To quote from [1]: "If the objective is to buy a lightweight, quiet and reliable camera outfit that delivers top-quality images at the modest price, then a Pentax Spotmatic or SV/S1a outfit must be a strong contender. If you are also concerned to achieve a financial return on your investment, then the Pentax is rather less attractive."
From Gary Eschman:
While I've been a serious photographer for approximately 50 years, I
float in and out of the seriousness I bring to the game. At one low-ebb
photography period, in 1968, I purchased a Honeywell Pentax SP 500 merely to
produce some transparencies for a real estate project.
I subsequently started using the camera for vacation transparencies while
viewing the results solely via a slide projector.
Ten years later, I began making medium format black & white negatives for the
media to produce 16 X 20 prints, exclusively for sale. The Pentax SP 500 was
relegated to an office drawer where it remained for a number of years.
After moving into a house where the walls required large ‘artwork' I went back
through some 20 year old transparencies I'd produced with the SP 500. I found a
couple that were appropriate and had them enlarged by The SlidePrinter in
Denver, Colorado to approximately 3 X 4 FEET. The sharpness of the prints was
stunning!
I instantly began looking at my old Pentax SP 500 through new eyes. I gradually
acquired a few more Takumar lenses and eventually another body, via the
Internet.
While I retain two medium format cameras and a Nikon 35 mm I use my Pentax on
almost a daily basis. Great workhorse. I recently acquired a Pentax ES II body
to supplement my system.
Yeah. . . it's still kinda of a pain switching lenses anywhere between 20mm and
200mm but the payoff is the quality and sharpness. At one time, I had owned a
Leica and the sharpness of the Takumar lenses compare favorably to the various
Leica lenses I had at that time.
Currently my complete photography operation is digitized; Adobe PhotoShop, high
quality CD scans, Epson Stylus 2000P printer, etc. That is, except for the
camera. I continue to use my various Pentaxes, SP 500, IIa, ES II, etc. These
cameras and their respective Takumar lenses are gems and can currently be
acquired at almost give-away prices.
From Paull:
(About Spotmatic SP1000). Awesome old tank! Others have been thru and fallen to bits, but that
old pentax just soldiers on! It has fallen and been dropped, taught kids,
and gathered dust and had a shower or 2. It even does work with a
modified 35mm lens to pinhole standards and i am still scanning
some of the original slides into the computer and the nikon scanner
still can't do justice to the images on Kodachrome 25.
From Jim Scheffler:
My first "serious" camera was an un-metered Asahi Pentax SV bought at a
pawnshop outside of Ft. Carson, Colorado in 1967. I used that camera in
Vietnam for a year and there bought several Takumar lenses and the clip-on
CdS meter in the PX. I still have the SV. My first new serious camera
was a black SPII which I imported direct from Hong Kong. It came in with
a gummy substance covering the Asahi name in deference to the Honeywell
company. It was a great camera also.
I think the screw mount Pentaxes were of very high mechanical and optical
quality. They still remain a pleasure to use, despite the now antiquated
stop-down metering on earlier models and the somewhat dim focus screens.
They are certainly affordable. I recently bought a chrome Spotmatic with
35/3.5, 50/1.4, and 135/3.5 Super Takumars, cases, and an original Pentax
rechargeable flash, all for $4 at a garage sale. Since I buy and sell
camera equipment to supplement my retirement, this was a great buy. I may
have to run a roll through it before putting it on my table at the next
show!
From Dave M.:
My Pentax SPII got me back into 35 mm SLR photography and even
though I also have 2 digital cameras in the house, it is one of my
favorite cameras. You just can't beat a well designed product no matter
when it was made. I work in the car industry and I feel a good camera is
like a classic car, you can cherish it and put it in a museum but only in
driving one can you truly appreciate it.
From Gary Gordon:
I have had my Spotmatic SP since 1969. I bought it new in Saigon at
the PX in Cholon for a princely sum of $125.00. It has been my only camera for
34 years. I have had it serviced about 4 times over the 34 years and it
continues to take superb pictures. It has made four trips to the top of Mt.
Rainier a trek through Russia in 1972 and has been in 42 countries, countless
little league games, and boy scout adventures. It is simply the best, most
durable SLR ever produced at any price. I have literally worn out the strap
lugs from having it hang on my neck for so many years, yet it keeps on working
flawlessly. I liked it when I first picked it up and still like it.
From Jim M Wasata:
I purchased my Pentax Sp in 1971 in Japan while in the navy. I taken
hundreds of photos over the years and seems to be my only 35 mm camera
used. After years of service the camers seemed not to work properly. I
thought about replacement but first i thought about repairs. I took the
camera to a repair shop. I told the repairman that the meter didn't seem
to work and pictures were dark and grainey. Well, a week later he made all
necessary repairs,including new mirror gaskets, and general cleaning. He
told me not to sell this particular camera as it was a metal body as still
perferred by fasion photographers because of the manual
characteristics.There is only a few problem with the Pentax SP. First the
screw in mount is inconvienant and lenses are hard to find. manually
reading the apperture chart on the back of the flash to set f stop is slow
and cumbersome. All in all the photos are still great after 31 years of
service. Now I'm starting to look at her replacement with a 5 pixel
digital camera, but am not convinced yet.
From John Hickman :
I bought a Honeywell Pentax H1a in January of 1966. Over the next
few years, I photographed two college yearbooks with it and a 28mm Vivitar and a
135mm Spiratone (plus the 55mm Takumar). At the time, this was an up to date
kit. The lenses were sharp, the camera was bulletproof. I purchased a
Spotmatic in early 1969 and only in the last few years have started to trust the
lightmeter even though it's always right, I learned photography with a $30
Knight Kit that got stolen in 1995. In 1971, the shutter went out of the H1a,
and I never had it fixed, and I later bought an Asahi SL, then a Chinon CE-3
(auto exposure), a ESII, and finally another Spotmatic. The first Spotmatic had
a shutter rebuild, the ESII had a meter rebuild, and the Chinon has always been
a little idiosyncratic. In general, the Spotmatics work well and can be fixed.
The Chinon is the most delicate, and I find myself using the Spotmatic and the
ESII most of the time. Most have been dropped with no damage. In my opinion,
the best Japanese SLR for the money. My original Spotmatic is almost 35 years
old and still works perfectly. I've got so many lenses, there isn't much point
in changing- but while the cameras seem ageless, I can't focus as well myself.
How about an autofocus lens for the screw mount?
From Wayne Thurston :
I have enjoyed my Spotmatic F immensely through amatuer and
professional uses. In fact, I had to buy a second SP-F to quick change from BW
and Color film. Although I have used Mamiya 6 x 7 for studio work, my SP-Fs have
been the workhorse cameras of my 'fleet'. I now own an ME (estate sale) but
choose the SP-F for the majority of my scenic work and everyday 'grandkid'
photos. I am now considering the *istD but will still continue to use the
workhorse for many years to come.
Would you like to share your experience with Pentax screw mount cameras?
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