Pentacon Six

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Medium format camera Pentacon Six with Fisheye Arsat 30 mm
Pentacon Six with TTL exposure meter and Sonnar 180 mm f / 2.8
"Praktisix" mirror reflex camera, 6 × 6 cm roll film, with prism attachment and Zeiss Sonnar 2.8 / 180, VEB Kamerawerke Niedersedlitz , Dresden 1956 in the German Photo Museum

The Pentacon Six is a classic single-lens reflex camera for the medium format ( 6 × 6 ), which was built by Pentacon between 1966 and 1969. From 1969 to 1990 the better equipped Pentacon Six TL was produced.

Praktisix - the forerunner

The forerunner of the Pentacon Six is ​​the Praktisix, which is largely identical to the Pentacon Six, developed and manufactured by VEB Kamera-Werke Niedersedlitz . The designer of the first Praktica , Siegfried Böhm , was involved in the development. The Praktisix was introduced on the occasion of the photokina 1956 and its first version was produced from 1957 to 1964. Until 1959 the cameras carried the "KW" logo of the camera works. The Praktisix was the first single-lens 6 × 6 reflex camera that had an automatic spring diaphragm in its lenses . The first standard Praktisix lenses from Meyer-Optik Primotar and Zeiss ( Tessar , Biometar ) did not yet have multiple coating .

In 1964 the slightly improved Praktisix II came onto the market. Two years later, in 1966, two new versions appeared. The most noticeable change in the appearance of the Praktisix IIA now had pull-out spool counter bearings that were not integrated into the camera housing. The lightning connection, frame counter, viewfinder lock and the construction of the film stage are also already designed as with the Pentacon Six. Only a few copies were built, as the Pentacon Six itself was launched in 1966.

Design and technology

Striking is the essentially the Praktisix adopted design of the Pentacon Six, that a small picture - SLR remembered and so differs from the cube-shaped housings of the competition.

Compared to the Praktisix, the Pentacon Six has a new frame counter and a measuring roller for film transport. As a film format, roll film not only of package 120, but also 220 can be used. With a square negative format of 56 × 56 mm, this results in 12 or 24 photos. In Australia the camera was sold as the Hanimex 66 .

In addition to the light shaft finder , a prism attachment and a magnifying glass viewfinder can be used. The Pentacon Six has a focal plane shutter with shutter speeds from 1/1000 to 1 s. The shutter release is ergonomically located on the front of the camera. An automatic diaphragm is supported on the camera side .

A matching TTL prism has been manufactured since 1968 . From 1969 it was part of the standard equipment of the now called Pentacon Six TL camera, which was sold until Pentacon was liquidated in 1990.

The Czechoslovak police took from 1984 a modified Pentacon Six TL under the name Pentacon Six TLs for 18 shots in the format 38 mm × 45 mm to 120 film. It had a correspondingly modified field lens and film mask as well as film transport by hand wheel.

The camera itself is fully mechanical and robust, but often suffers from encrusted lubricant due to its age. It is also important to ensure that the film is inserted very precisely, as otherwise the construction can easily cause image overlaps.

The Kiev 6C and Kiev 60 cameras formerly manufactured by the Ukrainian manufacturer Arsenal are based on the design of the Pentacon Six, but cannot be described as copies. The Exakta 66 is based on a number of the original basic components of the Pentacon Six, but in addition to cosmetic changes, it has above all a further developed lens connection.

P6 lens connector

With the Praktisix, a new bayonet connection for medium format lenses was introduced. This connection is known today as a P6 bayonet , P6 connection or Pentacon Six connection. The special lenses for the Exakta 66 are also downward compatible with the P6 connection.

The flange focal length (distance of the lens connection from the image plane) is 74.10 mm.

It is a clamping bayonet that is not locked by turning the lens itself, but by turning a clamping ring. The P6 bayonet was adopted by the Ukrainian camera manufacturer Arsenal for a range of medium format cameras similar to the Pentacon Six. Adapters from P6 to all other common camera types are available.

Lenses

Lenses with a P6 connector have been produced by several manufacturers. Older versions do not yet have multiple remuneration ("MC"). Most of the lenses offered in Germany come from Zeiss or Meyer-Optik , Görlitz.

  • Carl Zeiss Jena
    • Flektogon 4/50; Flektogon 2.8 / 65; Tessar 2.8 / 80; Biometar 2.8 / 80; Biometar 2.8 / 120; Sonnar 2.8 / 180; Sonnar 4/300; Mirror lens 5.6 / 1000
  • Meyer-Optik Görlitz (later Pentacon )
    • Primotar E 3.5 / 80; Trioplan 2.8 / 105; Priotar 3.5 / 135; Priotar 3.5 / 180; Telemegor (also Pentacon) 4/300; Telemegor 5.5 / 400; Pentacon (and Prakticar) 5.6 / 500

Other manufacturers of lenses with a P6 connection are Arsenal and Heinz Kilfit. Lenses for the Exakta 66 will still fit - with minor restrictions, e.g. B. from Schneider Bad Kreuznach.

Web links

Commons : Pentacon Six  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. W. Mesow; H. Kuhn: Photography. 150 years of cameras from Dresden. VEB Pentacon Dresden 1988, p. 27
  2. ^ WG Heyde: Das Praktisix book . Fotokinoverlag Leipzig 1964, p. 22
  3. a b c d Dresden cameras: series of the Pentacon six
  4. see the differences at Rolf-Dieter Baier fototechnik: Comparison of the Pentacon Six and similar cameras
  5. ^ Günther Kadlubek; Rudolf Hillebrand: Kadlubek's lens catalog. Over 6,000 lenses and more than 600 photos - with current market prices for classic and second-hand lenses from the current production of all original camera and third-party manufacturers. Edition Photo-Deal, Neuss 2000, ISBN 3-89506-195-6 , p. 52 f.
  6. Dresden cameras: Lenses for the Pentacon six