The Pentacon Six is a

single-lens reflex A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex" from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin le ...

(SLR)

medium format Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in photography and the related cameras and equipment that use film. Nowadays, the term applies to film and digital cameras that record images on media larger than the used in 35&nbs ...

camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...

system made by

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

manufacturer

Pentacon Pentacon is the company name of a camera manufacturer in Dresden, Germany. The name Pentacon is derived from the brand Contax of Zeiss Ikon Kamerawerke in Dresden and Pentagon, as a Pentaprism for Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras was for ...

from 1966 to 1992. The Six accepts lenses with the

Pentacon Six mount The Pentacon Six mount (commonly abbreviated to P6, or Б in Cyrillic script, Cyrillic) is a breech-lock bayonet lens mount originally used by several medium format (film), medium format single-lens reflex camera, single-lens reflex cameras from E ...

, a

breech-lock A breech-lock is a system for mounting camera lenses to camera bodies. The lens is attached to the camera by means of a rotating ring which is used to tighten the lens to the camera by friction. Other methods for mounting a lens to a camera incl ...

bayonet mount.

History

Praktisix

The Praktisix was manufactured by Kamera Werkstätten (KW). It is a 6×6 SLR modelled on contemporary 35 mm SLRs. It was followed by the Praktisix II and Praktisix IIA, all with minor, relatively cosmetic changes. They all have rather poor reliability, including poor frame spacing.

Pentacon Six

In 1959 Kamera Werkstätten became VEB Kamera and KinoWerke Dresden. In 1964 they became VEB Pentacon and in 1970, Kombinat VEB Pentacon. With the unification of the East German photographic industry the Praktisix was modified to become the Pentacon Six. Frame spacing was improved through the use of a roller with teeth that is turned by the film as it advances; when the correct length of film has advanced, the mechanism disengages. When the TTL-metered prism was introduced, the letters 'TL' were added to the name plate but no other changes were made to the camera body. The Pentacon Six was imported into the U.S. as the Hanimex Praktica 66 by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n distributor Hanimex. This was to get around U.S. laws prohibiting direct imports from communist countries. The Pentacon Six TLs is a version modified to shoot 4×4.5 cm frames for photo IDs.

Exakta 66

The Exakta 66 is based on the Pentacon Six but was made in West Germany by

Exakta GmbH The Exakta (sometimes Exacta) was a camera produced by the ''Ihagee Kamerawerk'' in Dresden, Germany, founded as the Industrie und Handels-Gesellschaft mbH, in 1912. The inspiration and design of both the VP Exakta and the Kine Exakta are the wo ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. The body is rubber coated, the film advance lever moves through a shorter angle, and it has a TTL-metered prism coupled to new

Schneider Schneider may refer to: Hospital * Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel People * Schneider (surname) Companies and organizations * G. Schneider & Sohn, a Bavarian brewery company * Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, the former owner of th ...

lenses. The Exakta 66 is not to be confused with several earlier cameras with nearly exactly the same name. These Exakta 6x6 cameras were produced by Ihagee,

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, in the pre-war years and with interruptions until 1954.

Viewfinders

The Praktisix and Pentacon Six come with a simple

waist-level finder The waist-level finder (WLF), also called waist-level viewfinder (WLVF), is a type of viewfinder that can be used on twin lens and single lens reflex cameras. While it is typically found on older medium format cameras, some newer and/or 35 mm c ...

with a flip-up cover. A non-metered prism was available for the Pentacon Six, with a TTL-metered prism produced later. A third-party adaptor allows the metered prism from the Kiev 60 (which is based externally on the Pentacon Six) to be attached to most Pentacon Sixes and Exakta 66's. It is brighter, shows more of the view, and is available new. The same adaptor also allows the Kiev 60 waist-level finder to be used. This finder is reportedly inspired by the one found on Rolleiflex TLR cameras and is also better than the original Pentacon finder.

History

Praktisix

Pentacon Six

Exakta 66

Viewfinders

References

External links