Hello Sorry for the delay in replying. Glad to hear you got a Pentacon Six TL. The slow shutter speeds engage the slow speeds mechanism, which makes a different noise. This is normal and is the case with many mechanical cameras. The only precaution (with all speeds) is that when you advance the film, return the lever with the thumb of your right hand, instead of letting it return on its own. This will protect the mechanism.

Glad it was helpful. You can get a good idea of shutter speed accuracy by shooting test pictures, especially with slide film, using a range of speeds, compensating by changing the lens aperture by one stop each time. Good shutter testers are expensive. It could cost you less to take the camera to a camera service centre for a check.

good job thanks

Thank you for your two comments and the suggestion. Very interesting. My only concern would be that as the backing paper on its own is obviously not as thick as the backing paper plus film, one is changing a variable in the loading test. Of course, so long as the teeth on the spindle grip the backing paper and don't slip, it should work fine and give an accurate indication. BTW, I have just shot films on two Pentacon Six cameras that I don't normally use, and both of them gave perfect spacing.

hi, thanks a lot for your help. You've been extremely helpful and attentive :) I will certainly bear those points in mind when I have chance to load the second roll of film into my Pentacon Six. Lens-wise, I have a Flektogon 50mm in nice conditions. However the aperture ring is a bit loose. It somewhat clicks at each f-stop but certainly very far from having the normal tension that any aperture ring should have. The blades still responsive though. So is it a big problem?

This is a rare problem but I did meet it on one camera bought via eBay. I sent it to Pentacon Service in Dresden for a full service & upgrade (Rollei focussing screen, Mirror Pre-Release/MLU) and they fixed this problem at the same time. See their contact details on my website via the FAQ page. OR: The post on the top plate of the camera right is mounted with an excentric screw. If you remove the leather and loosen the screw, you can rotate the post a little and so reduce the throw of the lever.

Sorry to hear of the problem, and unfortunately I don't have a tip, as I have never experienced this. I think that the only answer is to take or send the camera to a repair technician who knows the camera.

Thanks for your answer :) I got my P6 TL today. Your video helps a lot. I have a question though, hearing so much about how fragile the film advance mechanism and the advance lever of the P6 is, do you have any tip to avoid a disheartening breakdown? Plus, with the camera, I notice that there is some spring tension at low shutter speeds, are they normal? It scares me when the springs make that rattling sound. Is there anything I should bear in mind when setting and using the camera at low speed?

That's the idea - if it gives you the right exposure for the lighting situation, of course. With the standard 80mm lens, at 1/30 sec and slower you should use a tripod (possibly even for 1/60 sec, unless you have very steady hands, adopt a good posture (feet slightly apart) and hold your breath during the exposure).

Great video, thank you. Can I somehow test the shutter speed?

I knew that my Pentacon Six was rare jewel! :-) Thank you very much for taking the time to answer to my questions. Your help and advices are priceless. I will check further about the possibilities and take my decision. Thanks again and all my best wishes! Fabien

Hello The film pressure plate in the camera back is mounted on springs. So it can press both 120 film and 220 film by the right amount so that in both cases the sensitive surface of the film is held flat against the guide rails above and below the film gate. It doesn't matter that with 120 film there is backing paper that causes the pressure plate to be further back than with 220 film; what counts is the front of the film. I think that some manufrs added different settings as a sales feature.

Hello I appreciate your comment & understand the reasons for it. But if one has just bought a 2nd-hand camera and wants to shoot some unrepeatable event, it would be wise to test it first. Also, you may have a chance to check spacing BEFORE buying the camera. Of course, spacing is only one possible problem with a camera, but it is the problem most claimed for the Pentacon Six, and it is usually unfounded - hence this test, which is often carried out by camera repairers before stripping it down.

Спасибо за очень интересное видио, я поклонник этой камеры, так же имею в собственности прекрасный экземпляр.

Your Flektogon certainly sounds very usable. However, perhaps it would benefit from a service, which should solve the problem. See the repairers page on my website (find it via the FAQ page) for suggested repairers in various countries.

Hello It is often possible to obtain 13 frames with 120 film (and up to 27 frames with 220 film), but this extra film length at both ends is designed to be used by the processing lab, so if you start before the start point (double-headed arrow on backing paper) or shoot after the 12th frame (or 24th frame with 220 film) , these shots may be damaged by film clips used to hold the film during processing. TRA"Mr Pentacon Six"

Hi, I'm having some question in regards of using 220 film on the Pentacon Six. How does the camera handle the different thickness of the two kinds of film? Because normally on other medium format cameras, they have dual mode which enable you to adjust the pressure plate. There's no such thing on the Pentacon Six. So does using 220 film mean that I am forgoing the film flatness?

HI sir, i ve got a Pentacon Six, which the mirror is jam. the mirror won't stay opening but jump back to the original place when i select B mode. do you have any hint for this problem? thank you

Sorry, I have to separate my questions into 2 posts. When I advance the film, it appears to be rather stiff, especially when it gets to the end of its travel just about an inch away from the "tab" that stops the film advance lever. Is that normal? I'm quite nervous even though I have had some experience with the Prak, which I find quite similar to the P6, but of course I do not wish to take risk with the P6 at all

NB Marco Kröger has a deep insight about cam-constructions Praktina, Praktisix and P6. in german only. Vario Pancolar here dont know if link is on YT. go to website.