Travis Estell

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Pentax 67II

Gear & Tools

Travis Estell August 28, 2023

Photograph of a Pentax 67II camera, taken by Alex Luyckx.
Photo of a Pentax 67II courtesy of Alex Luyckx

The Pentax 67II is a medium format film camera with a very dedicated fanbase for good reason, but it comes with a few tradeoffs.

Like other cameras with “67” in their name, it exposes a 6×7 centimeter negative for each shot that can be printed very large with excellent quality. But, you only get 10 shots on a roll of medium format 120 film.

It’s an SLR, meaning that you are looking through a mirror and series of prisms and out the lens when you look through the viewfinder, allowing for precise compositions. But, that makes the camera extremely large and heavy compared to a rangefinder camera that shoots the same format.

In early 2019, I picked up a full Pentax 67II kit with three lenses: a wide 55mm f/4, normal 105mm f/2.4, and telephoto 200mm f/4. I took the camera on several trips and carried it around my neighborhood a handful of times. I enjoyed the results that I got, but found myself not wanting to take it out very often due to its size and weight. The camera body and 105mm lens barely fit in my camera bag, and I rarely used the other two lenses, which were even larger. It seems like an excellent camera for someone primarily shooting in a studio and wanting the best possible image quality, but a poor choice for someone like myself who primarily shoots travel and street photography. So, I decided to sell it in 2023 and use the proceeds for my next adventure in medium format photography, which I hope to write about soon.


The following images are a few of my favorites taken with the Pentax 67II:

The 2019 Bockfest 5K [Kodak Portra 400]

Faded wayfinding sign in Cincinnati’s Queensgate neighborhood [Kodak Portra 160]
Fueling the American Spirit® [Kodak Portra 800]
Main Street in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood [Kodak Ektar 100]
Main Street in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood [Kodak Portra 800]
Mural on Pleasant Street in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood [Kodak Ektar 100]
Demolition of the historic Hudepohl Brewery [Kodak Ektar 100]
Construction of The Blonde, a new apartment building in Downtown Cincinnati [Kodak Portra 160]
Old and new USPS logos in Downtown Cincinnati [Fuji Pro 400H]
John and Liz [Kodak Portra 800]
Wheeling, WV [Kodak Portra 160]
Freedom’s A&W in Union City, OH [Fuji Pro 400H]
Palm Springs, CA [Kodak Portra 160]
Rob, Justin, myself, and Phil in Halloran Springs, CA [Kodak Ektar 100]
Seven Magic Mountains, an art installation just outside Las Vegas [Kodak Ektar 100]
Roy’s Motel in Amboy, CA [Kodak Ektar 100]
Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada [Kodak Ektar 100]
TigerFest in Bellevue, KY [Kodak Portra 800]
Ronny at TigerFest in Bellevue, KY [Kodak Portra 800]

Thanks for reading, and if you want more, check out my full gallery of Pentax 67II images on Flickr.

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