One of the great cameras I never owned is the Pentax 67II. The fact they have no interchangeable back held me back (pun intended). In hindsight this might have been petty of me. What works perfectly well for small film (like the Nikon FM2N I adore) would not be right for big film? And big the 67II most certainly is: upon inspecting the one Bas Stubert brought I couldn’t help but notice its mirror was larger than the one in my bathroom.
In fact the original Pentax 6×7 (1969) is nothing more than a blown-up Pentax Spotmatic, according to Bas. The 6×7 MLU (1976) and 67 (1990) did not change much from the original 6×7 so I will not mention them beyond this point.
The fourth generation of Pentax’ 6×7 SLR beast, aptly named 67II (1999), however is different. It brings the system into the ‘modern’ age, just in time to exist before digital (backs) took over. According to Bas the 67II is the finest of the bunch because:
- It has digital displays on the outside and in the viewfinder, with more information.
- It has better grip by default with the built-in grip for the right hand.
- Its light-metering system is less fragile than the previous models.
Bas used his big Pentax with a 55mm Takumar multi coated (if memory serves me well) wide angle and a 105mm f/2.4 normal lens (on 6×7 film 105 mm is normal…). With the bright sun coming from the side, there was some flaring in the viewfinder, an extra eye cup was missing. The lenses themselves had no issues though.
The slap of the mirror was not too loud, but it was very present and as such I loved hearing it next to me. Mechanically and electronically the Pentax 67II behaved flawless. I would be confident bringing it to a professional shoot, for some extra-special results (if you have time to wait for the film to be developed…).
Having only 10 frames per roll and being forced to reload the camera after could be considered a drag. But it also meditative, it makes you consider the shot more, slow down, appreciate and be more selective of opportunities. It’s a different kind of photography I guess.
Digital?
The reason I considered a separate back to be imperative for a medium format system was twofold:
- Mounting film would be separate from the camera: you can prepare several backs with film and quickly exchange the back when you run out (there are only 10 frames per roll), and / or you could have an assistant prepare a fresh back while you keep using the camera.
- A digital back can only be attached to cameras that offer a separate back, obviously.
Pentax’ offer for the digital age has been the 645D (which both Bas and I have owned) and the 645Z (see Bas’ Pentax 645Z review). While these cameras are certainly capable, they are by no means as cool and sexy as the 67II if you ask me. And they also do not offer a separate back, the reason I still had to move to Mamiya + Aptus later.
The Pentax 6×7 system, including the 67II, has no viable option to be used digitally. But then again: that’s not what it’s about.
The photowalk
This impromptu Pentax 67II love song arose from Bas bringing his to our latest photowalk in IJmuiden. Last time I wanted to use a telelens, which I don’t own anymore. This time Bas lend me his Pentax 135mm f/3.5 classic, which I used wide open exclusively (using a PK-E adapter on my Sony A7).
It was an absolute delight to have sun this day. We even had to take off our coats during lunch sitting outside at a beach bar.
The results of the 67II are forthcoming, obviously it takes slightly longer than my digital snaps. Will update this post when the photos are developed and scanned. Stay tuned.