The SLR that Outsold Canon & Nikon COMBINED
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- čas přidán 10. 08. 2023
- The Pentax Spotmatic is an amazing, and truly groundbreaking (for it's time) mechanical SLR that hasn't been crazily over hyped.
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In the late 1960's two of my mates ( brothers ) earned very healthy incomes as 'glamour' photographers shooting photo sets for soft-porn men's magazines. Their cameras of choice were Pentax Spotmatics. Between the two of them they had five or six bodies and a whole collection of 55, 85, and 105mm Takumar lenses. It was on their recommendation I bought my first Spotmatic, a decision I never regretted.
I have a Pentax Spotmatic SPII, and after having it overhauled & lubed, it performs very well. In the post WWII Era, the company went in a different direction than Nikon or Canon, which first made imitation Leica rangefinders. Sense Pentax always desired a reflex design and by 1964, the Spotmatic was introduced. Timed well with the 1964 Tokyo Olympic games, visitors got the experience w the Spotmatic and film kiosks in the Olympic Village made it so convenient. Spotmatic is a true classic. Bravo. 😊
As an owner of one of the first generation of this camera, I can tell you that another difference is that unlike the orange colour paint used for the shutter speed dial, the original colour was green.
Went to the original Woodstock 1969 site and went to the museum they had. They happen to had multiple different props and items from the original festival including this exact model of Pentax
A great homage to the Spotmatic. I took my first picture with one around 1967, it belonged to my Father, a forensic photographer. I still have it and use it, with an adaptor to take a modern battery. I think it just looks right. I have had to replace the light seals and mirror buffer, but apart from that it just keeps going.
I just ordered a Spotmatic SP. in EX condition from KEH for $100. I don’t know the model differences. But I already have the 55mm. 1.8 lens. And I think I might want to buy the 24mm Pentax lens. My camera will arrive this next week. And I am excited to shoot with it.
The Spotmatic was, for its time, really compact. It's not Olympus OM-1 small, but the Minolta SRTs, Nikkormats, and various Canon SLR bodies were bricks compared to it. I suspect that played a big role in its success. You could put the kit 55mm f/1.8 on it, and you had something that was not much bigger or heavier or harder to use than the fixed lens rangefinders that were all the rage in the 60's.
Got mine in and loaded it with TRI-X 400 film. Waiting for a battery and the ring adapter for it. Shooting sunny 16 until then. But wow this is a gorgeous little camera. Lighter and better looking design wise than my Nikon F2 and F3hp.
Excellent show, a pleasure to watch. Gorgeous music, deep and clear voice, a beautifull Spotmatic example, and everything to know about this very important camera. I have several old slr, Nikon, Canon, Leica and, the Spotmatic (mine is the II) is always a pleasure to shoot with, giving excellent results in all 36 exposures.
Although having been stucking on Nikon since 1971, I love the Asahi Pentax Spotmatic. It was a very social camera because of the M42 screw thread, which also made it possible to attach very inexpensive lenses - best suited for beginners who switched to Pentax and first of all wanted to try out a certain range of lenses from wide angle to telephoto. And in 2023, my very early dream of the Spotmatic finally came true: 80 euros for a 'black beauty' incl. SMC-Takumar 1.4/50;-)) @philosimot
I've recently fallen in love with the Pentax MX.
An enjoyable presentation, thanks! A Spotmatic F was my first SLR and I wish I still owned it. The Pentax M42 lenses are absolute gems.They still offer image quality with fabulous character which I love (also used on my Fujifilm digital bodies).
Thousands of us talk about them. 😀 They are extremely popular and very collectable. As you say the one you have there is a second version SP Model 23102. The first batch only produced for 1 year was Model 231 and had 4 differences, a taller cover on the frame counter, a screw holding cover was on the side not the top, the stop down lever was very slim . I am lucky and have one of these rare first edition Spotmatics in full working order in my collection.👍
My 2nd camera was the Spotmatic II. I don't think I ever saw the Topcon camera other than in camera magazines. I had my Pentax from 1971-1999. The only thing that broke was the plastic meter switch.
My first SLR camera was in the 1970’s and it was a Pentax Spotmatic. It was a beautiful looking camera and 50 mm lens. It was not quite as sturdy as my later Nikon F3-HP. But both cameras take great pictures.
Enjoyable story of a great camera. I have a couple of the later version ES II models. Stunning and all these cameras have the fun of using the Takumar lenses.
Really cool video. Love Spotmatics (almost as much as the K1000 😅). Really mint condition SP you have.
I collect film cameras, including leicas and I have two Nikon F types too. The two Pentax Spotmatics I have are the Spotmatic, which was a used acquisition some time back plus a black bodied SP II which I bought brand new in the early seventies. They are beautiful to look at beautiful to use, everything falls to hand so easily and have that undefinable feel of quality. the Takumar lenses are a joy to use with focus mechanisms that are a smooth as a hot knife through butter.
I had many Pentax cameras. They are really beautiful compared to other classic cameras. But Pentax broke easily so I switched to Nikon F3 HP which never seems to break
Lovely review! 🤩 I allways remove any accessory shoes from any camera if it is possible because they make beautiful cameras ugly. I store them with my flash units, so I’ll find them if I need them. Keep it up! 😊👍🏻