The Kowa/SIX

Possibly the best medium format camera you’ve never heard of?

Now I know there are a lot of folks out there who have heard of the Kowa/SIX. And I know there are at least some of those folks who would strongly argue against this camera being used in the same sentence with the word “best”. I, too, have heard the horror stories – winding gear and shutter jams, difficult to repair, etc.

But I say that I’ve heard of them. Fortunately for me, I’ve never experienced any issues whatsoever with this camera. I have – on occasion – been forced to send in a lens or two for a CLA due to sticky shutters. But that’s not a Kowa problem. Any lens with a leaf shutter is prone to this if they’re not used very often. You’ve got to keep those shutters exercised. The good thing about a lens repair such as this is that it’s a relatively common repair that any reputable camera service company can do.

But, I’m here to talk about the virtues of this camera and not to denigrate it.

I bought my Kowa way back in 1990 when I thought I wanted to be a wedding photographer and needed to move up to medium format. And even though I eventually decided I didn’t like photographing weddings, I very much did like my Kowa/SIX. And over the following few decades I collected a couple more lenses and accessories for it. So let’s get into it.

The Kowa/SIX is a modular system with interchangeable grips and viewfinders. And it has a great range of lenses with Seikosha Leaf-shutters – that are in my opinion – pretty nice. They had a great range to choose from, from a 19mm fisheye to a 500mm telephoto. In between those you had a 35, 40, and 55mm wide angles, the standard 85mm, a 110mm macro, plus a 150, 200, and 250mm telephotos.

Some of those are pretty rare and hard to find these days, but you’ll commonly see the 55, 85, and 150 for sale on eBay.

I recently found an old 1969 catalog listing of some of these lenses and their prices. That 19mm f/4.5 fish-eye was listed at $2700 – in 1969! Factoring in inflation, that’s about $16,000 dollars in today’s money. And I think that might put it on the short list of most expensive camera lenses ever. Also, that 500mm telephoto was listed at $1000 – which puts it about $6000 in today’s money.

I’ve never seen either of those in person or for sale anywhere. But they are out there. I just wonder how many of those were ever sold?

Kowa also had a good range of viewfinders available as an option in addition to the standard waist-level. These include metered and unmetered 45-degree prisms, a 90-degree prism, and a metered chimney finder. I have the standard 45-degree version, and it’s quite bright and has a good magnification.

There were also a variety of focusing screens available. But take note: screens made for the last incarnation of this camera – the Super 66 – are not compatible with the Six or SixMM. Although when you see them for sale it’s not totally clear which it’s for. I recently bought a micro-prism screen that was marked Microprism II, and it didn’t fit the SIX. So I’m guessing that any screen marked with the roman numeral II will be for the Super 66 and not the SIX or SIXMM. If you know differently, please let me know.

One of the most useful accessories for the Kowa/SIX is the side grip. It mounts on the left and provides an additional lockable shutter release. And it really helps manage the weight of the camera – as it’s not a light-weight. The body with waist-level finder and 85mm lens is 1.6kg.

Even though it’s heavy – and even though it has a questionable reputation – I really like my SIX. I’ve never been disappointed with any of the lenses, and I think it’s a solid performer if you treat it well and keep the lenses in good shape. And even though film camera prices are rising, the SIX – along with its lenses and accessories – remains relatively affordable. It can be a good choice for someone wanting to make the jump to medium format.

For an even deeper dive into the Kowa/SIX – along with a photo shoot and sample images – check out the video below.