Pentax 6×7 / 67
Pentax · Pentax 67 mount · 6×7cm on 120 or 220 film; 55×70mm actual per Pentax's 67II catalogue, 56×70mm per English Wikipedia; fixed back with a 120/220 selector · 1969
single source, unconfirmed via machine translation — corrections welcomeKnown as “バケペン (Bakepen)”
Also known as: Pentax 6x7 · Pentax 6×7 · Asahi Pentax 6x7 · Asahi Pentax 6×7 · Pentax 67 · Pentax 6x7 MLU · 6x7 · 6×7 · ペンタックス 6×7 · ペンタックス67 · アサヒペンタックス6×7 · バケペン
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asahi Pentax 6×7 (1969) | Pentax 67 | 1969–1976 | — | — |
| Asahi Pentax 6×7 with mirror lock-up (1976) | Pentax 67 | 1976–1989 | — | — |
| Pentax 67 (1989) | Pentax 67 | 1989 | — | — |
- The ¥137,500 launch price with the 105mm f/2.4 comes from one Japanese enthusiast page and is contradicted by Encounter magazine's ¥53,800, whose basis is not stated; neither is a Pentax document. The US$769.30 is a 1973 list price, four years after launch, not a launch price.
- Ricoh Imaging's product-history pages could not be reached from this container (404 on every path tried); the Ricoh 67II catalogue and product page are used instead for the 1969 debut and the format figures. pentaxforums.com returned 403 on every page, so its 6×7/67/67II comparison is not cited.
- The 1969 body's weight is given as 1.29kg by camera-wiki, Akagi Koichi and Encounter magazine, and the MLU body as 1.21kg by camera-wiki alone; Dan Cuny weighed his at 5 lb 5 oz (about 2.4kg) with prism and lens, matching Akagi's 2,380g and Wikipedia's 2.3kg.
- No production figures and no serial-number tables are published for any 6×7 or 67 body in the sources consulted.
How to tell them apart
- ASAHI PENTAX on the finder cover and 6×7 on the shoulder = 1969 or 1976 body; PENTAX and 67 = 1989 body (Ishii Camera)
- Mirror-up control on the right side of the lens mount = 1976 or later (Ishii Camera; camera-wiki)
- TTL bodies: the prism carries a coupling arm reaching down to the shutter-speed dial (Ishii Camera)
- Dual bayonet: inner mount for 35mm to 300mm lenses, outer four-flange mount for 400mm to 1000mm (camera-wiki; Wikipedia)
- Wooden left-hand grip fits the two posts on the front of the body and carries a cold shoe (Wikipedia; Dan Cuny)
Asahi Pentax 6×7 (1969):
- ASAHI PENTAX on the finder cover and the AOCo hexagon badge on the body; 6×7 on the right shoulder (Ishii Camera; Camera no Naniwa)
- No mirror-up lever or button on the right side of the lens mount: the 1976 body added it (Ishii Camera; camera-wiki)
- Dealers write 'no lockup' or 'original' for this body (KEH product listings)
Asahi Pentax 6×7 with mirror lock-up (1976):
- Mirror-up control on the right side of the lens mount: camera-wiki describes a small flush button under the numeral 7 of the 6×7 badge, Ishii Camera a switch on the right of the mount
- Otherwise the same ASAHI PENTAX finder cover and 6×7 shoulder marking as the 1969 body
Pentax 67 (1989):
- PENTAX alone on the finder cover, no ASAHI, and 67 rather than 6×7 on the right shoulder (Ishii Camera)
- The AOCo hexagon logo is gone from the body and prism (Camera no Naniwa)
- Multiple-exposure capability, which the 6×7 bodies lack (camera-wiki)
- TTL pentaprism of this generation meters with a silicon photodiode rather than CdS (camera-wiki)
- Asahi Pentax 6×7 (1969): The first version, body 184 × 101 × 91mm and 1.29kg on camera-wiki's table, with a cloth focal-plane shutter timed electronically from a 6V PX28 cell and no way to fire without it. English Wikipedia records that early bodies were criticised for a friction film-advance system that slipped with age and spaced frames badly, and that Pentax later replaced the rubberised counter roller with a smooth metal one and modified the transport parts. No self-timer and no multiple exposure on any 6×7 (camera-wiki).
- Asahi Pentax 6×7 with mirror lock-up (1976): camera-wiki's table gives this body as 177 × 101 × 91mm and 1.21kg against the 1969 body's 1.29kg. English Wikipedia notes that the mirror-up switch also turned on the main power, which is the source of the battery-drain warnings about leaving the mirror up. The 220 frame count dropped from 21 to 20 with the new clutch plate and metal counter roller (Wikipedia). The TTL pentaprism of this era uses a CdS cell (camera-wiki).
- Pentax 67 (1989): The rename came with the brand change from Asahi Pentax to Pentax; Japanese Wikipedia's list of Pentax medium-format SLRs dates it to November 1989, and Camera no Naniwa says flatly that the 6×7 and the 67 are the same model. What did change: knobs and buttons were restyled in the same positions, the shutter was revised so that bulb now draws current (Pentax offered a modification to correct it), and Jo Geier adds plastic internal parts to save weight and a redesigned film transport. camera-wiki lists 185 × 108 × 92mm and gives no weight. English Wikipedia, Kosmo Foto, Shoot It With Film and Jo Geier all put the launch in 1990; see `disputed`.
Specifications
- Format
- 6×7cm on 120 or 220 film; 55×70mm actual per Pentax's 67II catalogue, 56×70mm per English Wikipedia; fixed back with a 120/220 selector · 10 on 120; 21 on 220 at first, 20 after the counter cam was changed (Wikipedia, camera-wiki) exposures
- Finder
- interchangeable: plain pentaprism, TTL pentaprism, folding waist-level hood, rigid magnifying hood · 90% coverage
- Shutter
- horizontal-travel cloth focal plane, electronically timed; the camera does not fire without a battery, and does not fire without film loaded (camera-wiki) · 1s–1/1000, B and X settings on the dial · flash sync X at 1/30 and slower; X and FP PC terminals, no hot shoe (Vintage Camera Digest) · no self-timer
- Film advance
- single-stroke lever, 180° (Akagi Koichi); the advance does not lock after cocking, so a second stroke wastes a frame
- Back
- fixed hinged back with a 120/220 selector; spool knobs on the base pull out to release the spools; no interchangeable magazines
- Meter
- none in the body; the TTL pentaprism finder meters through the lens, CdS on the 6×7 bodies and silicon photodiode on the 67
- Motor drive
- Not compatible — No motor or winder was offered for the 6×7 or 67
- Weight
- 1290 g
- Dimensions
- 184 × 101 × 91 (6×7) and 177 × 101 × 91 (6×7 MLU) and 185 × 108 × 92 (67), body only, from camera-wiki's table; weight_g is body only (Akagi Koichi; Encounter magazine); about 2.3–2.4kg with plain prism and 105mm f/2.4 mm
- Country
- Japan
- Original price
- ¥137,500 with the 105mm f/2.4 at launch in 1969 (tomshome.sakura.ne.jp, one source); Encounter magazine prints ¥53,800 without saying what it covers; US list price $769.30 with the 105mm f/2.4 in 1973 (Vintage Camera Digest) (today $5,440)
- Accessories
- TTL pentaprism finder (CdS on the 6×7, silicon photodiode on the 67); plain pentaprism; folding waist-level hood; rigid magnifying hood · Wooden left-hand grip with cold shoe, fitting the two front posts · 67 extension tubes for the inner and outer bayonet; helicoid extension ring; auto bellows; reverse adapter · Focusing screens (microprism, split-image, matte, grid); right-angle finder; 2× magnifier; dioptre correction lenses · Flash bracket AF400T; rear converters 1.4× and 2× · Adapters for 67 lenses on 645 and K-mount bodies
90% coverage with the eye-level finder (Akagi Koichi, Photo & Culture Tokyo). The TTL prism couples to the aperture by a chain running into the finder bay (Wikipedia); Camera no Naniwa's warning is to take the lens off before fitting or removing the TTL prism, or the chain can break
Where sources disagree
- First
- November 1989 — Japanese Wikipedia's list of Pentax medium-format SLRs; 1989 — camera-wiki, Vintage Camera Digest, Camera no Naniwa
- 1990 — English Wikipedia, Kosmo Foto, Shoot It With Film, Jo Geier, Dan Cuny
Better supported: 1989
The Japanese sources give a month; the English ones give a year and may be recording availability outside Japan.
- Weight (grams)
- 1.29kg body only for the 1969 body — camera-wiki, Akagi Koichi, Encounter magazine
- 1.21kg body only for the 1976 MLU body — camera-wiki alone
Better supported: 1290
camera-wiki is the only source to give the MLU body a separate, lower weight, and it gives none for the 67.
- Original price
- ¥137,500 with the 105mm f/2.4, 1969 — tomshome.sakura.ne.jp
- ¥53,800, 1969 — Encounter magazine, basis not stated
Neither figure comes from a Pentax document; the numeric yen field is left empty.
- Exposures on 220
- 21 — camera-wiki for the 6×7 and the 67II; Akagi Koichi for the 6×7
- 20 — camera-wiki for the 6×7 MLU and 67; Wikipedia says the count went from 21 to 20 with the new counter cam
Both are right for different bodies: the counter cam changed during the MLU era and the 67II went back to 21.
What reviewers say
- Daniel J. Schneider, Emulsive (blog) — A 1982 mirror-lock-up body with the 45mm f/4: giant finder, easy advance and a surprisingly accurate meter, and negatives that justify the weight; against it, an advance that does not lock and will overlap frames, total dependence on the battery, a noisy mirror and a camera that wants more servicing than a 35mm SLR. Recommended for SLR users who want large-format detail. His article states a 1/250 X-sync, which no other source supports.
- Alastair Bird, Emulsive (blog) — Disliked it on first pick-up for the weight, then got used to it faster than any camera in recent memory: the fast lenses snap into focus, the metering beat his Mamiya 6, and the results are excellent. The slow sync and full-stop-only adjustments are the complaints.
- Peter Stout, Shoot It With Film (blog) — A serious camera for landscape and portrait work: the 105mm f/2.4 is sharp wide open and 1/1000 suits fast lenses. No double exposure on the 6×7, a dim stock screen (he recommends a Maxwell replacement), maddening film loading, no interchangeable backs and 1/30 sync. He prices the MLU and 67 bodies at $300–500 and the 67II at $1,500–2,000, and calls the left-hand grip essential.
- Rock, 35mmc (blog) — Bought in May 2018, used five times in twenty months and sold: the lenses and the negatives were wonderful, but the camera was too bulky to be handy and its images too clean for the imperfect pictures he wanted to make.
- Jo Geier (blog) — Dealer's guide to the three bodies: the 67 of 1990 brought an improved shutter, plastic internals and a new film transport, the 67II of 1999 put the meter and aperture-priority AE in the finder and stretched exposures to four seconds, and the 67II's electronics are the thing to worry about in cold or damp.
- 眠り猫 (Encounter Magazine) (blog) — A user's account of the TTL 6×7: it records light and colour as the eye sees them and the finder has depth, and the size, weight and loud shutter are part of the affection; carrying it all day hurts. Quotes 1.29kg body only and 1.76kg with the TTL prism. via machine translation — corrections welcome
History
The Asahi Pentax 6×7 is a 35mm SLR scaled up until it takes 120 film. Shown as a prototype called the Pentax 220 at Photokina in 1966 and sold from July 1969, it has a horizontal cloth focal-plane shutter running 1 second to 1/1000, interchangeable finders on top, a lever wind on the right, and a fixed back with a switch for 120 or 220. Pentax’s own catalogue for the 67II calls it the first medium-format SLR to give an erect, unreversed finder image, and that is the whole idea: hold it at the eye like a Spotmatic and get a negative four and a half times the size. The price was the weight, 1.29kg for the body alone and about 2.4kg with the plain prism and the 105mm f/2.4, and the nickname in Japan, バケペン, is about nothing else.
The shutter is electronically timed and the camera does not fire without a 6V PX28 cell; it does not fire without film loaded either, which catches people testing a body in a shop. Flash sync is 1/30 and slower through X and FP PC terminals, with no hot shoe. There is no meter in the body: the TTL pentaprism finder meters through the lens and couples to the aperture ring by a chain that runs into the finder bay, and Camera no Naniwa’s rule is to take the lens off before the prism goes on or comes off, because the chain breaks otherwise. The 1969 prism uses a CdS cell; the 67’s uses a silicon photodiode. Lenses fit a double bayonet, an inner mount for 35mm to 300mm and an outer four-flange mount for the 400mm to 1000mm glass.
Three versions, and two of them are the same camera. The 1969 body has no mirror lock-up, and English Wikipedia records that early bodies were criticised for a friction film advance that slipped with age and spaced frames badly, which Pentax addressed with a smooth metal counter roller in place of the rubberised one; the count on 220 dropped from 21 to 20 with the new counter cam. In 1976 a mirror-up control appeared on the right side of the lens mount, and the switch also turns the power on, so a body left with the mirror up is a body draining its battery. In November 1989, with the brand change from Asahi Pentax to Pentax, the camera became the Pentax 67: PENTAX alone on the finder cover, 67 on the shoulder, the AOCo hexagon gone, restyled knobs, a revised shutter whose bulb setting now draws current (Pentax sold a modification to fix it), multiple exposure, and the silicon prism. English-language sources, Kosmo Foto, Jo Geier and Shoot It With Film among them, date the 67 to 1990 instead.
Identification is by the badges and the mount. ASAHI PENTAX on the finder and 6×7 on the shoulder mean a 1969 or 1976 body; look at the right of the lens mount for the mirror-up control to tell those two apart. PENTAX and 67 mean the 1989 body. A TTL body shows a coupling arm reaching from the prism down to the shutter-speed dial. The wooden left-hand grip, which fits the two posts on the front and carries a cold shoe, was sold for all three and turns up with any of them.
Buying one means testing what the reviews complain about. Mirror shock is real, and every source says to use the lock-up on a tripod at slow speeds; the advance does not lock after cocking, so a second stroke wastes a frame; a slipping early advance shows up as uneven spacing on the negatives; the battery is everything, so a dead cell is a dead camera and a stiff shutter release lock is normal. Loading needs a flat surface and the spool knobs on the base pulled out and lined up. Prices are the other consideration: Shoot It With Film put an MLU or 67 body at $300 to 500 and a 67II at $1,500 to 2,000, and Jo Geier’s advice is that the 67II’s electronics, not the older bodies’ mechanics, are the thing that fails in cold and damp. What the sources do not give is any production figure or serial table, and the launch price is two Japanese numbers that disagree.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Photographs
Live listings
Asking price, USD: a median of $630 across 18 fixed-price listings on 2026-10-19 (middle half $350–$890). Tracked since 2026-09-19, 7 days: up 118% from $290.
By day
| Date | Median | Middle half | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-19 | $630 | $350–$890 | 18 |
| 2026-10-18 | $600 | $360–$890 | 24 |
| 2026-10-17 | $600 | $360–$890 | 24 |
| 2026-10-16 | $630 | $300–$890 | 19 |
| 2026-10-15 | $630 | $350–$830 | 22 |
| 2026-09-21 | $400 | $290–$890 | 19 |
| 2026-09-19 | $290 | $100–$650 | 25 |
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
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Listings updated 2026-10-19. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.