pentacon six TL
I recently read somebody in a forum
describing the Zeiss Super Ikonta
BX 533/16 as the "Cadillac with fins" of 1950's medium
format cameras. In that case, the Pentacon Six medium format SLR presented
here would be the Massey-Ferguson tractor of it's era (which started
with the Practisix in 1957). Nevertheless, as big as it seems compared
to svelte folding cameras of the past, the Pentacon Six is touted as
the smallest medium format SLR ever made. Though it's an East German
camera, it's no Trabant, though it is somewhat notoriously touchy in
film advance unless handled carefully in a manner that has been well-documented
(in German) here.
This camera has its place as a very economical way
of building up an interchangeable lens medium format system. An array
of good and excellent lenses from a variety of manufacturers is available
for it (both with native Pentacon mount or via an adapter), along with
a number of accessories such as waist-level finder (shown in the picture
above), TTL metered prisms, angle finders and the like.
There are one or two companies specialising in "revamping"
the Pentacon Six body, installing mirror lock-up and more robust film
advance mechanism. Arax
and Hartblei
are examples of such companies; there are probably others.
Many people recommend the (Soviet-made) Kiev 60 instead
of the Pentacon as a slightly more reliable option. The two cameras
share the same lens mount. Personally, I think if reliability is an
issue, then the answer is to skip both of these and look elsewhere (like
Bronica, Mamiya, Hasselblad or Pentax). If the potential for a very
occasional hiccup is neither here nor there to you, then the Pentacon
Six certainly has a better look & feel than the boxy and angular
Soviet effort... but looks aren't everything, of course!
Who Is Pentacon, Anyway?
The Pentacon Works has an illustrious family tree, built
as it was in the post- second world war period out of the shattered
remains of several once great Dresden-based camera companies. Shortly
after the second world war ended, Zeiss Ikon and Kamera Werkstatten
(KW), Meyer and Exakta, and a myriad of other once well-known manufacturers
were amalgamated by the East German State to form what ultimately became
VEB Pentacon. Even this brief description of mine is far over simplifying
the complex heritage of the Pentacon Works. For the full family tree,
see this
site. 
The Pentacon logo, vaguely reminiscent of a Nepalese stupa,
represents the Ernemann Tower in Dresden, location of Pentacon headquarters
(and original headquarters of Zeiss Ikon).
In Use
The Pentacon Six handles like a big SLR. The "standard kit"
that most people start off with - camera body, TTL metered viewfinder,
and Biometar f2.8/80mm lens - weighs in at about 1.7 kilograms. To put
this in some perspective, my Canon D60 with battery grip and typical
zoom lens (28-135mm) weighs 1.8 kilograms, and the old Zeiss Ikon Super
Ikonta medium format folder weighs about 1.1 kilos. So the Pentacon
is not unnaturally heavy by any means. Despite having none of the moulded
plastic hand grips and other ergonomic bulges of today's cameras, the
Pentacon is perfectly comfortable in the hand. It's not awkward to hold
at all.
One of the things that concerned me a bit before actually
using one of these cameras is the mirror-slap vibration; it's a big
mirror. While it's definitely not an issue to be dismissed, it's not
quite as big a deal as I'd feared. Frankly, to get the most out of this
camera and its excellent optics, you'd want to use a tripod wherever
practical anyway.
The shutter button is in the classic Pentacon/Praktica position on the
front of the camera, and has a shutter-lock to avoid accidental triggering.
The default focusing screen is known to be somewhat
dim - further compounded by the TTL metered prism viewfinder (if attached).
I agree that it's dim in low light. Pentacon produced a number of alternative
focusing screens for the system, one of which is the much brighter Fresnel
screen.
The Kiev 60 TTL metered prism is quite a bit brighter
than Pentacon's own offering, and can be mounted on the Pentacon Six
with an adapter (both Kiev prism and adapater are available brand new
from Baier Photo).
Another advantage of the Kiev prism is that it crops less of the focusing
screen image; Pentacon's prism crops a millimetre or two from all edges.
Film Advance
This is the topic that scares every new Pentacon user, including me.
It's actually easy once you do it a couple of times; the recommended
method is to hold the shutter button down while starting
to advance the film; by the time the advance lever has reached the back
corner of the camera (Baier Photo say the front corner), you can then
let go of the shutter button and continue pushing the advance lever
right to the end, then ease it back to starting position gently (don't
let it snap back). Mind you, this procedure is only necessary if the
camera needs it: plenty of people just advance the film normally and
never have a problem.
Lenses
There are a number of lenses available in the Pentacon mount, from Carl
Zeiss Jena (DDR), Meyer, Arsenal and others via adaptors.
I suppose most everyone at least gets the Carl Zeiss
Jena DDR Biometar f2.8/80mm lens for this camera. It's a highly-rated
lens. Try to get the later MC (multi-coated) edition. My first roll
just back from the lab shows superb edge-to-edge sharpness; there's
simply nothing to complain about.
I have also just now received the Carl Zeiss Jena DDR
Flektogon f4/50mm wide angle - another highly-regarded lens. The build
quality of these lenses is absolutely first rate.
Incidentally, there exists a wide variety of adapters
which allow you to use these Pentacon-mount lenses on your 35mm gear
(ie, Canon EOS, Nikon, Y/C, M42, etc).
(more soon!)
