Upgrade to a P67 ii ?

Hi all,

I've currently got a P67 version 1 body (with MLU) together with a 45mm, 55mm and 105mm lenses. I'm pretty happy with the camera and would like to stick with the system for the time being for landscape/travel photography. The system sits alongside my Nikon 35mm equipment which I use for more walkabout/street shooting.

My question is whether it is worth upgrading to a newer v2 body of the P67? A couple of the drawbacks I find with the P67i are:

1) Metering with the 'light needle' is not always accurate (hence I usually carry a spotmeter around with me)
2) Sometimes the shutter will 'lock up' even when the battery has not died (may just be an issue with my particular P67i body)
3) No 'in viewfinder' exposure information so have to always recheck the lens to see what I'm shooting
4) No Aperture Priority mode for metering (the mode my Nikon camera is always left in)

I see the prices for P67ii bodies are considerably more than the P67i ones... Is it worth the price to upgrade? Any opinions welcomed !

Rgds
Rick

Hello Rick, welcome to the forum

Certainly the 67ii will allow you to shoot in Aperture Priority (assuming you're using the AE Pentaprism and not the WLF) and the metering is a more sophisticated affair with a choice of matrix, centre weighted and spot modes combined with exposure compensation of +/-3EV in 1/3EV steps; just like most modern SLR's really.

I haven't personally used a 67ii but I'd be suprised if there was any aperture information in the viewfinder, simply because there's no electronic communication between body and lens. On Pentax 35mm SLRs with a similar set up there's usually a small "judas window" on the front of the prism that allows you to see the selected aperture through the viewfinder, however, I've just looked at a picture of a 67ii and I can't see such a device there. You can download PDF manuals from the Pentax website for all current and previous models though so it might be worth double checking to be sure.

The shutter locking isn't something I've heard of and it may indicate your camera is in need of a service. If you're in the UK then get in touch with www.harrowtechnical.co.uk and I'm sure you'll find help there.

Finally, is it worth the upgrade? That really depends on how important the features you mention are to you. Given a certain lens at one end and a certain film emulsion at the other then the camera body is little more than a light-tight box for bringing them together. In other words an upgrade probably won't see any improvement in results, but those results may be easier / more convenient to achieve. How much you value the added convenience is something only you can answer.

Good luck!

Hi Rick,
The 67ii is a much improved version of previous 67 models. Gone is the old metering needle and instead you get a much more updated system that let you switch between spot, centre weighted or matrix metering with full aperture priority. On manual mode speeds from 4s to .1000s. On auto all those of course but also everything in between ( 1.7s or .45s for example)
Viewfinder information: shutter speed, film counter, exposure compensation, bar graph (on manual mode), metering system indicator but NO aperture indication.
When not using a tripod handling is also much improved with the addition of a handle and a correctly positioned shutter release button.
Is it worth the upgrade? If you are looking for added features then I will say yes. The results you will get will be exactly the same but as hefty1 says it will be easier / more convenient to achieve.
Regards
Joel

Thanks Joel & Hefty1 ! So now I just need to find one that is in good condition and reasonably priced... I think ebay and KEH are probably my best bets as well as the local 2nd hand stores here in Hong Kong.

Rgds
Rick