The Pentacon six TL Camera

Taken with Pentacon six TL

I don't shoot medium format any more. This page is probably very out of date.

The Pentacon six TL is an affordable medium-format camera, widely available on the used market.

Pros

Cons

Where to Buy

I bought mine directly from George Casey of Praha Camera (eBay: praha_camera). Other people I have dealt with are:

There are many other sellers of Pentacon six and compatible equipment. You're looking for an outfit that has had a CLA (clean, lubricate, adjust) and/or a good return policy.

Links


Medium Format On A Budget Productions present …

Make your own 120 Film Cans

I've often wondered why the relatively tough little metal-clad 35mm roll comes in a neat plastic case, while the bigger and more delicate 120 roll has nothing more than foil to protect it. You can buy 120 film cans, but they are expensive after-market things.

Since I also shoot 35mm, I tend to end up with a lot of empty film cans. Some brands of film, I noticed, have quite different can diameters. Fuji seems to have the narrowest, Ilford next, and then Agfa the widest. A Fuji can slips quite neatly inside an Agfa can — in fact, if you bore a small hole in the bottom of an Agfa, fill it with water, and slide a Fuji can in as a plunger, it acts as quite an effective single-shot water pistol. But I digress …

But best of all, I discovered that a Fuji can is a tight interference fit into an Ilford can. Since I knew that a 120 spool is a smaller diameter than a 35mm roll, and is less than twice the length, I knew I could do something with this.


ilford and fuji film cans, knife.You will need:


fuji can with end sliced off.Slice the end off the Fuji can. It helps to poke a hole in the side of the can a couple of millimetres up from the end, and then start slicing where you made the hole.


fuji can jammed in ilford can.Jam the now baseless Fuji can into the Ilford can, and push it down to the desire length. It really helps if you take the lid off the Fuji can, as otherwise you'd be working against air compression. It also helps if you have a spare 120 spool handy, to check that you haven't pushed the two cans too far in to be useful.


120 film can in use!And there you are! It might be rather rough and ready, but it works. I don't know how durable or waterproof these things are, but they'll afford considerably more protection than having them rolling about loose in your camera bag.

Copyright © 02003–02006 Stewart C. Russell, Scarborough, Ontario.

Updated 25 June 02006