Category: Pentax 6×7
Pentax 67 — Guides, Reviews, and Sample Images
The Pentax 67 is one of the most celebrated medium format cameras ever made, and one of the least subtle. It’s essentially a 35mm SLR scaled up to 6×7 proportions — same mirror-slap experience, same eye-level prism viewfinder, same intuitive controls — except everything is bigger, louder, and heavier. It shoots like a camera twice its price and sounds like a camera from a different era, because it is.
What keeps photographers buying into the system decades after production ended isn’t the body. It’s the lenses. The 105mm f/2.4 Takumar alone has sold more Pentax 67 bodies than any marketing campaign ever could. But the rest of the lens lineup — from the 45mm wide angle to the 200mm f/4 — is remarkably good across the board, with a rendering style that digital medium format still struggles to replicate.
Shooting the Pentax 67 requires some adjustment. Ten exposures per roll of 120 film means every frame costs something. The mirror slap limits handheld shutter speeds. The weight rules out long walks unless you’re committed. But the 6×7 negative it produces is enormous, and when everything comes together — good light, the right film stock, one of those lenses — the results are hard to match with any other system at any price.
This page collects my Pentax 67 content — gear reviews, lens impressions, film pairings, and sample images shot across different conditions and film stocks.
Medium format Film Camera Longevity & RepairabilityA Deep Dive into the Mechanics — and Longevity — of the Hasselblad 500 Series, Pentax 6×7/67, and Mamiya RB67 Anyone who has spent serious time with medium format cameras has a story about mechanical failure. For many Pentax 6×7 users, that story involves the film advance lever — a deceptively simple-looking mechanism that conceals...
- Pentax 6×7 Film Advance Lever Issue
So the inevitable happened with my old camera. The film advance lever has started slipping. If you’ve never experienced this failure, here’s how it feels: you stroke the advance lever and about halfway through the throw, it slips. There’s a brief grinding sensation, the resistance drops, and the lever completes its arc without actually advancing...
The Pentax 67 105mm f/2.4 for LandscapesShot with the SMC Pentax 67 105mm f/2.4 on the Fujifilm GFX 100s — Wachusett Reservoir, Boylston, MA The Pentax 67 105mm f/2.4 has a reputation that precedes it. Mention it in any serious medium format photography circle and the conversation almost always gravitates toward its legendary rendering of faces — the buttery compression, the...
Pentax 55mm f4 Organic Quality on GFX 100sToday I took a hike with the 55mm f4 adapted to the GFX 100s. I continue to be pleasantly surprised by this lens. There’s a certain organic quality to the images. It resolves detail exceptionally well without feeling clinical. The above image was shot at 120/sec, iso 100, @f8. My review of this lens can...
Pentax 67 SMC 55mm f/4 – Review & Sample ImagesA Wide-Angle Legend That Refuses to Retire Three optical redesigns, four decades of service, and a second life on digital medium format — the Pentax 67 55mm f/4 might be the most underappreciated wide-angle in the entire 6×7 system. Above image taken with the Pentax SMC 55mm f4 and Kodak Gold 200 A Lens Born...
Pentax 105mm Takumar ReviewThere are lenses that photographers recommend, and then there are lenses that sell entire camera systems. The Pentax 67 105mm f/2.4 belongs firmly in the second category. For decades, this unassuming standard prime has been the single biggest reason photographers buy into the Pentax 67 system — a camera that is itself enormous, heavy, and...
The Pentax 67 – Review, Versions, & Sample ImagesThe Giant SLR That Changed Medium Format The Pentax 67 system needs no introduction to film photographers, but it does deserve a proper deep dive. In this Pentax 67 review, I’ll share everything I’ve learned about the camera since adding one to my kit, combined with the history, quirks, and practical knowledge that every owner...
Wachusett MountainThis image was shot on Kodak Gold 200 with the Pentax 6×7. I also took a similar pic with the GFX 100s, but like this image more. There’s just something about film. Larger image below: Below is the similar image shot with the Fujifilm GFX 100s and GF 63mm f2.8. I prefer the film colors...
Pentax 6×7 and Kodak Gold 200Wachusett Mountain, shot with the Pentax 6×7 and 55mm f4, @f4 and 1/500s. Kodak Gold 200. Shot on Memorial day on the way to the summit. Larger image below. The image below is resized for the web. The original image scan is 400mb. There’s something about this image which is so much more pleasing than...
The Pentax 6×7 Arrived TodayI’ve taken a few test shots with the Pentax 6×7. The feel is completely different than my Hasselblad 500cm. Not worse or better, just different. It took me a bit of time to get the film loaded properly. Once loaded I didn’t have the counter all the way to number 1, and thought the camera...