Question about Pentax SV

[harry_zet]

<p>to the Pentax-fans here: the Pentax SV is said to have a very good viewfinder: how does it compare to that on a spotmatic? is it really brighter?</p>

[gib]

<p>I have a S1A and some spotmatics and I find the S1A ia a little dimmer. I am trying to recall when the SV came out and think it is about the same vintage as the S1a, at least i think so.</p>

[astral]

<p><em>Overall</em> , the screens are about the same brightness. The most significant difference is that the SV has a <em>much</em> larger microprism spot than the SPI/II which makes focussing easier.</p>

<p>The Spotmatic's microprism blacks-out at c. f5.6 and focussing then becomes very difficult, but the big m/prism spot in the SV remains useable down to f16, even in quite low light levels.</p>

[bob_miller4]

<p>1. Info on the Web says that:<br>

Asahi Pentax S1A = Honeywell Pentax H1A <br>

Asahi Pentax SV = Honeywell Pentax H3V</p>

<p>2. Alan, do you have a clue as to why the Spotmatic was given a smaller microprism area? Could this be related to the metering in the Spotmatic?</p>

 

[astral]

<p>Bob, the metering <em>pattern </em> of the Spotmatics isn't directly related to the size of the central matte and microprism areas: in reality it's a fairly wide oblong, wide-area, centre-weighted pattern. But I don't know whether the <em>overall design</em> of new screen was a necessary consequence of the metering setup.</p>

<p>Or, was it just a ruse to give an impression that the Spotmatic did actually have spot metering - which was abandoned before production started?.</p>

<p>Certainly there are practical differences:</p>

<ul>

<li>The SV's m/prism is about 4mm dia set in an 8mm matte: the Spotmatic I has a 2mm m/prism set in a 10mm matte (approx).</li>

<li>Also, the Spotmatic viewfinder <em>appears </em> sharper at the edges of the frame than the SV (due to a much finer fresnel area) while the SV appears better at the centre. </li>

</ul>

<p>Thus, the Spotmatic <em>may </em> be considered to be better for general photography, while the SV <em>may </em> be better for close-ups as well as for slow lenses or in poor light.</p>

<p>I needed an excuse to take them both out, so making a closer practical comparison might be a job for the coming weekend ... maybe.</p>