Hand held Pentax 67

[barrie_marshall]

I just found out I have a chance of getting an early Pentax 67 at a good

price, I know that it is said that they are not good hand held, I know it is a

hefty beast to hold, but it looks like it was designed to be hand held, is

there anybody who uses it hand held and is happy with it?

 

Barrie

[anthony_r]

I've used it with little issues, I mean compared to an RZ. It depends on just how long you're

going to hold it and how slow you are going to shoot it shutter wise. Make sure your deal is

truly cheap. They have been really cheap for a long time.

[anthony_r]

http://www.photo.net/equipment/pentax/67

[rich_morgan1]

Years ago, when I bought mine, I tested it handheld. Only did that once.

[eric_brody]

It may look like a large 35mm camera but it's not. Hand holding this beast takes steady hands and a short shutter speed. That's a pretty large mirror flapping around in there and the focal plane shutter's not small either. Be certain the model at which you are looking has mirror lock up. I believe some of the earlier versions may not have this essential function for this camera.

 

Good luck.

 

Eric

[ted_kozak]

It's a MAN camera! If you are a MAN, it will be no problem. If you are a sissyboy, then get your sister to help you with it.

[derek_stanton2]

Barrie -

What do you want to shoot? Lots of fashion fotogs have used the P67 handheld. Depends on

what kind of light you have, how long the lens is, and how (critically) sharp you want the

results to be. If you shoot landscapes, as long as you keep your shutter speeds high, that

shouldn't be a problem, either.

[barrie_marshall]

Since I posted my question I have spoken to shop owner who has been a friend of mine for many years, I can walk to his shop in 15 minutes, he will let me try the camera before I decide to buy it or not, now 'aint that nice.

 

Barrie

[mike_earussi1]

With the wood handle they are easily handheld. In fact their mass makes them a more stable platform than a 645 camera (I've owned both the Pentax 67 and 645) by one stop. I've successfully handheld the 67 down to 1/30 using the 45mm lens and the images were razor sharp (examined with my microscope at 20x mag.). Tripod shooting is another matter as the focal plane shutter kicks so bad that to shoot them at 1/30-1/2 sec I had to drape my 10 lb camera bag acoss the top of the pentaprism to obtain an sharp picture.

[bwbob]

If you want a large negative for landscapes presumably to obtain the best image quality why accept lesser quality by shooting handheld. I have had 3 Pentax 67 and all were used on a tripod with excellent results. If you want to shoot handheld use 35mm or at the very least a medium format rangefinder such as the Mamiya 7.

[dougmiles]

I have used a tripod with my 6x7 but rarely in recent years. I agree it is clearly designed for hand-held use, and works very well that way. Of course 1/30 is pretty slow, and I almost always use faster shutter speeds than that.

 

The mirror lockup feature was added in 1976, which is the year I bought a used non-MLU 6x7 that I used contentedly for a couple decades. It was then joined by a very late 6x7 but I never used its MLU feature. And I have not used either of my 67II bodies on a tripod.

 

I think it really depends on how you use the camera and what sort of photos you make. I tend to use it like a big 35 SLR, sling it over my shoulder with a 2.8/75mm for example and take a walk. I hardly ever use long lenses or stop down to f/22. I'm happy with hand-held results, but others might not be...

 

I just got the 55-100mm f/4.5 lens, and this is probably not a good "walkabout" lens due to considerable weight. We shall see, but so far it makes me think of Edward Weston's comment that there is nothing photogenic more than 100ft from the car. (am I quoting that about right?) I did run a roll of 120 hand-held, carefully. Should be an excellent tripod/landscape lens!

[steve_levine]

If the camera is working properly. Handholding at 1/125th , or faster is no problem. Of course it never hurts to lean against anything available to steady yourself.

[kris_francis]

My experience with a Pentax 67 II hand held with iso 100 film the results are disappointing, when examined under a 20x loupe. With iso 400 the results are acceptable, but grain becomes an issue.

 

When using a tripod (and locking up the mirror) with iso 25 film the results tack-sharp.

 

I hope this helps.

[rothelle]

The first day out the camera shop I put a roll in my Pentax and shot a roll of Tri-X and HP5+. I love holding it in my hands and never had a photograph that I didn't like. I can hold it at 1/15 of a second and I'm very please with what I get with it. Last year I took two 67 to china and handheld it for everything. I'm off to NYC in the morning and I'm taking the Pentax 67 and Mamiya 7II. I will use both handheld.

[bill_l._sunny_colorado]

If you have the proper skills to handhold a 35mm , you can handhold the 69. I shoot at speeds as low as 1/60 with no problem. This camera does have mirror slap, but so do the Speed Graphics, and Graphlex cameras I have shot with for years.Just pull it in tight and shoot you will be fine. Bill

[bill_l._sunny_colorado]

Duh! Thats what I get for typing faster than my brain works. I ment vibration from the shutter. Of course there are no mirrors in those cameras.

[mark_audacity_romberg]

Grain becomes an issue at ISO400...on a 6x7 neg?

 

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