Life in Squares – The Kowa Six
This is the first of several blog posts I’ll be doing over the next few months, in addition to my regular posts. The idea behind “Life in Squares” is to give people interested in Medium Format Photography, especially in the classic 6x6 format, some info regarding some of the popular, and maybe not-so-popular, options out there. All of the cameras that I plan on featuring are personally owned and shot by me – my hope is that I can give some added perspective over and above the standard “gear reviews”. I’ll be honest about the good, and the bad………………and maybe along the way add some insights in regards to shooting in the beloved 6x6 square format.
First thing to get out of the way here is that yes, the Hasselblad 500c/cm series of cameras is iconic, and is generally what people compare other 6x6’s against. Hasselblad went to the moon with the NASA astronauts – and is considered to be one of the top brands in cameras still to this day. You may occasionally hear people say “oh that camera is a poor man’s Hasselblad” – sometimes that’s meant to be derogatory, but sometimes it’s a compliment to the fact that if one couldn’t afford a Hasselblad, camera “X” was a good alternative. I also own a Hasselblad 500c, and at some point I’ll write about it here. But first let’s talk about some “alternatives”.
One of two Kowa Six cameras that I currently own. This was the first one I purchased, rated as “Excellent ++++” by the Japanese seller on eBay.
The Kowa Six.
This is a bit long, but hopefully an informative read. And yes, this camera is often called a “poor man’s Hasselblad”.
The first time I saw a Kowa Six in person, was in a used camera shop in Columbus, Ohio. I knew about the brand and the Six line of cameras, but seeing one and looking through that bright viewfinder really was an experience. They are beautiful and utilitarian, all at the same time. It was a bit of foreshadowing that all 3 of the examples they had there had something different wrong with each one of them. And the store wasn’t willing to swap a good lens onto a good body even though I had cash in hand, so I decided to pass. But that encounter put me on the hunt for a good one.
Kowa and Lens/Accessories from original owners manual.
We’ll get back to the hunt in a bit, but first a little history on Kowa. Kowa was a Japanese company that was, and is, well-known for their optics. They still make cinema lenses and binoculars to this day. Back in the late 60’s they had decided that they wanted to get into the Medium Format game – designing and releasing the first “Kowa/SIX” camera in 1968. The Kowa Six had a lot going for it: Leaf shutter lenses, classic styling, bright viewfinder, a large lens assortment, and various accessories. You could shoot 120 or 220 film with the flip of the pressure plate and side switch.
Where it struggled immediately was in two areas:
1. Hasselblad was already an established company at this point, as were many others like Bronica. Unfortunately the Kowa Six was cheaper than the Hasselblad but only just, and it was pricier than the established Bronica S line of cameras.
2. The Six did not have a replaceable/interchangeable film back, while the Hasselblad and Bronica did. At the time this was something that Pro’s had become used to and expected, for the ease of swapping out different film stocks while on a shoot. It also didn’t have Mirror Lock-up, but it did have a shutter delay.
It may not sound like a lot of $$, but $350 back in 1970 was the equivalent of $2300 in today’s dollars. From a marketing standpoint, I’m not certain how wise it was to embrace the fact that it was an “unheard-of camera” given the pricepoint.
By 1972 Kowa did a slight upgrade to the Six, in the form of the “Six MM”. The MM added the ability to do double exposures, and mirror lock-up. It also added a bit more fragility and complication to the design, in my opinion.
Finally in 1974 Kowa made the “Super 66” which had everything the MM had, but also offered an interchangeable film back. Unfortunately this was a little too little too late, and Kowa exited the MF market shortly afterwards.
Its interesting to see that even the reviewers back then noted the bright viewfinder and compared it to the 500C. “Proved suitable for professional use” wasn’t exactly a glowing endorsement, and sounds to me like saying “just good enough”.
The Kowa Six family had a short run of only 7 years or so, which means that even the newest version out there today is 46 years old, and with such a short run of production years, there aren’t many out there and no spare parts.
Have I scared you off yet? Hang on, I’ve got more to say.
OK, back to my hunt. I eventually found a “Excellent ++++” Kowa Six on eBay from a seller in Japan, complete with the 85mm f/2.8 lens, WLF, original strap, and original leather case for just under $300. The images of it showed it to be in great condition, much nicer than the ones I saw in the Columbus shop. And the listing said it had been “tested by a local camera shop”.
Sounds great, right? Not so fast. Now begins my journey into the highs, and lows, of Kowa Six cameras.
The camera arrived packed very well, so when I unpacked it and fired it for the first time, I was surprised by the fact the mirror only opened half way and was stuck, until I turned the camera upside down and it then opened all the way – long after the leaf shutter in the lens had fired. Well that’s no good. The seller gave me the “it must have been damaged in shipping” excuse, but it was actually due to gummed-up lube and dust and many years of non-use. To his credit, the seller gave me a partial refund, and given the fact that I’ve taken many cameras apart on my own and fixed them, I gave this one a shot. After a thorough cleaning, partial disassembly, and lube, the mirror was working perfectly. Next weekend was the first time out with it, so I was stoked.
More problems – this time both were really on me.
1. When I was working on the camera, I neglected to check the light seals, which were basically gone. So I wasted one roll there. Rookie mistake - I should have known better, having a lot of experience with older RB67’s and telling everyone who buys one that the first thing they should do is replace the seals. The Kowa Six is apparently no different.
2. I didn’t realize that for another roll, the little lever on the lens for the shutter delay (“V”) is right where your hand can move it when shooting, so I heard the mirror “fire” but didn’t realize that 10-12 seconds later the nice and quiet leaf shutter fired long after I thought I got the shot. I realized this with 2 shots left to go on the roll. Probably didn’t matter anyway since the massive light leaks ruined any shot.
A search the next day on the internet revealed that there weren’t any readily available light seal kits out there for the Six – so I ended up making my own seals from one of my several RB67 seal kits I have at home. About an hour worth of work and then the camera was FINALLY good to go.
Now, a fully working Kowa Six is a joy to shoot with. Nice bright viewfinder, well laid-out controls on the lens, and the image just “snaps” into focus. The 85mm f/2.8 is sharp as hell, and the bokeh is wonderful. I love that there are two different pairs of bosses for the strap, so that you can wear it with the camera pointed forward, or down, depending on how you have the strap connected. I can’t express enough how much I enjoy shooting this camera. So much that I picked up the 150mm and 55mm lenses for it. Then I found a grip for it. You see where this is going. Before long I had a really nice “kit”.
A few examples of images shot on my Kowa Six: Most were shot with the 85mm, but some were also shot with the 55mm and 150mm.
Then I found another Kowa Six on eBay that wasn’t tested, but was a fairly good buy-it-now price, and it had the 90-degree prism, the 80mm f/2.8, and a 150mm lens, for less than the prism was selling for on its own. DONE! That Six arrived a week later and surprise – it needed work on the mirror, cleaning, lube, and new seals – then it worked as good as new. So now I have a spare body. And duplicate lenses. Oh, the 85mm lens that came with it was perfect, but the 150mm had gunk in the shutter and was firing slow. So then I also became an expert at disassembling, cleaning, lubing, and re-assembling Kowa lenses.
THEN I found a Kowa Six MM that had the other style of grip I liked, and it was “for parts only” at usedphotopro.com and a bargain, at less than the grip alone was going for. Thank you very much. That one arrived and boy was it TRASHED. But this was good because I got a chance to take the MM all apart and see what actually was broken in it, and learn a bit more about how it worked. Well, lots of things were broken, too many to mention. I think the added bits for that second model made it more frail than the original Six. I can only guess the complexity that the Super 66 adds. This body was totally un-repairable but I was able to get a few bits and pieces from it that interchange with the Six for spare parts.
By now you’d think I was done buying Kowas, and I thought I was as well, but then someone whom I had chatted with on a forum about repairing the two I had, asked me to find one for him, buy it, check it out, put new seals in it, do a CLA, and sell it to him for an agreed-upon sum. Suuuuuure! No problem. Coincidentally the one I found for him had the same issues that the first two Six bodies had, so it was up and running quite well once I was done.
So, if you have made it this far, you’ve begun to see a pattern. If you are looking to purchase a Kowa Six, know that they are great cameras WHEN THEY ARE WORKING. Assume the following points, in my opinion.
1. Look for one of the early Six’s – stay away from the MM and probably the Super as well.
2. Know that any Six you purchase will probably at the very least need new light seals, but probably also a full CLA (Clean Lube Adjust). This may or may not include the lens needing the same. Remember that these are 50-year old cameras – they aren’t going to keep performing at tip-top condition unless they are maintained properly.
3. One thing I didn’t mention, is that supposedly the wind crank is fragile on all Six models. This was broken on the MM I wrote about earlier. The common advice on the internet is to use the nob for winding on, and not flip the crank arm out and use it because it puts a great deal of stress and torque on the system. This holds true for the older Bronica S2 cameras as well, so the Kowa isn’t alone in this regard.
Like other MF cameras, the prices are creeping upwards at the moment. Assume to purchase a nice one you are at about $500 for one from Japan, with some going for more depending on accessories nd condition. And I personally would find it hard to believe that even the $500 or more cameras wouldn’t need at least new seals, if not a full tear down and clean. Currently there is one on eBay that is $200 but it looks like it fell from a second story window – there’s a chunk missing out of the body and the viewfinder is bent beyond recognition.
All that said I am really happy with mine, and my primary Six is in my shooting rotation quite often.
The big question you may be asking is, would I recommend that someone purchase a Kowa Six? Probably not – unless you are like me and handy/mechanical. If you are looking for a more trouble-free 6x6 experience there are certainly other cameras better suited that I will be covering later in this series. This is not to say that the Kowa Six is a bad camera. Its just like many past personal relationships that I’ve had —— it’s complicated.
There are a few camera repair guys in the USA that do work on the Kowa line. A google search will turn up 2 or 3 if you are interested in having one serviced.
Feel free to write me with any questions!
Until next time,
Jeremy
Some Kowa Six resources:
Kowa Six article on Film Photography Project
