question about min. shutter speed to avoid blur with 67

hi!

 

I soon will have a pentax 67 mlu with 55 f/4 and 105 f/2,4 lenses.

Intend to travel trough Asia with the beast.

 

I would like to know what are the minimum shutter speed required

to avoid blur (hand held).

 

Also, can I use these lenses wide opened, quality wise?

 

thank you

The conventional wisdom is that a shutter speed of 125 is about the slowest you can handhold w/o blurring. (With discipline - bracing the camera against something, etc - you can go slower.)

 

The lenses you mentioned should be fine wide open, just be careful about your focusing, you'll have a smaller depth of field than at more closed down apertures....

The 67 has a reputation for being difficult to hand-hold, owing to mirror slap. But I had one, and I got sharp results hand-held, even with the 200mm. I used fast film--T-Max 400 at the time--to help me keep my shutter speeds high. I found that 400 ISO films were not noticeably grainy in that format, enlarged to 11 x 14. So I used them to get an advantage in hand-held shots. I imagine you will use color, though. There are good color films in the 400 range.

 

That said, I used a tripod when possible. When hand-holding, I favored shutter speeds of 1/250 or higher with my 105mm, and faster yet with the 200mm. With a 55mm, I think 1/125 should give a sharp result.

Even with a tripod and a cablerelease, I used MLU on my Pentax 67 at shutter speeds

between 1/30 and 1 second -- Pentax even recommends this.

 

There are some hand holding techniques you can try : bracing your arms against your

chest, thinking "soft hands, soft hands" as you hold the camera up to shoot, releasing the

shutter as you slowly breathe out (holding your breath makes your body rigid), doing all of

the above as you lean against something sturdy.

 

BTW: the Pentax 67 and the SMC Takumar lenses are very very fine gear and result in

photos that are technically as good as it gets with medium format film photography.

I use mirror lock up even hand held with 125 or 60. Looking through the

viewfinder when I am ready to take a pic I try to hold my position and then lock

up the mirror .. wait a couple seconds then squeeze off the shutter. I get pretty

sharp results. And I am pretty successful in getting the picture I intended to

get.

 

I hold the camera so that my ring finger on my left hand rests on the lock up

button. When I am ready to shoot, my finger habitually locks up the mirror.

Dennis, you sure about that? Your left hand would be closest to the lens release button, not

the MLU. The MLU on my 67 is on the left front, which would be on the right side from the

shooting position behind the camera, thus your right hand.

I agree with 1/250, although 1/125 might be okay if not critical.

Thank you all for your good answer !

"Dennis, you sure about that? Your left hand would be closest to the lens

release button, not the MLU. The MLU on my 67 is on the left front, which

would be on the right side from the shooting position behind the camera, thus

your right hand."

 

 

Try it. I rest the camera in my left hand and my finger comfortably sits on the

button from below on the camera stage right.

I have a somewhat related question, if I take portraits with the 200 f/4 lens on a tripod but without the cable release, should 1/60 second be okay? Thanks!

Sorry, meant to ask if 1/60 of a secong without mirror lock up should be alright on a tripod.

 

Al

I frequently shoot at 1/60th with my 67II with no problems. At this speed it is difficult for every MF camera. The issue is really how steady your hands can be but not if this camera will work at this speed. Pentax 67's greatest usage in my opioion is outdoor handheld like a big 35mm camera. If you use a tripod it will be just like most other MF cameras. But if you need to carry a 6x7 camera on a hiking trail or on a tour in national parks it is one camera you will appreciate.

If you read the book "Image Clarity," you'll find that normal tremors we all have just from being alive, will cause image degradation at shutter speeds less than 1/500. Having said that, with good technique, you should be able to get very usable shoots down to one times focal length...I always use the rule of two times. But, please don expect tripod quality shots handholding ! Good luck.<p>

Dan<p>

<a href="http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/p67ss.htm">Pentax 67 Lens Guide</a><p>

<a href="http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/len.htm">Pentax 67 Lens Tests from the 1970's-80's"</a>

If you read the book "Image Clarity," you'll find that normal tremors we all have just from being alive, will cause image degradation at shutter speeds less than 1/500. Having said that, with good technique, you should be able to get very usable shoots down to one times focal length...I always use the rule of two times. But, please don expect tripod quality shots handholding ! Good luck.<p>

Dan<p>

<a href="http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/p67ss.htm">Pentax 67 Lens Guide</a><p>

<a href="http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/len.htm">Pentax 67 Lens Tests from the 1970's-80's"</a>