos on this camera.

[filmneri]

Always bring extra batteries with you. Take care of your advance lever, bring it back with your thumb when you advance, they said that advance levers of the first 6x7 gen. are the weak point.

[RedStarRogue]

I was shooting with my buddies 6x7 the other day and the battery died right as I clicked the last shot on the roll. Mirror locked up and I couldn't advance the film until I replaced it. What I always found comical is how SMALL the battery is compared to the camera its powering.

[Klaus-macht-Bilder_de]

As may people commented on the general use already I skip this point and focus on the lens you want to use for portrait photography:
In my view the 105/2.4 is very much overevaluated for portraits - focal lengst is quite short (~50mm 35mm equivalent) and minimum focussing distance is too far to get close portaits - so if you want to use it for that look for the short close-up ring. With the very shallow depth of field the high speed of the lens is not really a need and I would recommand the 135/3.5 Macro lens or the 165/2.8 as long as you want to use constant light - for studio/flash look for the 165/4LS.
Nevertheless when you have overcome the general operation issues you will have a lot of fun with this system.
btw: beside the expensive wooden left-hand grip there are 3d-printed right hand grips that improve the handling significantly.

[EuroGunOrg]

I hear you! I just got mine (a 67) and it was 100% stuck (winder wouldn’t do anything, shutter won’t fire, mirror stuck half way up.. you name it!) and I thought I got a junk camera. Then - mostly thanks to your video - I manage to reset the camera, loaded it with film and... it works now! Now I hope mine will focus right ;-) Huge thanks from Luxembourg 🇱🇺

[dianegative]

The camera is fully mechanical, supposedly it can even shoot at certain speeds without a battery (the original 6x7 version), I haven't tried that though. The battery is responsible for correct timings on the shutter speeds. The winding mechanism will only cock the shutter only when the counter is past 0, regardless of whether the film is inside. The backdoor pushes a mechanism when closed, which lets the camera advance the counter and cock the shutter, so you cannot do it with the door open.
My pentax has an issue of skipping the first frame occasionally, so I've decided to set the counter to 220 mode, which allows to cock the shutter past the 10th frame, and to never align the arrows on the back with the film, I just wind it a little bit and close the door. That way, if the camera skips the first frame, I don't actually lose it, because it's still the paper rolling there, and my working frames are 2-11. I also get half a frame or more extra each time :) Then I wind it to the ~16th frame and open the door.
Your mirror issue is probably something you should get servised, never experienced it with mine.

[millerviz]

A monopod on a camera like this helps a ton with stability, even if you don't extend it to the ground. It will keep the camera from tilting if you hold the monopod against your body. Even without I don't think you'll have trouble with camera shake at slow speeds.

[thespecialist]

It’s pretty normal the first time to have these issues. The second issue some people have is focusing, Usually after their first portraits they go online wondering if there cameras are broken (they actually can be, the focusing screen can be out of alignment) but you just gotta keep practicing. I used to have a hard time loading film, then focusing, then just practicing composing (the finder only covers 90% or something. I honestly feel like I had just as many problems learning my bronica though.

[tombackhouse]

I’m probably buying my first Pentax 67 today! I happened to ask the right person at the right time if they had a Pentax 67 for sale, and they have a full brand new boxed kit with all the accessories still vacuum sealed! It’s never had a roll of film through it! Absolute pot luck find and I’m going back to seal the deal today

[GirdHerd]

I have two 6x7s that I use regularly. Since I'm used to the modern right grips that you find on DSLRs, I bought a 3D printed right hand grip that much improves the feel of the camera in my right hand. I highly recommend it. BTW, don't feel bad that it's a non-MLU body. I see a lot of users on Youtube who have taped over their lock-up button because they are constantly hitting it which wastes a frame.

[TrashTheLens]

6x7 MLU shooter here. First of all, as you have discovered, this in NOT a fully-mechanical camera. But that's hardly a secret. Mirror is held in the up position using an electromagnet and the shutter speeds are also controlled electronically. The mirror bit is particularly important when you are doing very long exposures -- these can drain the battery. The electronically-controlled shutter is not a bad thing in my book as it keeps the speeds consistent. Having seen the service manual I'm under the impression that there's nothing special about the electronics (no exotic ICs and such) so it should still be repairable.

As for the order of operations - to me it behaves just like any other SLR from '70s onward, no special tricks needed. Check out the pdf manual available on the internet. If I remember correctly it even starts off with something along the lines of "since you bought this camera we assume you know what you're doing, so we won't go into the basics". :) Maybe your copy just needs some CLA?.. I had a problem with the camera getting stuck on one occasion. But this was pretty much my fault as I somehow managed to wind it 3/4 of the way through. Opening the back resolved it. So pay attention to always wind all the way, and as a general best practice for any camera, don't just let go of the winding lever letting it slap back, but instead gently guide it back.


From my experience the mirror slap isn't as big a deal as people claim (an neither is the weight!), but I still use MLU whenever I can. On the other hand, the shutter can be brutal. I've had several shots taken ON A TRIPOD blurry in the horizontal direction only because I didn't tighten the horizontal axis on the head enough.

I don't own the 105/2.4, but from what I've seen it has a somewhat longish minimum focus distance, so you might have trouble getting tight portraits. (half-body is probably fine but a headshot might not), so bear that in mind and test for yourself, before you commit to using it for a shoot.

Have fun!

[MarksPhoto]

Had the exact same model back in the 80s. Great camera, heavy and finiky at times. No battery, no photos- even if its not digital! With the wood handle, can be used as an assualt weapon. Check local regs.

[mike]

I have the 67ii. It doesn’t have the lens/prism chain problem, but film loading is nearly always troublesome; the film spool retainers are often reluctant to engage with the spools. The film advance mechanism is a known weakness. Don’t let the lever fly back after winding on; keep your thumb on it. Having said that, it’s probably my favourite MF camera for both ergonomics and the results I get!

[AldermanFredCDavis]

Love/Hate relationship with the Pentax 67. I can appreciate the build quality and the lens lineup. I can’t see myself selling it, but the viewfinder is dim (and I am blessed with 20/20 vision) and, there really should be a way to mount the camera strap (conventionally) while using the right hand 3D printed grip.

A lot of people shoot the Pentax 67 in low light and at night. I have no idea how they are able to focus the thing?

[jaeAre]

Dope pick up. Love portraits on a medium format film camera, so I can't wait to see the photos.

[LFarinas]

I had similar problems with my example including that shutter not closing. I tried replacing the battery and the shutter timing contacts as well with no improvements. My copy also had some issues with faulty shutter. I finally had to part with it. I was so disappointed. I hope that you can get your copy working as some when it did work it created some of my favorite pictures. Good luck.