Great system - glad you found it and like it! Also nice to see some current content on it. I own all three versions - the original Kowa Six, Kowa 6MM, and the Super 66. They are great cameras when they work properly. Unfortunately a lot of ones on the market suffer from not being used in years and have sticky mirror returns, slow lens leaf shutters, and almost all need seals. I've learned to work on them in the past year and have replaced seals and worked on other aspects. They are great cameras but just about all need a little work and TLC unless you get one that someone else took great care of and used occasionally. Hope to see more content from you on it in the future!
Hi Jeremy, I just found out about this system 15 minutes ago :) and it looks very interesting. I like 6x6 cameras and have a few that I like to play with. Re your comment on having the three versions, would you mind telling me about their differences and which one would be the better purchase. I'm interested in actually using them even if it takes forever to take a pic and/or get used to all of their kinks. Anything you could tell me about their differences would be very much appreciated. Also if you could mention which one is more reliable and which one has more functionality I'd appreciate. 🙏🙏
@@SuperRandomHobbies There's a lot of info out there if you do some google searching, but essentially the Six is the first version, the SixMM is the second version that incorporated the ability to do multiple exposures, and the Super 66 is the 3rd version that incorporated a removable back that allowed to use different types of film mid-roll (to compete against the Hassy's and Bronica's with the same ability). The Super 66 is the most complicated mechanically, with lots of moving parts in both the body and the back. The "most reliable" version of the three is the first one, the original Six. However, all of them have their issues if not maintained and/or sat on a shelf for years. The Kowa Six lenses fit all three versions. The later black lenses are better than the earlier silver ones in my opinion, and are less prone to shutter blade issues. While I love using them, to be honest you are better off putting your money into another 6x6 camera like a Mamiya C220 TLR or a Hasselblad 500cm.
Kowa was and I think still is a major player in the Japanese optical industry. After it got out of the Super 66 and its various 35mm models, It "focused" on lenses for the commercial (view cameras, enlarging) and for commercial TV fixed and zoom lenses. As to the 66 cameras, the body design was unique, very compact, and a bit funky. The lenses are superb.
Back in 1999 I bought into a complete Kowa Super 66 kit, and really enjoyed it. Some advice… avoid using the crank on the winder. Trust me, the gears in these are not like those in hassies, mamiyas or bronicas. I ended up sending mine for service to a guy in California. $130 to replace the stripped gears. Not bad for a system that has been out of production for 40+ years.
I'm very familiar with the Kowa Super 66. I shot all of my weddings on it. for the reception I used a sunpak auto 611 thyristor flash. Great camera with a square negative.
one tip, Don't just give up on the prism, all the options have their place!, the waist level is good for hand-holding, the Prism is the ONLY way to do tripod shots cleanly (not being awkward), as you are at the right level instantly, not having to use a ladder to get your head higher than the camera. One other tip, for most of these MF bohemoths the prism is the only way of 'accessorising' this system with a lightmeter, as they are commonly built in to the prism options, NOT an automatic meter, like a dslr, but one that is independent of the camera, aka you have to set shutter and apature, the meter just tells you what to set acording to the prevailing lighting conditions.
Lovely photo walk with a Kowa. The pictures look great I like the contrast and colours. The 85mm looks sharp too. I've noticed you have a filter in front of your lens, what filter is it and is it reason why your photos look so nice and rich in colours?
i had the whole system, all the lenses, prisms, doo-dad's but I just couldn't get really sharp negatives out of it which I attributed to mirror slap since it is a big mirror....I had 6 bodies and sold everything to get into a Mamiya 6 X7 w/ NO mirror which gave me the negatives I was looking for, now it's all digital for me. I have $6,000.00 in darkroom equipment up in my attic, completely useless. with the Kowa, every body knows what you are doing, the thing is so big. 10 shots, change film....not to mention getting film across international borders. the lenses were beautiful though, seemed well made, I don't know how sharp though, I never did any tests.
Yes, at 13:42 that is an issue, but one solution, Always bring a Tripod with you, that way, if the light gets too low, you CAN go below 1/125th sec. SAFELY (NB: all MF lenses are very easy to create motion blur, as for them they are ALL essentially a telephoto length lenses from a 35 mm format perspective (50 mm = 80mm in MF, {75 for 6x4.5/ 80for 6x6/90[ or 127] for 6x7}) so ANY shutter speed bellow 1/125th generates motion blur, esp. if you are a beginner, and not 'steady on your feet'. one more tip, if the camera has a mirror lock up, USE it, the mirrors are large, and any 'slap' causes vibration, esp. in the region of 1/2,1/4,1/8,1/15 th of a second!; and use a cable release, the LESS the contact between the camera and your body the steadier the shot.
That is an unusual camera, made for a short time, as 127 film and its use died in the latter 1960s. It has a single fixed lens, 4-element Tessar copy design, with accessory supplemental lenses to convert usage to moderate wide angle or telephoto. Amateur oriented as a slide camera. (127 film makes 4x4cm slides, which can project perfectly from a standard 35mm projector.) The Kowa Super 6 or 66 models are a totally different class of camera system.
![Who Wrote a Short Story That Seriously Disturbed a Teacher? | Dirty Laundry x Smosh [Full Episode]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bvHAy_rKoEI/mqdefault.jpg)
Great system - glad you found it and like it! Also nice to see some current content on it. I own all three versions - the original Kowa Six, Kowa 6MM, and the Super 66. They are great cameras when they work properly. Unfortunately a lot of ones on the market suffer from not being used in years and have sticky mirror returns, slow lens leaf shutters, and almost all need seals. I've learned to work on them in the past year and have replaced seals and worked on other aspects. They are great cameras but just about all need a little work and TLC unless you get one that someone else took great care of and used occasionally. Hope to see more content from you on it in the future!
Hi Jeremy, I just found out about this system 15 minutes ago :) and it looks very interesting. I like 6x6 cameras and have a few that I like to play with. Re your comment on having the three versions, would you mind telling me about their differences and which one would be the better purchase. I'm interested in actually using them even if it takes forever to take a pic and/or get used to all of their kinks. Anything you could tell me about their differences would be very much appreciated. Also if you could mention which one is more reliable and which one has more functionality I'd appreciate. 🙏🙏
@@SuperRandomHobbies There's a lot of info out there if you do some google searching, but essentially the Six is the first version, the SixMM is the second version that incorporated the ability to do multiple exposures, and the Super 66 is the 3rd version that incorporated a removable back that allowed to use different types of film mid-roll (to compete against the Hassy's and Bronica's with the same ability). The Super 66 is the most complicated mechanically, with lots of moving parts in both the body and the back. The "most reliable" version of the three is the first one, the original Six. However, all of them have their issues if not maintained and/or sat on a shelf for years. The Kowa Six lenses fit all three versions. The later black lenses are better than the earlier silver ones in my opinion, and are less prone to shutter blade issues. While I love using them, to be honest you are better off putting your money into another 6x6 camera like a Mamiya C220 TLR or a Hasselblad 500cm.
Kowa was and I think still is a major player in the Japanese optical industry. After it got out of the Super 66 and its various 35mm models, It "focused" on lenses for the commercial (view cameras, enlarging) and for commercial TV fixed and zoom lenses. As to the 66 cameras, the body design was unique, very compact, and a bit funky. The lenses are superb.
Back in 1999 I bought into a complete Kowa Super 66 kit, and really enjoyed it. Some advice… avoid using the crank on the winder. Trust me, the gears in these are not like those in hassies, mamiyas or bronicas. I ended up sending mine for service to a guy in California. $130 to replace the stripped gears. Not bad for a system that has been out of production for 40+ years.
I'm very familiar with the Kowa Super 66. I shot all of my weddings on it. for the reception I used a sunpak auto 611 thyristor flash. Great camera with a square negative.
Old gem! Super sharp lens,like you said,japanese Hassie.well done!
one tip, Don't just give up on the prism, all the options have their place!, the waist level is good for hand-holding, the Prism is the ONLY way to do tripod shots cleanly (not being awkward), as you are at the right level instantly, not having to use a ladder to get your head higher than the camera. One other tip, for most of these MF bohemoths the prism is the only way of 'accessorising' this system with a lightmeter, as they are commonly built in to the prism options, NOT an automatic meter, like a dslr, but one that is independent of the camera, aka you have to set shutter and apature, the meter just tells you what to set acording to the prevailing lighting conditions.
Lovely photo walk with a Kowa. The pictures look great I like the contrast and colours. The 85mm looks sharp too. I've noticed you have a filter in front of your lens, what filter is it and is it reason why your photos look so nice and rich in colours?
i had the whole system, all the lenses, prisms, doo-dad's but I just couldn't get really sharp negatives out of it which I attributed to mirror slap since it is a big mirror....I had 6 bodies and sold everything to get into a Mamiya 6 X7 w/ NO mirror which gave me the negatives I was looking for, now it's all digital for me. I have $6,000.00 in darkroom equipment up in my attic, completely useless. with the Kowa, every body knows what you are doing, the thing is so big. 10 shots, change film....not to mention getting film across international borders. the lenses were beautiful though, seemed well made, I don't know how sharp though, I never did any tests.
I own a Kowa Super 66 too! I created a few cool images with it back in the day.
I have the Kowa 6. I didn't know the 66 had removable backs.
Thanks for the video Jesse. I just picked up the Kowa Six. Can wait to shoot with it
Anytime! Have fun with it!
beautiful little camera man! didnt know about it until now😄 also cool shots!👌
Yes, at 13:42 that is an issue, but one solution, Always bring a Tripod with you, that way, if the light gets too low, you CAN go below 1/125th sec. SAFELY (NB: all MF lenses are very easy to create motion blur, as for them they are ALL essentially a telephoto length lenses from a 35 mm format perspective (50 mm = 80mm in MF, {75 for 6x4.5/ 80for 6x6/90[ or 127] for 6x7}) so ANY shutter speed bellow 1/125th generates motion blur, esp. if you are a beginner, and not 'steady on your feet'.
one more tip, if the camera has a mirror lock up, USE it, the mirrors are large, and any 'slap' causes vibration, esp. in the region of 1/2,1/4,1/8,1/15 th of a second!; and use a cable release, the LESS the contact between the camera and your body the steadier the shot.
I dig the photos 👍❤️
Beautiful camera and the beard god himself, lovely !
How do you remove a used film ?
How much did you pay for this one? Found one for 200 bucks but the seller says there is some fungus in the lens...
I got mine in a huge camera lot. Good condition ones go for around $450-$750. Usually more of it’s a whole kit
Found the Kowa 6 on Facebook Market for $200. Still waiting for it to come in the mail. I like what I see so far!
This is a long shot since this video is 2 yrs old . I have purchased this camera but took the lens off and unable to put it back on
Great video!
did you sell the kowa ??
how does one change lenses?
Yes please help
you should do a video about must haves when you’re just starting to get into cameras
Great idea! I’ll do that soon!
Amazzzzing!! :)
Getting rid of that camera would be a big mistake.
Beautiful camera, i have the kowa komaflex. It takes 127 film and shoots 4x4. Check it out
Oh awesome! I’ll have to check it out!
That is an unusual camera, made for a short time, as 127 film and its use died in the latter 1960s. It has a single fixed lens, 4-element Tessar copy design, with accessory supplemental lenses to convert usage to moderate wide angle or telephoto. Amateur oriented as a slide camera. (127 film makes 4x4cm slides, which can project perfectly from a standard 35mm projector.) The Kowa Super 6 or 66 models are a totally different class of camera system.