really wish i could put my takumars into regular use!

<p>

 

<p>conondrum: i've had an asahi pentax spotmatic for about 5 years now and only have run about 5 rolls of film through it. i LOVE takumar lens quality both in terms of haptics and performance but the meter is dead on my spot now and i always HATED stop down metering to the point of only burning a few rolls on this otherwise terrific system.</p>

<p>i'd like to get a spotmatic f to overcome my issue only, all three tak lenses i have are not labeled SMC so i'm taking it that they would still need to be stopped down to use on the f?</p>

<p>are there any other alternative bodies that i could mount these lenses to and get open aperture metering? </p>

<p> </p>

 

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<p>Sorry if this is simplistic, but have you thought of just using an external meter?</p>

<p>yes, sorry i didn't include my thoughts on that! i have a clip-on sekonic but have never gotten into using a handheld. i feel like it just slows me down soo much and i like to travel light and shoot candidly. </p>

<p>the spotmatic still works fine mechanically but it just feels very counterintuitive using such a modern feeling slr with another meter or by stopping down or sunny 16ing it. it just doesn't feel right with a sleek slr!</p>

<p>maybe i'm just being too stubborn...</p>

<p>Johnny, you could always upgrade to the "K" mount. The K1000 is a wonderful camera with an internal meter.<br>

All you'd need to attach those Taks would be an M42 adapter. I recommend getting a 'genuine' pentax version instead of buying the cheaper 3rd party brands. I've discovered from having both adapter types that the genuine version is easier to detach, as well as gives more of a 'unscrew' to get take off of the camera - making it more protective seeming.</p>

<p>Anyway, it's just a thought. The k1000 was my first camera, and 30 years later - it's still a keeper. :)</p>

 

<p>yeah, when shoot pentax it's on various k-mount cameras. i have the adaptor but this just puts me in the situation i'd be with a spotmatic f or working spotmatic--stop down metering. </p>

<p>for a minute i was hopeful about the adaptor because when you mount an m42 lens to it and set it to auto, change the aperture, the diaphram does not move yet the meter in the camera is accurate to the given f-stop. but i read that at the moment of exposure, the lens does not actually stop down so all your shots would be overexposed. </p>

<p>but yeah, i love the k1000, i have four at the moment! including a brown leather se version!</p>

<p>If they're too much trouble, you can send them to me...:-)</p>

<p>The meter is dead on my Spotmatic as well and I've come to enjoy sunny-16 exposure. For tricky light I still use my old Luna Pro. </p>

<p>Especially if you are shooting color-negative film (and it's getting hard to find other kinds of color film these days anyhow), "sunny sixteen" will do you just fine. Although I do carry a meter with me, it usually confirms the f/16 at the reciprocal of the film speed settings anyway.</p>

<p>Even in the days before TTL-metering, most of us didn't actually meter every single shot. There are even arguments for incident metering being better than reflected metering of the sort that the camera meter does.</p>

<p>I think you <em>are</em> "just being too stubborn", as you put it, if you otherwise like the camera. It's difficult these days, but there still are a few places that will fix meters....</p>

<p>I also like the old Takumars more than I like the M42 cameras. The two cameras I use M42 lenses on most are a Minolta X-700 and a Canon F-1. Not all of the old Takumars are very fast so the bright viewfinder of the X-700 is nice. When you shoot in Aperture Priority with the X-700 the shutter speed will automatically be set. Let's say I'm shooting in mixed light and I want to have a shutter speed of at least 1/125. I set the lever on the Takumar to M and close the lens down until I see the diode at 1/125. That might be at f/4. As I shoot I will compose and focus and then close the lens down a few stops before tripping the shutter. My exposure will be fine because the X-700 has a good meter. What I will need to look for is getting a high enough shutter speed. With the sound turned off I would need to do the same thing with an X-700 in Aperture Priority mode even with the auto diaphragm operation of an MC or MD mount lens. Using the M42 lenses with an F-1 is a match needle operation. There is no automation. The advantage of the F-1 is that I not only have interchangeable focusing screens, I also have interchangeable finders. I have plenty of Minolta and Canon mount lenses so using the M42 lenses with an X-700 or F-1 is really for fun. </p>

<p>Rob--nice try! i really do like these lenses, i just don't have a body that i enjoy using them on. if anything i'd be more apt to get rid of the spotmatic!</p>

<p>Mike--yeah, i've taken the spot out and shot sunny 16 or with my clip-on meter but like i said, it just feels odd using an slr like that. these methods feel right at home with an old folder but there's something counterintuitive about having to do that with an slr for me. </p>

<p>JDM--yeah, i think i am just being too stubborn. but if you can't feel comfortable whilst shooting, you're just not going to take good photos. again, i'm down with guessing exposure on a folder or something but it feels uncomfortable carrying around a camera that was built for accuracy and guessing.</p>

<p>Jeff--i'm not a canon or minolta fan but maybe i'll try using my taks on an aperture priority pentax k mount to sort of break even with the steps to take a metered shot. good idea!</p>

<p>thanks everyone for putting up with me! i know i'm being stubborn but i was just hoping there was some solution i was overlooking!</p>

<p>As a collector of the beloved Praktica and Contax-S lines, I have large numbers of M42 lenses.</p>

<p>Two possibilties beyond repair of your existing camera:<br /> There are some good Prakticas in the <a href="http://www.praktica-collector.de/Praktica_L_line.html">"L" line</a> (no relation to Canon's L) that will give you decent shooters so you might try one of those. The best of that model series are fine cameras and will work well with Takumars, as well as their native Zeiss Jena lenses (which I also love).</p>

<p>And,<br /> If you can put up with stopdown metering, the M42 lenses work beautifully TTL on any Canon EOS camera, film or digital with inexpensive adapters. You do want to look for the adapters that have the flange that will depress the aperture pin, however, unless your lenses have an "off" switch for automatic aperture.</p>

<p>I have adapters to use M42 lenses on many different film cameras. In addition to the Minolta and Canon adapters I have ones for Konica AR, Fuji X, Pentax K and Mamiya NC1000/S. The one I really want is the P adapter for the Mamiya Auto XTL/X1000. It allows now only stop down metering but auto diaphragm operation with M42 lenses which have the aperture pin. Someone else asked about this recetly. An inexpensive way is to get the Pentax M42 to K adapter and use the lenses on a Vivitar V4000/4000S. The Vivitars are light and cheap and have sensitive meters. </p>

<p>

<p >

<p >All of the following cameras provide aperture-priority with any automatic M42 lens, i.e. lenses with a stop-down pin:</p>

<p ><strong></strong></p>

<p ><strong>1) Chinon CE Memotron </strong>silicon metering, 1/2000th</p>

<p > </p>

<p >GAF L-ES,</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Sears 2000 ES.</p>

<p > </p>

<p ><strong>2) Chinon CE II Memotron </strong>silicon metering, 1/2000th</p>

<p > </p>

<p >GAF L-ES2</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Argus CR3E </p>

<p > </p>

<p >Alpa Si 2000</p>

<p > </p>

<p >3) <strong>Cosina Hi-Lite EC </strong>1/2000th, silicon metering</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Argus/Cosina EC 2000</p>

<p > </p>

<p >4) <strong>Cosina Hi Lite ECII </strong>AE hold added, spot and averaging meter</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Vivitar 650 SLX</p>

<p > </p>

<p >The cameras below each main type were sold under other labels, but were the same machine. I had the Chinon CE-II Memotron - a beast of a camera at 760 grams for the body only, but worked very well and good build quality. Viewfinder a bit squinty and with a blue tinge. Shows 92% of the 24x36 frame with magnification of 0.88x with the 55mm f/1.4 standard lens. Shows the speeds the camera chooses on the right hand side of the viewfinder using a needle and scale.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >I had to replace the light seals. See my page on doing same without using foam: HOW TO REPLACE LIGHT SEALS WITHOUT USING FOAM STRIPS, MOVIE CAMERA STYLE (http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00SVtt)</p>

<p > </p>

<p >I have gone back to the Spotmatic SP. Lightest of the Spotmatics and nice ergonomics. I mostly use Zeiss Jena MC lenses for their superior colour reproduction.</p>

</p>

</p><div></div>

<p>From Above:</p><div></div>

<p>Viewfinder:</p><div></div>

<p>• Plus the Chinon CE 3 Memotron</p>

<p ><strong></strong></p>

<p >- Shutter priority AE, smaller and lighter than the Memotron CE and CE II, but shutter only runs to 1/1000 second and prone to camera shake at slow speeds.</p>

<p>Three options come to mind:<br>

1. Get the meter fixed as a part of a service.<br>

2. Buy another body - they are not expensive.<br>

3. Learn to use a hand-held meter. Yes, it's a bit slower but I've found it forces me to think about the shot.</p>

<p>Peter, thanks so much for that comprehensive list of open aperture bodies! the cosina or cosina/argus appeal to me since i'm a voigtlander bessa user. and light seal replacement--i am getting to be a pro!</p>

<p>this passed weekend i took some of my taks out with a k1000 se and pentax adaptor k and just sucked up my whining about stop down metering. i was getting the hang of things when i decided to buy a nikkormat FTN with 50mm 1.4 at a pawn shop--that camera then took all my attention away from the pentax set-up. the ftn's from the same era as the spot but no need to worry about stop-down. it was serendipity. but i promised the takumars that i'd get back to them soon!</p>

<p>A late addition for anyone who wanders by...</p>

<p>The answer to the original question is that no body can give full aperture metering without some way of communicating the lens opening to the body. This is not a part of single-pin M42. The Chinon's and family have very fast meters that really read AFTER the lens stops down for the actual exposure so it LOOKS like full-aperture metering. I have used them for years and think they are great but the shutter throw is long and stiff (which I do not mind at all). The Spotmatic F and ES had additional links on the screw mount. Most conspicuous is a square lug that points from the lens toward the body just inside the threads. There is also a tab sticking out of the back of the lens from an arc-shaped slot just inside the threads. It moves when the aperture ring moves. If you don't have these you will not have full-aperture reading on an ES or F. So I think the Chinons are about the only game in town and they even offer auto exposure. Indeed, I would use that, as in my experience the autoexposure is often much more accurate than the meter reading in the viewfinder.</p>