danac Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 I'm looking for a near perfect Pentax Spotmatic circa 1969. But there's no point in doing so unless it can be serviced by a master technician that specializes in this model. Is there such a person? A book's a great place to hide out in - Trevanian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuart_pratt Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 In the UK, Robin Gowing at Harrow Technical. Did mine some years back including the meter, still running well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danac Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 Thank you. It's good to know there are still folks around who can work on vintage Pentax film cameras. A book's a great place to hide out in - Trevanian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_essedi Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Eric Hendrickson Home-Pentaxs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danac Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 Thanks Don. I bookmarked it. The camera won't get here from Canada until the 22nd. I don't know if it needs anything yet but given the age who knows. A book's a great place to hide out in - Trevanian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_essedi Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Thanks Don. I bookmarked it. The camera won't get here from Canada until the 22nd. I don't know if it needs anything yet but given the age who knows. You're welcome. About 10 years ago I bought a Spotmatic for my wife. It developed a tapering shutter and I found Eric. The camera came back and operated 'like new'. Although my Spotmatic was working well, I sent it to him for a CLA. A decade later, both cameras remain sweet users. If you find yourself using a 50 year old camera regularly, I'd recommend a CLA even it there seems to be no problem with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danac Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 Yep. This is exactly what I have done with my old Canon SLR film cameras. My AE-1 and A-1 both went to K. Oikawa in S. California for CLA and whatever else that master technician thought was necessary. The FTb-N that I bought last month is at Oikawa-san's shop at this very moment. I believe in the adage: "Why spoil the ship for a ha-pence of tar." A book's a great place to hide out in - Trevanian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethe_fisher Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 Another vote for Eric. I have an H1a from about 1964-ish. I've been using it since high school and sent it to him for a CLA a few years ago because the winder was not always cocking the shutter. He fixed it, cleaned it, and it's still working great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danac Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 I got my Spotmatic back a couple of days ago. It works like a brand new camera. I even got a free battery as the one I had in it was a poor fit. Eric was fast and thorough. Like K. Oikawa is to Canon film cameras, Eric is a rare treasure. Both are fine craftsmen who obviously take great pride and care in their work. 1 A book's a great place to hide out in - Trevanian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 It developed a tapering shutter This was a persistent problem with both Pentaxes and the early Prakticas they descended from. If you learn how to fix that problem yourself, then you won't have to worry as much since the other parts of the older Pentaxes are pretty reliable. There are fixes described here (SP) and on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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