Bracketing on Pentax 67ii

Hi all,

I just took delivery of a Pentax 67ii body and am looking forward to going out and shooting with it. I do have a question though which hopefully someone here can help with.

I am in the habit of bracketing my exposures usually by 1/3 of a stop up and down. Previously with my Pentax 67i body I had to alter the aperture by the smallest 'click' on the lens (hopefully 1/3 or 1/2 stop) to get the appropriate bracketed exposure. This was because the shutter speed dial could only be adjusted by whole stops.

I see now with the Pentax 67ii there is an Exposure Compensation dial which has 1/3 stop measurements. Am I right in thinking now that in order to bracket effectively I can do the following:

1) Take original shot as indicated by lightmeter
2) Use the Exposure compensation dial to move up to +1/3 (one click) and take the bracketed (longer shutter speed)
3) Use the Exposure compensation dial to move down to -1/3 (one click) and take the bracketed (shorter shutter speed)

If so, does that mean that even though I myself cannot manually change the shutter speed by 1/3 stop on the shutter speed dial that the camera will work out the exact length of time needed to alter by 1/3 stop and adjust accordingly? I see that when I use the Exp. Compensation dial that on Aperture Priority mode the shutter speed in the viewfinder is changed to speeds which are not options on the Shutter Speed dial (eg, 1/6 second).

Thanks in advance for any help,

Rgds
Rick

Basically yes, the shutter on the 67ii is fully electronic and can operate at intermediate speeds when set by the camera (even though you can't select those speeds yourself in manual mode). Using the exposure compensation dial while keeping a fixed aperture value will force the camera into selecting those intermediate speeds.

Great, thanks. That's exactly what I need!
Rgds, Rick

Thanks for the answers. That's just what i need. I'm shooting a lot of landscapes/nature photography often in tricky lighting so i usually use my Pentax digital spotmeter for metering which i think will be more accurate than the camera meter. So now i think i know what i need to do:

1) Use spotmeter to obtain the 'correct' initial exposure. If required this may mean using the Exp. Comp. dial to set a speed which is not obtainable on the shutter speed dial (e.g. 1/6th sec)
2) Take the second (bracketed) shot adjust the Exp. Comp. dial up by 1 click (1/3 stp)
3) For the third (bracketed) shot adjust the Exp. Comp. dial down by 1 click (1/3 stp)

Hope that is correct now.

Out of interest, what Service Center modifications by Pentax are possible on a Pentax 67ii body? (maybe this topic deserves its own thread)

Rgds
Rick

What sort of modifications do you have in mind? And anything on offer may well depend on which country you live in too.

Actually I think I found the answer to this now. The following modifications can be made by Pentax to this camera:

1) Allow the ISO slider button to be used to adjust the shutter speed by half stops
2) Change the viewfinder digital display to show the aperture rather than film frame number
3) Change the self-timer between 10s, 20s, and 30s
4) Add an extra strap lug so that the camera can be carried 'horizontally'

The most useful mods for myself would be 1 and 2.

Cheers, Rick

I don't actually have a 67ii (although I'm currently saving for one ) so I don't know for sure, but you'll probably find a more extensive list will apply to the Japanese domestic market - as is often the way with camera manufacturers. But if you can get what you want done in your own country then that's a good start!

Thanks hefty. Just got a call back from the the company who take care of the Pentax Service centre stuff here in Hong Kong. Turns out they can make the modifications! Hooray... Will cost me around GBP 35/HKD 400...

Cheers, Rick