The Pentax 6x7 was introduced in 1969 as an alternative to modular SLRs on the market. The 6x7 instead emulates the handling of a 35mm SLR, just scaled up to fit the 6x7cm negative.

All generations of Pentax 6x7 cameras feature electronically-controlled focal plane shutters that can reach speeds up to 1/1000s. The one major downside of the design is the slow flash sync compared to the leaf shutters in Mamiya and Hasselblad lenses.

Pentax offered interchangeable finders for the 67 system including TTL prisms, waist level finders, chimney finders, and non-metered prisms. The 67 II is also capable of TTL aperture priority autoexposure with the right prism.