Pentax 67

Overview

Pentax 67

Japan

The Pentax 67 weighs 1.5 kilograms with the 105mm lens. It's the heaviest camera I own by a significant margin. It looks like a 35mm SLR that has been inflated to twice its normal size. It is not a subtle camera.

I use it for Florida landscapes. The 6x7 negative is enormous -- about four times the area of a 35mm frame. When you scan a 6x7 negative from Portra 400 or Velvia 50, the detail is in a different category from anything 35mm can produce.

The SMC 105mm f/2.4 is one of the best portrait lenses ever made. At f/2.4 on 6x7 format, the depth of field is extremely shallow. The background separation is unlike anything you can achieve with 35mm.

History

The Pentax 67 was introduced in 1969 as a medium format camera that handled like a 35mm SLR. The idea was to give photographers familiar with 35mm SLRs access to medium format without learning a completely different system.

The 6x7 format was chosen because it produces a negative that enlarges to standard print sizes (8x10, 16x20) without cropping. The 6x6 format of the Hasselblad requires cropping for rectangular prints.

Pentax updated the camera as the 67II in 1998, adding mirror lock-up and a few other improvements. The original 67 is fully mechanical and doesn't require batteries for the shutter. The 67II requires batteries for the shutter.

Worth owning?

The Pentax 67 is worth owning if you want to shoot medium format landscapes or portraits and you want the largest practical negative size. The 6x7 format is the largest that still handles like a camera rather than a view camera.

The SMC lenses are excellent. The 105mm f/2.4 is the classic choice. The 45mm f/4 is a useful wide-angle for landscapes. The 165mm f/2.8 is a superb portrait lens.

The main drawback is the weight and bulk. This is not a camera you carry casually. In Florida, where I sometimes hike to reach good locations, the weight matters. I use a dedicated camera bag for the Pentax 67.

CLA notes

The Pentax 67 CLA is a significant job. The camera is large and the mechanisms are correspondingly large. The shutter is a focal plane design -- different from the leaf shutters in the Hasselblad and Rolleiflex.

The light seals are always replaced. The mirror damper is always replaced. The slow-speed governor is cleaned and re-lubricated.

In Florida, I use this camera primarily on a tripod. The mirror slap issue is real -- at handheld speeds between 1/15 and 1/125, the mirror vibration can cause blur. On a tripod with mirror lock-up, it's not a problem.

After a CLA, I verify shutter speeds and run a test roll. The Pentax 67 is a reliable camera once serviced.