Pentax 6x7
 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Type | SLR camera for 120/220 roll film |
Originally debuting in 1965 as a prototype dubbed the Pentax 220. Since then and with improvements, it finally released in 1969 as the Asahi Pentax 6×7, as well as the Honeywell Pentax 6×7 for the North American import market. It would later receive a few changes and dubbed the Pentax 67. It was a SLR medium format system cameras for 120 and 220 film. It resembles a traditional 35mm SLR camera with interchangeable viewfinder and lens, but is considerably bigger and heavier, weighing 2.3 kilograms (5.1 lb) with plain prism and standard lens; perhaps inspired by the 1957 East German 6×6 KW Praktisix and its successor, the Pentacon Six, although the horizontal SLR concept can be traced back to the 1933 Ihagee VP Exakta. The Pentax 6×7 has its own dual bayonet lens mount, and a wide range of interchangeable Takumar lenses exist. More than forty years after the original camera introduction a wide selection of lenses was still available, together with the latest Pentax 67II.
The following models have been issued:
The Pentax 6×7, designated product model number of 23400 by Asahi Pentax, is similar to any traditional 35mm SLR camera except in size. The hefty camera with a general dimension body of 7.25 inches × 4.5 inches × 3.75 inches / 18 cm × 11 cm × 9.5 cm and with the standard prism and 105 mm lens would bring it to 7.5 inches × 5.75 inches × 6.5inches / 18 cm × 14.5 cm × 17 cm. Users familiar with the diminutive cousins would find the Pentax 6×7 an easy transition due to the layout of the camera. Differing only in the location of the shutter speed knob as it is located on the left hand top. Location of the lens release is on the left side of the mirror housing, the shutter release and film advance lever are located on the right-hand side of the top. As naming conventions implies, the 6×7 indicates that this is a medium format camera and the negative produced is 6 cm by 7 cm (actual format 56mm X 70mm) and additionally the successors 67 and 67II remain the same format. The Pentax 6×7 has the ability to use either the 120 or 220 roll film, which produces ten or twenty respectively (twenty-one for the 1969 version). A small slotted selector on the right-hand side next under the film advance lever of the camera selects the film type (properly operated when film door is opened prior to selecting), and also the film pressure plate inside has positions for either type, the thickness of the films being different as it passes the 'main roller' towards the 'take-up' spool. The pressure plate also maintains film flatness in this horizontal design during exposure, aiding the extreme sharpness across the entire image for which the camera is renowned. Other systems use film tension alone, or against rails at the film's edge, in more compact vertical-feed magazines found in 6×6 or 6×4.5 formats. The synonymous or standard equipment includes the Super Takumar and later the Super-Multi-Coated TAKUMAR/6×7 1:2.4 f=105 lens and the pentaprism finder that allows for the 'through-the-lens actual image (90% of actual area) of what is being composed.
...
Wikipedia