Bracketing on Pentax 67ii

[rickbehl]

<p>Hi all,<br /><br />I just took delivery of a Pentax 67ii body and am looking forward to going out and shooting with it. I do have a question though which hopefully someone here can help with. <br /><br />I am in the habit of bracketing my exposures usually by 1/3 of a stop up and down. Previously with my Pentax 67i body I had to alter the aperture by the smallest 'click' on the lens (hopefully 1/3 or 1/2 stop) to get the appropriate bracketed exposure. This was because the shutter speed dial could only be adjusted by whole stops. <br /><br />I see now with the Pentax 67ii there is an Exposure Compensation dial which has 1/3 stop measurements. Am I right in thinking now that in order to bracket effectively I can do the following:<br /><br />1) Take original shot as indicated by lightmeter<br />2) Use the Exposure compensation dial to move up to +1/3 (one click) and take the bracketed (longer shutter speed) <br />3) Use the Exposure compensation dial to move down to -1/3 (one click) and take the bracketed (shorter shutter speed) <br /><br />If so, does that mean that even though I myself cannot manually change the shutter speed by 1/3 stop on the shutter speed dial that the camera will work out the exact length of time needed to alter by 1/3 stop and adjust accordingly? I see that when I use the Exp. Compensation dial that on Aperture Priority mode the shutter speed in the viewfinder is changed to speeds which are not options on the Shutter Speed dial (eg, 1/6 second). <br /><br />Thanks in advance for any help,<br /><br />Rgds<br />Rick</p>

[mountainvisions]

<p>You answered your own question (and it is correct).</p>

<p>I am going to move this to the medium format forum.</p>

[tom_harvey3]

<p>Rick, your assumptions are correct regarding the exposure compensation dial. Additionally, most of the Pentax 67 lenses available are click-stopped for +/- half stop adjustments.</p>

[sumo_kun]

<p>Yup you are correct. The shutter is stepless so it will change to whatever speed is necessary. In manual you only have the option of whole steps on the dial but you can use the compensation dial to get 1/3 stops. You can also take the camera to Pentax to get it modified for 1/2 stop adjustments via the ISO lever thing. Normally you will not need anything other than Av mode. The multi segment metering is really good and dependable, even for slides.</p>

[rickbehl]

Thanks for the answers. That's just what i need. I'm shooting a lot of

landscapes/nature photography often in tricky lighting so i usually use my

Pentax digital spotmeter for metering which i think will be more accurate than

the camera meter. So now i think i know what i need to do:

 

1) Use spotmeter to obtain the 'correct' initial exposure. If required this may

mean using the Exp. Comp. dial to set a speed which is not obtainable on the

shutter speed dial (e.g. 1/6th sec)

2) For the second (bracketed) shot adjust the Exp. Comp. dial up by 1 click

(1/3 stp)

3) For the third (bracketed) shot adjust the Exp. Comp. dial down by 1 click

(1/3 stp)

 

Hope that is correct now.

 

Out of interest, what Service Center modifications by Pentax are possible on

a Pentax 67ii body? (maybe this topic deserves its own thread)

 

Rgds

Rick

[sumo_kun]

<p>What you suggest is correct. The meter has a spot built in so maybe you can use that? I also have the Digispot but I rarely use it with my P67II. I find the built-in meter good enough for just about everything and for those uncertain shots I just bracket.</p>

<p>The modifications you can do to your camera are to get a third strap lug put in so you can hang the camera horizontally (vertical is way more cool I think ;) ), modify for the 1/2 stop exp. compensation, modify the meter on time after releasing the shutter button and modify to have the aperture of your lens displayed in the finder instead of the frame counter.</p>

<p>Everything except the strap lugs can be done at the same time for a one off charge. It was something like 3000 yen for me, i.e. cheap. The strap lug was doable for some horrendolus price. I like the vertical position so I haven't done it. The 1/2 stop and the aperture display are reversible in that you can choose to not use them at all even if you have them installed. They don't change how the camera operates in any way. The timer change however permanently locks you in to the new time. The default is 10s and you can change to 20s or 30s. You can change back if you decide you don't like it but it will cost you the service fee again.</p>

<p>There are some usage notes that come with the modifications. The 1/2 stop mod is accessed by holding the exp. compensation button and sliding the ISO slider up/down. I never use it. The aperture readout is accessed by first mounting your lens and setting it to max aperture. Then you need to turn the camera on and hold both ISO and ML buttons and look through the finder while sliding the ISO slide up/down to set the max aperture of the lens. After you set it, it will be remembered. If you take the lens off while the camera is on, the setting resets to the frame counter readout. If however you turn the camera off first and mount a different lens with the same max aperture, it remembers the setting. If you mount a different aperture lens, then you need to reset the readout by doing the procedure again. To be honest this is a bit fiddly but its not too bad. I like the feature but it could have been executed better. The meter seems to get the correct aperture information without the mod so how come it can't display it without resorting to multi-button presses and calibration? I also don't understand why the hell Pentax decided to put the frame count in the finder instead of the aperture by default. Another problem I seem to have is that the detector ring thing is quite sensitive. My 75/2.8 reads 2.8 at max aperture but if I slightly shift the aperture ring (without it clicking), it goes to 3.5. Annoying and quite unnerving because I don't know what the camera is doing.</p>

<p>Anyhow, I would go for the full set of custom functions as you can't really lose out. I had my camera set to 20s.</p>

[rickbehl]

Hi Chuk, thanks for the comprehensive reply. I agree that probably a third

strap lug is probably unnecessary but the other mods do seem kinda useful.

Having the aperture displayed in the viewfinder is probably the most useful to

me. When you mention the change to 1/2 exposure comp. does that mean

each click of the dial would then be a 1/2 stop? If so that might confuse me

as the markings on the dial and viewfinder would then mean the 'major'

marks become 1.5 stops (clicks) rather than exactly 1 whole stop?

 

Cheers,

Rick

[sumo_kun]

<p>The 1/2 stop mod lets you use the ISO slider to go up/down a 1/2 stop from the set shutter speed. The amount you select is displayed in the LCD panel on the top of the camera. The 1/3 exp comp remains separate from this.</p>

[sumo_kun]

<p>I should add that the 1/2 stop mod is more of a 1/2 shutter speeds mod rather than a 1/2 stops exp comp mod. I can't remember if the display in the LCD panel was the shutter speed you selected or just a +/-0.5 mark... I think it was the actual shutter speed and it could be modified continuously in half steps to the extremes, all from the ISO slider. So basically you use the ISO slider instead of the shutter speed dial for 1/2 stop operation. If you turn the shutter speed dial it returns to normal. </p>

[rickbehl]

<p>Thanks Chuk, I think I am getting my head around this now. Looks like using bracketing in Aperture Priority mode is fairly easily accomplished with the camera as it comes from the factory just by using the exposure compensation dial. As is this will allow bracketing by steps of 1/3 stop. Doing this allows you to see exactly what shutter speed the camera is choosing by looking at the viewfinder/LCD.</p>

<p>However I initially understood that the exposure compensation dial could also be used in a similar way when in manual metering mode. But it appears that any changes on the dial in this metering mode do not actually have any effect on the exposure (shutter speed or aperture). So the only way to bracket in this mode is with the shutter speed dial (bracketing in whole stops) or using the ISO slider if the camera has had the mod done by Pentax (bracketing in half stops).</p>

<p>So assuming I can get the mods done here in Hong Kong by Pentax it sounds like after the mod:</p>

<p>1) In Aperture Priority mode you can bracket in 1/3 stops using the Exp. Comp. dial or 1/2 stops using the ISO slider<br>

2) In Manual meter mode you can only bracket in 1/2 stops using the ISO slider</p>

<p>I hope I am finally getting this ! Just I would rather get this right before I put valuable film through it...</p>

<p>Thanks again,<br>

Rick</p>

[sumo_kun]

<p>I think you might be wrong...<br>

I am not sure if the exp comp dial works under manual mode. I don't have my camera here so I can't check but if the bar graph in the finder changes with the dial then it works.<br>

The 1/2 stop mod is more of a 1/2 stop shutter speed selection mod. It just lets you use 1/2 stop shutter speeds. I guess this is very useful in manual mode. This will let you bracket in half stops as you say.<br>

In Av mode though, the 1/2 stop mod will do nothing... I think. Again I never really use it so I can't remember. The 1/3 stop dial will of course work as usual.</p>

[chuck_pere]

<p>I'd say that in manual the exposure comp just changes the displayed meter reading. Like changing the ISO. You still need to manually change the shutter or aperture to match the new meter display. So with the shutter you can only bracket by full stops in manual.</p>

[sumo_kun]

<p>OK, here is the definitive answer. In manual the 1/3 exp comp does not work. It changes the display graph but not the shutter speed, as Chuck above said. The 1/2 stop mod is accessed in manual mode by sliding the iso slider up/down. No need for button presses as I originally said. It only changes the shutter speed up or down a single 1/2 stop from the selected shutter speed. In combination with teh shutter speed dial, it gives you 1/2 stop shutter speeds and a sort of 1/2 stop exp comp. The 1/2 stop mod does not work in Av mode. So in manual mode you only have the option of 1/2 stop shutter speeds. That matches nicely with the 1/2 stop aperture clicks :)</p>

[massimo_de_cristofaro]

<p>Hi to all Pentaxes 67IIers!<br>

Sorry to invade this thread (I'm putting the question in a new one) but I would gather your kind attention on the focusing problem I am having on my 67II...<br>

Please take a look at my question:<br>

I have both the 6x7 MLU and then a 67II+AE. on the 67ii, after two or three rolls that seemed good, I noticed a slight out of focus in many frames that were carefully focused, with tripod etc. The film pressure plate was alway set in the right position: 120.<br />Accoring to the manual this could be a typical pressure plate wrong position trouble. But everything looks like the setting I can see on the 6x7 MLU...<br>

Thank you very much,<br /><br />Massimo de Cristofaro</p>