Pentax spotmatic II

[mal_yas]

Hi, I got a Spotmatic II camera with a Cosina 50mm 1.4 and a Zeiss

Tessar 50mm 2.8 lens. The Cosina lens has the Auto and Manual lever

that we could choose from but the Zeiss lens does not have that lever

(only a small level that goes in and out when the light meter is

switched on and of . The question is why when using the Tessar lens,

changing the aperture won't move the light/exposure needle? The

needle only move when I change the shutter speed? Is the Tessar lens

broken? If not, how is the shooting setting using this lens?

Any thought?

[stephen_kruft]

That camera is stop-down metering, so you need to actually stop the lens down to read the light accurately. If you are doing so, and your view becomes lighter and darker, the meter should move. If it does not, it is probably defective,

[mal_yas]

Thanks,

 

If I take off the Tessar from the camera and rotate the aperture ring, should the diaphrams or blades react accordingly?

[mal_yas]

I tried but the blades remain open, so?

[Sandeha Lynch]

On or off camera, the iris will stay fully open (even with the aperture ring set to f22) until you press either the pin at the base of the lens or the lever on the side - then the iris will close. Press either of those and the iris should react snappily to the aperture you have set.

[mal_yas]

Thanks, I pressed both levers individually, the blades did not react, so I guess this is a garbage then..

 

Thanks by the way

[Sandeha Lynch]

Often cheaper to find another old one than to pay for repairs - but worth looking around for repair people in your area.

[david_m]

It is very common for lenses from the old East Germany to malfunction. Many of the lenses refuse to stop down or focus. Don't be fooled by the Carl Zeiss Jena name; these lenses were very poorly made.