Various viewing aids were manufactured by Pentacon for the Pentacon Six.  These are particularly helpful to ensure critical focus with the narrow depth of field that occurs when using bellows or extension tubes.  Some of these accessories were subsequently made available in the Exakta 66 finish.  While they were cosmetically different, optically they were I believe unchanged from the Pentacon/Zeiss designs.

The angle finder

This can be attached to the metering prism on the Pentacon Six or Exakta 66 to provide more comfortable viewing when the camera is low down or horizontal, as when copying documents or images.  It has adjustable diopter correction for the user.  This seems to be either optically slightly different with each model, or they have been assembled differently, as correct focus for my eyesight with the Pentacon angle finder is at approximately +0.6, while correct focus for my eyesight on the Exakta 66 angle finder is at approximately +2.9  However, the focussing adjustment in both directions is absolutely enormous, so you are unlikely to encounter a problem, regardless what adjustment your eyesight might need.

See the angle finder on the Pentacon Six in the section on Pentacon Six bellows.
 

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On the Exakta 66 TTL prism, the Pentacon Six angle finder’s locking ring may damage the rear surface of the prism, so the use of a small rubber washer is recommended.

The magnifier head

The magnifier head provides a much enlarged image of the whole viewfinder.  It also has diopter correction over a wide range.  But, of course, one loses the metering, so I prefer the TTL prism plus the angle finder.  To see a close-up of this accessory, see the section on Waist Level finders & Magnifying Heads.

The magnifying attachment

This is also called “The Focussing Telescope” in some Pentacon literature.  It is designed to be attached to the prism viewfinder, and provides an additional 2.7× enlargement of the central area of the viewfinder image – extremely helpful for precise focussing.  As the whole of the frame cannot be seen with the magnifying attachment in place, it can easily be flipped up to check composition.  It incorporates adjustable diopter correction for the user.

Eye cup

This looks superficially similar to the magnifying attachment, but the difference is that, as supplied, it contains no optical components.  It merely shields the eye from stray light, giving a potentially improved view of the viewfinder image.  This item was produced for the Pentacon Six and the Exakta 66.  It has the additional advantage that by adding a dioptric correction lens, available from an optician, spectacle wearers can view the image sharply without needing their glasses.  The dioptric correction lens needs to be held in place with a retaining ring that is not supplied with the eye cup!
 

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On the left, the Pentacon Six eye cup, on the right, the version produced for the Exakta 66.

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Here we can see the “ears” with which most accessories are attached to the Pentacon Six and Exakta 66 prisms. This picture also shows the style of packaging that was produced for Exakta 66 equipment.

Focussing screens – Pentacon Six

Pentacon made seven different focussing screens for the Pentacon Six.

 In my opinion, the best general-purpose screen for the Pentacon Six was the Fresnel screen.  This increased viewfinder brightness by the equivalent of one stop (the viewfinder image becomes twice as bright), and I used one for over 20 years.  With this screen installed, it was necessary to set the film speed on dot on the TTL meter dial, instead of on the usual triangle, to compensate for the extra brightness.  Note that this screen is flat on both surfaces, whereas the standard screen and most other screens have a curved upper surface.  Therefore, when buying the fresnel screen, make sure that it comes with the correct retaining wire, which has a different shape from the standard wire clip.

Focussing screens – Exakta 66

Three different screens were available for the Exakta 66 Mk I.  These were mounted in a black plastic frame in order to be easily interchangeable by the user.  However, in my opinion the best screen was supplied as standard.  The plastic frame of course masked some of the image and also made the viewfinder slightly darker.

The Exakta 66 Mk II was supplied with a large and bright Rollei screen not mounted into any sort of mask, and in recent years, Pentacon Service in Dresden have offered to upgrade the Pentacon Six and earlier models of the Exakta 66 by installing this screen.  I have been very pleased with this upgrade of both of these cameras.  Image brightness is similar to the original Pentacon Six fresnel screen or perhaps slightly brighter.  During the upgrade Pentacon adjust the Exakta 66 TTL prism so that correct readings are given with film speeds set at the same index point as before.  You can see an image of this screen here.

The Kiev 88 focussing back
Arsenal make a focussing back for the Kiev 88.  This can be mounted on the back of the body in place of a magazine, to check exact composition and focus.  This is particularly useful if the focussing screen in the top of the body needs to be adjusted or replaced.

Using the Arsenal Magnifier Head with the focussing back
For more precise checking of focus, the Magnifier Head can be mounted on the focussing back.  This sort of set-up is of course only useable in a tripod-mounted situation.

Remove the magnifier head and focussing back combination from the camera, and you have a viewfinder for 6 × 6 mounted slides!  But on mine internal screw heads jam slides with slim-line plastic mounts, so use with caution.

To go on to the next section, click below.
Next section (Pentacon Six Bellows)

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© TRA February 2002, February 2007