I'm wondering...why you decided on the Pentax 67 medium format equipment to use. Was it because you ran into a great deal on some used camera gear at the local camera store or in the paper? Was it because that you reviewed and read all you could and finally decided on the Pentax 67 as your medium format camera of choice. Was it because you borrowed from a friendly photograper or buddy or friend and couldn't give it back. I think this might be of some help to the newcomers and give the users something to read of why you decided on the Pentax 67.

Here's what happended to me...I had a good working pentax 67 outfit, one body and five lenses in the late 1980's, it was a good outfit. Used it for work and for personal stuff...loved it. Then a photography buddy let me borrow his Hassselblad outfit to see what it was like. Big mistake on my part. Borrowed it and liked it for work, liked the square for the portraits and other stuff. so I sold all my Pentax gear and brought Hasselblad gear, sure was costly even used. Used the Hasselblad for a while, really liked the motor on the hasselblad. I had a EL/M body and 4 lenses plus all the other stuff that goes with having a system. Used it for about 10 years or so. But I was missing the Pentax, even while using the Hasselblad. Missed the big 6x7 chrome or negative. Liked the way the Pentax went together and how it handled even for a medium format camera. Sure handled better that my Hasselblad. I missed the long lenses or the thought that I could buy them if I wanted to. Hasselblad longest is a slow 500 f8, sharp but slow. Even missed using the Pentax 67 with lights for portraits or other stuff, you know the 1/30 sync speed everybody thinks is too slow for flash work. Well for everything except outdoor flash fill the Pentax works fine for me. You could even use the Pentax for outdoor fill if you had enought strobe equipment or power.

Well just last year I sold or traded and when back to Pentax 67 gear. Not going to change again. I just like the Pentax 67, feels good in my hands, like the range of lenses for it, like the big used market, like to cost, not super expense. I like the way the Pentax looks, like a simple and old pro 35mm camera from years ago. It's simple to operate. The Pentax and I work well together. That's my story what's yours?

-- John Miller (vwbus1967@earthlink.net), April 27, 2002

Answers

How I came to own this camera is a bit different. I saw one in a camera shop in Victoria, Canada in 1976 and thought, "What a great design". I didn't even own a camera at the time but was on my way to Alaska with my brother and a friend who were shooting Nikon F and OM-1. Finally got an XA-2 Olympus in 1982 and took it to Germany a couple of times. Out grew it and used a Canon AE-1 for two years and out grew it, but still was not a good photographer. I wanted to buy a camera that I could grow into and that was MF. Without even investigating Bronica, Hassy, Mamiya and Rollei, I bought a new Asahi in 1988. Bought new lenses with it(105, 75, 200 and 45)and later got six others. I learned on this camera, not really on 35mm. I liked the aspect ratio of the Pentax and the fact that it was taking 35mm camera design and expanding upon it. There was not much learning curve with this camera when going from 35mm. In 1988, I had no idea the lenses were such a good value compared with the other MF systems. I guess it was just luck on my part. Lenses were not a part of my decision to get this system originally. I now realize what a good decision I made back then. I have no intention of selling either of my two cameras. The only 35mm camera I have ever been hooked on, like the P67, is the Leicaflex SL/SL2.

-- Steve Rasmussen (srasmuss@flash.net), April 28, 2002.

About 15 months ago I decided it was time to make the move up from 35mm. I looked at various cameras right up to a Fuji 6×9 rangefinder but as my local shop had a good second-hand Mamiya 645Pro kit including a motor winder and some lenses, I bought that. Right away I was impressed with the superiority of 645 over 35mm and I soon added some more lenses to the kit, then I bought a flash and traded the body for a 645Pro TL with the latest metered prism.

Some people like the modular systems like the Mamiya but I pretty soon tired of all the interlocks and failsafe gadgets required to attach and detach anything and load the film. They also seemed to be the weak points in the design and when I had a film slipping problem with the motor and one of my darkslide locks failed, causing me to shoot a roll with the darkslide in place, I started to wonder about something different.

Well I wasn’t wondering too much but then I visited the shop and saw that they had a good deal on a new 67II with prism. As luck would have it someone had just traded in large collection of 67 lenses too. I tried the camera, really liked the way it handled and bought it right away, along with some of the second-hand lenses. Sure, I lost a lot on my Mamiya experience, but I also learnt what I like. That’s not to say that the Mamiya is a bad camera, it certainly isn’t, but the Pentax suits me so much better.

Also, I don’t need a fancy scanner, but I do like to print the occasional shot up to A3+ on my Epson 1270, and the size difference between 67 and 645 makes the larger tranny so much more satisfactory when scanned on a decent Flatbed like my Epson 2450.

I’ve had the 67II for just about a year and I’m definitely not thinking of changing but rather adding to the system.

-- Geoff Bryant (geoffbryant@xtra.co.nz), April 28, 2002.

My first MF was a Mamiya M645 (1982). I had wanted a Pentax 6X7 at the time but couldn't afford it. Couldn't even think about Hasselblad. 15 years later, nothing wrong with the Mamiya, I got a P67 MLU for christmas. Love at first sight (and use). I was able to afford additions like 45 f/4, 165 LS, and the 600 f/4. I added a P67II a couple of years ago.

I bought a Fuji GX680III 1 1/2 years ago. What a system! Very well thought out and flexible (I seem to have become a collector). The Fuji has fabulous optics, movements and motor drive with multi-format capability. Should have caused me to at least partially sell off my Pentax system.

My go-to camera is still the P67. I agree with everyone that feels a comfort with it in their hands but it goes beyond that. It's my favorite because of what I can do with it. I can produce the images I WANT faster, easier and with greater confidence than with any other camera I own. I have a huge respect for the flexibility of the Fuji but my affection is for the Pentax.

It has a hook that is hard to describe. I read constantly about its unsuitability in the studio, yet I've never had any struggles with it and love the results. You can't handhold it, yet I do all the time with no problems. I fully understand those that buy one and then sell it later, but when I downsize my equipment the P67's will be the last to go.

-- Patrick Drennon (sierraengineering@att.net), April 28, 2002.

Well for me, I was looking for a field camera to to great nature photography, with enough image size to give me a true improvement over 35mm when shooting color slides, but with much more rapid handling, portability and affordability than most 4x5 systems. I just didn't think that a 6x4.5 system would give me the improvement I needed to justify the expense vs. 35mm. And I wanted something that I could affort a body and a couple of lenses without selling my car. At the time, there really was no other choice than the Pentax 6x7. And with the leaf shutter lenses, it's perfectly useable for fill flash and other strobe lighting applications. I currently have 2 6x7 bodies, the early 55mm f3.5 (Love it - fortunately, I rarely use filters). The 90mm L.S. lens, a 2X Vivitar converter, and a 300mm f4. With the converter, I effectively can span the focal lengths from 55mm to 600mm

What other 6x7 - 6x9 camera could you have gotten all that for well under $3K for excellent condition used equipment? None that I'm aware of. I made this decision 15 years ago and I have no regrets. But I wouldn't mind if someone wanted to GIVE me a Mamiya 7 with a couple of lenses (that camera didn't exist when I bought into the Pentax 6x7 system). And nowadays, the Mamiya 7 is GORGEOUS stuff, but it is over twice the cost of the Pentax 6x7 for comparable lenses.

-- Doug Green (dougjgreen@yahoo.com), May 20, 2002.