Spotmatics are addictive

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>Just when I thought I was getting over my classic manual camera addiction, a couple of spotmatics pull me back in. I, like many others here, like collecting and using classic manual cameras. I mainly have Nikons, but have an early spotmatic with the 55/1.8 lens. It, along with many of my other cameras , didn't get much use so I have sold a few cameras. My wife is happy about that. I kept the spotmatic because it is so well built and because the re-sale value isn't much. I occasionally visit local thrift stores and check out donated cameras. A few days ago, one had received a large donation of cameras. I ended up with a spotmatic f with 50/1.4 smc and a broken (or so I thought) ES with 50mm/1.4 super multi coated takumar. I had bought the ES with the intention of selling the lens. I found out online how to fix the ES, and I am having second thought about selling it. All 3 cameras work mechanically and the meters work. Now, instead of selling un-used equipment, I am collecting more. These cameras are addictive. Is it wrong to sit and play with the smooth focus and film advance. I'm sure I can stop anytime I want to. Now I am going to have to buy more film. I'm sure I am not the only person with this illness. Here are a few photos of the cameras. The spotmatic with the orange leatherette doesn't usually look that orange. It is closer to a tan color, but looks more vivid against the blue background. My son picked the color at the aki-asahi website.</p><div></div>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>Here is a photo of the orange one.</p><div></div>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>I really like the Spotmatic F. I was testing the meter using the switch to the left of the lens mount. I then realized it was metering even when not using the switch and thought something was wrong with it. I wasn't aware that it was working properly until I did a search for info here.</p><div></div>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>The ES suffered the most wear of the 3 cameras, but seems to work fine now. It was having a problem where the mirror would get stuck and the aperture would remain stopped down. At first I thought it was sticky mirror foam but did a search and found out it was mechanical. I found a site that went step by step through fixing it and was done in about 5 minutes. It isn't as clean as the other 2 but works great now.</p><div></div>

[stemked]

<p>Jon,<br>

Like many here I started my first 'real' photography with a Spotmatic, in my case a Spotmatic F (in the way of disclosure I had a Praktica too and a Kodak Fun-something, but I really never liked them), And yes I loved my 50mm f1.4 SMC Takumar. The camera was my go-to camera for about 10 years and it survivedmany a journey until finally meeting its fate on a pavement in Baltimore. By that time I had discovered K-mount (in my case a P30T) and that there actually were more lenses than just 50mm. But year, that wonderful feel of advancing the film, solid and smooth are one of those nuances that all Spotmatic owners love.<br>

I have to say the orange one there is a real beauty, can't say I've ever seen one like it before. I did own an ES briefly (I bought it for the same reason you did, attached lens). With a bucketful of beautiful K-mount film bodies though I'm afraid I am not going back to the Spotmatic even with all its charms. Glad to see there are some fans though.</p>

[mendel_leisk]

<p>This is my close cousin, with a 50mm f2.0. Found in a used treasures store, complete with case, for $67. Basically looking for a good home, I guess. I'm on my fourth roll of Tri-X. It takes me a long time to shoot each roll, for some reason. Like the set-it-and-forget-it manual metering. Took me a while to realize the metering "switch" was the lens cap. I'm forever trying to take a pic, then realizing I've yet to advance the film. ;)</p>

<p>They're a delight, hope film and chemicals continue to be available. Suspect they will, just like vinyl records.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>Douglas, thanks for the comments. The leatherette for the orange one came from Japan. The company is aki-asahi.com There is another place that has more choices called cameraleather.com. I do have a couple of K mount bodies. I have an MX with 35-70/f2.8 and a K1000 with 50/f2. The 35-70 is the early autofocus lens. The electronics in the lens were dead, so I gutted it and use as manual focus. The K1000 is actually my wifes camera and the one camera I will never get rid of. It was given to her by her father, but it has more sentimental value to me because it was the reason we met. I was teaching photography through a community education program and she took the class to learn more about photography. 10 years later we, and the camera. are still doing great.</p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Nice collection, Jon. The tan one is nifty.<br>

You might enjoy my write up on the ES<a href="/classic-cameras-forum/00X86Q"> HERE</a></p>

[JDMvW]

<p>My first 'serious' camera was a Heiland Pentax H-2 (post on personal history at <a href="/classic-cameras-forum/00Y3Rk">link</a>). I still think it and its close relatives are among the prettiest SLRs.</p>

[hinman]

<p>Jon, can you please share the link to fixing the ES problem with stuck mirror. I get my Spotmatic jammed and I manage to find this site for the solution. And it works. </p>

<p><a href="http://forum.mflenses.com/jammed-spotmatic-t7169.html">http://forum.mflenses.com/jammed-spotmatic-t7169.html</a></p>

<p><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2927/14545183933_08bb05a808_b.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I got mine jammed with soft shutter release and film wind stuck. And I use the illustrated discussion to open up base and the details in the disscussion <a href="http://forum.mflenses.com/jammed-spotmatic-t7169.html">http://forum.mflenses.com/jammed-spotmatic-t7169.html</a> </p>

 

[hinman]

<p><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3854/14545194143_a0429087c6_b.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>The spotmatic is addictive to me but I haven't gotten used to the viewfinder. I wear glasses and I have hard time telling if things are in focus. I prefer my other film cameras with split focusing screen. And I love the diagonal split screen on my Ricoh xr-p. But the spotmatic wins hands down on wonderful build and charisma with simple design and simple aesthetic design that is addictive to say the least</p>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>Hin, the site I found is <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-fix-a-ceased-mirror-on-a-Pentax-ES-Spotmati/">http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-fix-a-ceased-mirror-on-a-Pentax-ES-Spotmati/</a> I don't know if the solution will work on other spotmatics, but it worked for my ES.</p>

[hinman]

<p>Thanks Jon for the link, it is very informative. I fixed up my jammed spotmatic similar to the article but one thing that I have not done is to clean up and lubricate the pin and L lever as suggested towards the last two steps. Much thanks!</p>

[nickc1]

<p>In 1976 my 21st birthday present from me to me was a Spotmatic SP1000, replacing an Exa500, my first SLR - talk about chalk and cheese! The Pentax was my only 35mm camera for nearly 15 years and never failed - even the (Mercury) batteries never seemed to wear out!</p>

<p>With hindsight I now appreciate the Exa in its different way, even though the one I have now sounds like a bag of bolts while the Pentax that I bought for nostalgic reasons to remind me of that one from 1976 is just as silky smooth as the original.</p>

<p>Enjoy!</p>

<p>Nick</p>

 

[andrewg_ny]

Nice trio. I have a meterless S1a which I take out to fondle every now and then. Love the film advance feel and the the

beautiful looks of the early Pentax. I feel that they lost a little of that elegance with the chunkier late auto-exposure

models and the K bodies. Got some of that back with the MX and ME though.

[wazungi]

<p>Beautiful, aren't they. I bought an Asahi (not Honeywell) Pentax Spotmatic 1000 when I was in the Navy in the 60's. That was my only camera for over thirty years and it never failed in all that time. Of all the things I lost in a California wildfire, and that was almost everything, I miss that camera the most.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>From a design perspective I've always found the Spotmatics more appealing than the K1000 - particularly the early versions without the flash/accessory shoe.</p>

<p>Besides the lack of a shoe to clutter the look, the Spotmatic was much more refined in design in ways that seem subtle but effective. For one thing the font for the word Pentax is more elegant than the clunky too-bold version on the K1000. And the "K" in the K1000 is ghastly. The font selection reeked of the over-the-top 1970s and early '80s design style, lacking the more refined sensibility of 1960s graphic design seen in everything from product logos to advertising.</p>

<p>The Spotmatic prism and front plate had a more subtly swept-back profile, where the K1000 has a furrowed brow. The Spotmatic seems carefree and breezy, while the K1000 looks grim and studious.</p>

<p>Little things, sure, but a lot of little details contribute to good design. A lot of thought went into the Spotmatic, while the K1000 always seemed strictly utilitarian, the product of engineering function and marketing, without any real consideration given to form.</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>The K2 and MX had a little more elegance in some of the details than the KM, KX, and K1000. A detail that comes to mind is the exposure counter for these models being integrated into the body rather than into the more plastic-ey advance lever. The K-series bodies were a bit of a product of enlarging the bodies for the electronic capabilities of the spotmatic F, electro spotmatic, etc. and lost some of the more svelte lines of the full-manual spotmatics (and earlier) that were not regained until the ME/MX.</p>