NORITA 66 A HIDDEN GEM

NORITA 66 

A  HIDDEN GEM 

BY PIERRO POZELLA

I have come across a few medium format cameras over the years of repairing from Pentax 67’s to Mamiya’s to Hasselblad’s to 1900,s Thornton Pickard’s and even Horseman 980. I have never been so surprised by the performance in image quality as I have from this Norita 66 since I first used a Leica .

I have used the high end Hasselblad 500 series to the cheap, cheerful and very temperamental Pentacon Six TL, I have fallen for the 6x6 format overtime, however they have never shown much life or character of their own. The Hasselblad’s are stunning producing very sharp images, the Pentacon’s use carl Zeiss glass also, creating lovely swirl, but not one has even come close to what the Norita 66 has to offer. 

The overall design was advanced for its time being the first medium format camera with automatic mirror return. Despite the advancements there it is very heavy and uses a double advanced to wind on the film. The lenses they have to offer one in particular is what really sets this camera apart taking me by surprise. 

The Size

The Norita 66 is no compact light wight medium format camera, it’s big, it’s heavy and may weigh you down. The overall design is similar to that of a Pentax 6X7 and Pentagon Six being designed like a 35mm SLR on steroids, The Norita feels more comfortable in my hands than the Pentacon Six despite being nearly identical in size and is much smaller than the Pentax 67 which is. The camera with a standard finder is much more ergonomic than with the meter prism attached, mine came with a meter prism and it is a bit clumsy at times but I do not mind the extra wight on short journeys, on long journeys i do become tempted to just remove it especially when the weather is hot. If you would prefer a lighter camera a standard prism is offered along with a waist level finder, these are not easy to come by as the Norita has become quite rare making it more of a collectors item. With the 80mm F2 lens attached its wight is well balanced to have on a strap around your shoulder without it being top heavy and wanting to spin round whilst you're carrying it, this can be very annoying with some camera designs. The overall ergonomics  are expected from a camera of the 70’s and do the job.

The Handling

The handling of the north 66 is more comfortable than that of the Pentacon Six as it feels much more sturdy due to its wight and being made from brass. The shutter speeds are not quick to hand to change, you have to move your hand rather than being able to use your finger. This is not much of a problem as i don’t expect anyone to be using a medium format camera speedily as this type of camera is to be enjoyed shooting. The angled edges and rounded corners make this a comfortable camera to hold, despite the wight on your arms making them ache after shooting for a wile. The shutter button is easy to trigger without searching around, aperture control is on the lens like most film cameras, easy to change, film wind is unusual and unexpected from a medium format camera, it uses a double stroke system. This takes a few times to get use to, some people consider this to be better, a smoother action, for me it makes no difference other than when you forget to wind on twice and miss the shot as you only pulled the advance lever once.  

The camera strap lugs are placed perfectly the balance the camera out when carrying it around to lean more towards you rather than trying to face the ground, I find this more reassuring compared to other medium format cameras I have come across.

The Viewfinder

The Viewfinder is fairly bright not to the standard of Hasselblad neither as bad as the very dim Rolleiflex viewfinders its more on par with Pentaon Six and Kiev. the Viewfinder has markings for the 6x6 frame to help with levelling the image as well as a split circle in the center, this is great for people who wear glasses such as my self.  The meter prism is very bog compared to that of the standard prism, also adding extra weight. The meter is coupled to the shutter speeds and the appropriate aperture is shown on top of the prism, easy to use, i prefer handheld meter and a less heavy finder.

The lens - The hidden Gem 

This is the part of the camera that truly surprised me, taking me by surprise. I had read about the lens, heard stories of how sharp it was, the shallow depth of field it was able to produce, no one told me how well is was able to render colour, highlights, shadows and everything else! This lens is the Noritar 80mm F2 an outstanding lens that is worth every penny if not more, it is beyond anything I have ever used and I have used Carl Zeiss, Leica and  even Kodak are 175mm F2.5. 

This lens captures so much information across all lighting situations and it does not stop there. As the lens is an F2 which is incredibly bright for a medium format lens , Hasselblad produced a 100mm F2 which now fetches over £1000 and Pentax Produced 105mm F2.4 which is close however nothing compared to the Noritar. This lens is exceptional when shot wide open creating so much character and beautiful Bokeh as well as when it is stopped down making it a joy to shoot no matter the weather. I have not been this surprised by a lens since the first time I shot a Leica and Kodak Aero 175mm F2.5. It is hard to explain the way this lens captures, the images at the end of the review will better put into words what i am trying to explain. After shooting with this lens I would happily throw my Hasselblad away this is the only way I can describe how i truly felt about shooting with the Noritar 80mm F2. 

Loading the Film 

The film is pretty standard to load, place the film in the camera wind on to match up the lines and off you go. Watch out as there are two dials that need to be set on the camera before hand otherwise the film wont go anywhere. There is a dial on the right hand side of the camera which needs to be switched to “N” and one one the top left of the camera which also needs to be set to “N”.

Conclusion 

Heavy, Robust camera which is a joy to use, if you can ever purchase one for a reasonable price go for it just the lens alone will make you question every other medium format film camera you have ever used. Definitely a hidden gem.

The Images