I have moved from Bronica 645 to Pentax 67 (the latest type before the 67 mk2). The instruction book warns against shake (even on a tripod). I intend to use the MU and a heavy tripod at all times, has anyone any practical evidence / experience of still getting poor images under these conditions. Is there anything I still need to watch out for?

-- Tony Estcourt (tony.estcourt@talk21.com), February 19, 2001

Answers

There seems to be an exponential increase in shutter related shake when going from wide to normal to the telephotos. Little care is necessary when shooting with wide and normal lenses in regard to shutter shake but once you move to the 200, things change quickly. The old 300mm is infamous. The 400 Takumar, even with a tripod mount, is tricky. The 600 f/4 requires two tripods for some shots. And of course, watch out when shooting on the dreaded fossiliferous limestone:} SR

-- Steve Rasmussen (srasmuss@flash.net), February 19, 2001.

when using a tripod and a traditional tripod head ( like a 3-way bogen ) and shooting vertical - DROP the camera to the right - NOT the left which is what 99% of people do...if you do this the shutter release will be underneath and in an awkward spot - BUT the weight of the camera and lens will be tightening against your tripod head scew...if you flop it over to the left - gravity will ever so slightly be unscrewing the camera from the head - with a lens the size of the 200 or larger you will get movt......

-- dan (dcolucci@aol.com), February 19, 2001.

Tony, you bought a P67 - bad move! You obviously believed that these cameras and lenses have been used successfully by thousands of pros and amateurs all over the world for over 30 years. Had you taken any notice of the postings on this and other forums, you would know that to avoid shutter shake you need to; a) attach the camera to bedrock using 12 inch titanium bolts ( and not just any bedrock, at least Devonian or earlier (watch out for that sedimentary stuff especially at 1/2 to 1/.15 second); b)stand on it at the same time; c)but only when there is a full moon. I can only say tthat in addition to the above, my own experience is that the P67 is, uniquely among medium format cameras, very sensitive to gamma radiation.

-- Nigel Craig (Nigel_Craig@btinternet.com), February 19, 2001.

Nigel's tongue was planted firmly in his cheek Tony. For what it's worth, I use my 67 on a Kirk ball head. I mention this because the bracket for the 67 (at least the Kirk) cradles the mirror box with these wing looking extensions. It seems to do a great job of either inhibiting or distributing camera shake. With the mirror up under 1/15 I've never noticed a problem. In fact, I've never had a problem with my set up.

Although I've noticed that the mirror shake on my 67 is far greater than on my Mamiya 7II. Perhaps this is a design flaw we should make Pentax aware of. :)

-- Scott Laughlin (scottlaughlin@mindspring.com), February 19, 2001.

Scott:

You must mean the RRS plate not the Kirk plate. I have the Kirk and it does not have the wings you speak of. I have noticed that the RRS plate does have wings.

-- Deron (dchang@choate.edu), February 21, 2001.

Thanks for all your help here. I think there is little for me to be concerned about when using a heavy tripod and wide angle lenses. Maybe I will update you after a few hundred frames if this isn't true!

-- Tony Estcourt (tony.estcourt@talk21.com), February 21, 2001.

Deron:

Your correction is appreciated. Just checked, and it's RRS. I usually buy Kirk because of RRS's obscure ordering procedures but not for this. Maybe it's simply my imagination, or wishful thinking, but those wings seem to tie the entire body in to one unit. But than again, I've been wrong in the past (see above).

-- Scott Laughlin (scottlaughlin@mindspring.com), February 21, 2001.

A professional photography I was recently speaking to about camera shake assured me that he has no problems with his Pentax 67. (from his huge prints 1 metre x 80cm I believe him) He always holds the camera tightly with both hands even though it is on a tripod and uses the shutter release button rather than a cable release. Apparently this absorbs some of the shock when the shutter is fired. I haven't tried it but it sounds feasible.

Ray

-- Ray Osmotherly (Rayosm@hotmail.com), March 12, 2001.