Always wanted a Pentax 67. After deeming them too pricey that is what led me to purchase a Pentax 645 and then a Pentax 645N. Sold both eventually. Why? Personal preference, but 645 was not enough of a surface area improvement to warrant the reduced shot count and increased size over my nicer 35mm cameras. Don’t come at me. Personal preference. So what happened? Why the close call? SE Camera shop had one with 2 lenses for the price of a body online. Was great fun.
So what happened? Mainly I already have my medium format film camera needs (wants?) covered. Not interested in having a medium format camera museum… <ahem> … again <cough>. Fine camera, but there were a couple of things that did surprise me about me.
- Was not as enamored with the size as I thought I would be. Cool to hold. But an unwieldy camera to carry about.
- Was unusually clumsy with this camera. This camera has a shutter lock, but I still managed a few accidental shots while reaching for the camera. Totally me, not the camera here.
- Specific to this camera the meter moved about in the viewfinder. Would have to tilt the camera just so for it to appear in the frame. Perhaps could be fixed. Again, specific to this example.
Definite pluses.
- The internal metering worked perfectly once I could see it.
- The viewfinder was bright and allowed for easy focusing.
- Really did like the ergonomics.
- Easy to load.
While I did not personally end up buying this example I could see picking one up with a non floating meter one day. Would readily recommend this camera to others. Film of choice was HP5. Sample shots below and here is a link to the shots that were not misfires.
Happy shooting.
Eric L. Woods 