My favorite landscape camera
By admin On July 14th, 2009
The Pentax 6X7 rocks.
A little history: first released in 1969, this weighty but affordable camera had some slight modifications right out of the box. One thing that was added was MU- mirror-lock-up, which is helpful for tripod photography. (Note to prospective buyers: parts for pre-MU cameras are hard to find these days.) Another upgrade in 1989 was the shutter timing was changed from being partly to fully mechanical (Pentax 67). In 1998, the camera went totally “modern” and auto-exposure and matrix metering was included through the new AE Pentaprism. Also, a new type of lithium batteries were used to better withstand cold-weather performance (Pentax 67ii). BUT, essentially, for all intesive purposes, the Pentax 6×7 is the same camera today that it was in 1969. And there is good reason for that! What’s the saying? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
One of the things I love best about this camera is that it has a very wide range of lenses-, the largest available to medium format. A whopping 67 interchangeable lenses ranging from 45mm super-wides to 1000mm super-teles. Other things I love: it has many focusing screen options, it can handle a few bumps and drops and survive (not a good quality to over-test though!), it has several finder options, no film flatness issues and in a pinch this baby can be used for things other than landscape and field. (I’ve shot a few weddings and events with it just for fun.) Did I mention that versatile viewfinder arrangements? Oh…I could go on and on….
The Pentax 6/7. Big, reliable and well worth the money.