Answer: the strap lugs have been changed.

One occasionally sees an alternative way of fitting different carrying straps to the Pentacon Six: one can change the strap lugs in the camera body.  I asked Pentacon Six specialist Tom Page to do this when he was rebuilding a Pentacon Six camera that I had bought in pieces.  He fitted two lugs from a Canon camera.
 

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However, there is a potential problem with this, caused by the proximity of the right-hand lug (from the user’s position) to the shutter release button. Tom supplied me with a range of connectors to try with these lugs. The ones on the far left of this picture looked as though they might be the best candidates, as – unlike rings – their shape should prevent the strap from swinging or falling back onto the shutter release.  The flat base should also assist with this more than might be the case with the simple, triange-shaped connectors.

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Fitting the connectors was very tricky.  I had to hold open the end of the connector with a screw driver, and then coax it over the end of the Canon strap lug, making sure that nothing slipped and scratched something. However, the initial impression is not bad.  It is only by laying the camera on its back that I have managed to get the connector to enter into contact with the shutter release.

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To the left: With the camera standing it its normal upright position, the lug connector position when at rest does not interfere with the shutter release. With a strap attached, the same should be the case, so that if the camera is mounted on a tripod, for instance, the strap should not get in the way.               To the right: General view of the other side of the camera with the strap connector attached.

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I decided to attach some Op/Tech USA 3/8” webbing system connectors to the strap connectors (remembering as always to attach the “male” connector to the right-hand side (viewed from the user’s position). The general impression from the front left is very satisfactory.

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Even on the front right, the strap and connector do not foul the shutter release when the strap is in rest position.

How does this work in practice?
 

How does anchoring the strap here perform when the strap is round the user’s neck? Well, with the standard lens, the camera hangs crooked, tilting backwards.  This is of course not a result of the type of strap lugs used, but because of their location, which means that if you attach a strap to your Pentacon Six at the point where the strap lugs are located, this is now the camera will hang. Also, to fire the shutter one has to get used to tucking one’s right forefinger round the strap connector, but once that is done, there is no problem in operating the shutter release.                                       [canon11.jpg]

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This may be a solution, to enable you to attach a favourite strap to your Pentacon Six.  Of course, instead of getting a technician to replace the camera’s strap lugs, it is much easier just to use Baierfoto’s strap clips on the existing strap lugs, with the same or possibly an even better result, as it is then impossible for the strap or the connector to fall onto the shutter release since the Baierfoto clips keep the camera strap away from it. [bconn06.jpg] You can see more information on these clips, and on alternatives, here.

In operation [canon10.jpg]

To go back to the beginning of the section on straps and harnesses, click here.

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© TRA First published: December 2011