Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

SMC Pentax 6×7 / 67 45mm f/4

Pentax · Pentax 67 · 1980

single source, unconfirmed

Also known as: SMC Pentax 67 45mm f/4 · SMC PENTAX 67 45mm F4 · smc PENTAX-6x7 1:4 45mm · SMC Pentax 6x7 45mm f/4 · Pentax 67 45mm f4 · Pentax 6x7 45mm F4 · ペンタックス67 45mm F4 · ペンタックス 6x7 45mm · SMCペンタックス67 45mmF4

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
SMC Pentax-6×7 45mm f/4 (1980) Pentax 67 1980–1989 — —
SMC Pentax 67 45mm f/4 (1989) Pentax 67 1989 — —
  1. Construction, closest focus, minimum aperture, filter size, dimensions and weight are from Pentax's own documents: the SMC Pentax 67 lens brochure (Lens Specifications table, p. 26, hosted by butkus.org/cameramanuals.org) and the Pentax 67II catalogue (Ricoh Imaging PDF). PentaxForums gives 486 g against the maker's 485 g; the maker's figure is used.
  2. Version years (1980, 1989) are the PentaxForums lens database's. No Pentax document consulted dates either version, and no end date is published for the 67 version; the 67II body was discontinued in 2009.
  3. Blade count (8) is from PentaxForums only and is carried as a single-source figure.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Two versions, one optical design: the name ring reads smc PENTAX-6x7 (1980–89) or smc PENTAX 67 (1989 on). Nothing else separates them
  • The widest rectilinear lens in the system and one of the shortest: 57.5 mm long, 485 g, 82 mm filter thread with a clip for gelatin filters at the rear
  • Inner bayonet with fully automatic diaphragm; no A setting, so aperture-priority on the 67II works by stopped-down coupling of the aperture ring as on every 67 lens

SMC Pentax-6×7 45mm f/4 (1980):

  • Engraved smc PENTAX-6x7 1:4 45mm on the name ring (PentaxForums lens database)
  • Inner-bayonet mount; 82 mm screw-in filter thread with the Pentax bayonet-filter lugs; rear clip for gelatin filters
  • Same 9-element, 8-group optics, 0.37 m closest focus and 485 g as the later 67 lens; only the engraving and cosmetics differ (PentaxForums: 'two versions were offered with the same optical formula')

SMC Pentax 67 45mm f/4 (1989):

  • Engraved smc PENTAX 67 1:4 45mm; the 67 cosmetics introduced with the Pentax 67 body of 1989
  • Optics unchanged from the 6×7 version (PentaxForums); the Pentax 67II catalogue lists 8 groups / 9 elements, f/22, 0.37 m, 82 mm filter, 91.5 × 57.5 mm, 485 g, hood PH-SB82 sold separately
  • Ricoh Imaging's archived 67II lens list: ¥125,000 excluding tax, supplied with soft case S90-100

Specifications

Formula
Retrofocus wide-angle, 9 elements in 8 groups (Pentax 67 lens brochure; Pentax 67II catalogue)
Construction
9 elements / 8 groups
Aperture range
f/4–f/22
Diaphragm blades
8
Min. focus
0.37 m
Dimensions
91.5 × 57.5 mm
Weight
485 g
Filter
82 mm
Years manufactured
1980
Country
Japan
Coating
SMC (Pentax Super Multi Coating) on both versions
Original price
¥125,000 excluding tax on Ricoh Imaging's archived 67II lens list (undated; the 67II era, 1998–2009). No 1980 launch price found.

What reviewers say

History

The 45mm f/4 is the widest rectilinear lens Pentax made for the 6×7 system: 89° across the diagonal, about a 24mm on 35mm film. It arrived late. There was no Takumar 45mm in the 1969 or 1971 line-ups; camera-wiki and the PentaxForums database both have the focal length appearing only with the SMC Pentax 6×7 generation, which PentaxForums dates to 1980. The design is 9 elements in 8 groups, focusing to 0.37 m, with an 82 mm filter thread carrying the Pentax bayonet-filter lugs and a clip at the rear for gelatin filters. At 57.5 mm long and 485 g it is one of the smallest lenses in the system, which PentaxForums reviewers keep coming back to: a near pancake for a camera this size.

There are two versions and one optical design. The 1980 lens is engraved smc PENTAX-6x7 1:4 45mm; the 1989 lens, restyled to match the Pentax 67 body, reads smc PENTAX 67 1:4 45mm. PentaxForums records the optics as unchanged, and the Pentax 67II catalogue’s table for the later lens (8 groups, 9 elements, f/22, 0.37 m, 82 mm, 91.5 × 57.5 mm, 485 g) matches the brochure figures for the family. The 67 version stayed in Ricoh Imaging’s 67II lens list at ¥125,000 excluding tax, so it was sold new until the 67II ended in 2009 at the latest. No 1980 launch price was found, and no Pentax document consulted dates either version; the years here are PentaxForums’.

Reviewers agree on the handling and split on the glass. The PentaxForums entry carries twenty reviews and a 9.21 average, yet its most detailed review, from a working photographer who has used the lens since it appeared, describes “pronounced field curvature,” corner colour fringing, and sharpness that lags the latest 55mm f/4, and calls the relationship “love-hate.” Several others say the same in milder terms: focus for the corners on the ground glass, then stop down to f/11 or f/16 and let depth of field tidy the rest. Steven Rasmussen’s 35mmc piece treats that as the whole method for the 67’s wides, with the 45’s depth of field reaching only “4 feet to infinity at f/22” and the marked scale needing a stop of margin. Emil Widstrand on Emulsive nearly sold his and then found it the ideal lens for 24×65 panoramas. Peter Stout at Shoot It With Film puts it, with the 55, among the system’s excellent and affordable wides. Some digital users report the lens transformed on a 645Z; a GFX user withdrew an earlier recommendation on resolving power.

Buying: the two versions are optically identical, so pay for condition rather than engraving. Check that the rear gelatin clip is present, that the 82 mm bayonet-filter lugs are undamaged, that the aperture snaps cleanly at f/22, and that the automatic diaphragm lever returns freely. The PH-SB82 hood was sold separately and is often missing. On a 67II the lens has no A setting, which is normal for the system, and its 82 mm filter size is shared only with the 75mm f/4.5 among the common lenses.

Open questions: the month of introduction of either version; any serial-number boundary between them; the end of production; and the designer, whom no source consulted names.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo wanted — shot with a SMC Pentax 6×7 / 67 45mm f/4? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $350 across 28 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-19 (middle half $330–$400). First day tracked.

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Show 21 more listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-09-19. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Takumar / SMC Pentax 67 105mm f/2.4 · SMC Pentax 67 165mm f/2.8 · Takumar / SMC Pentax 67 200mm f/4 · SMC Pentax 6×7 / 67 55mm f/4 · Takumar / SMC Pentax 67 75mm f/4.5 · SMC Takumar LS / SMC Pentax 6×7 / 67 90mm f/2.8

Sources (7)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.