SPOTMATIC: Happy 50th Anniversary

[David Lyga]

In late 1964 the Spotmatic was (finally!) released into the consumer marketplace after four years of R&D. Judging (in retrospect), the stunning success of this SLR was testament to its build quality, ergonomics, and simplicity of design (which demanded rigorous engineering). I have enclosed a couple of pages from the original operating manual.

I do have one question that I cannot find an answer to. Recently I got a 'used' body that is practically new. Everything works, but, of course, I had to clean out the prism area because I do not like dust. Also, one of the strap lugs was loose and its internal screw had to be tightened. Removing the top on this one was a bit different.

I believe that this one was one of the first in formal production because something about it was quickly discontinuted. On the upper SIDE, near the film advance lever, is a chrome screw holding the top to the body. (On subsequent models this chrome screw was placed on TOP, right next to (and partially underneath) that film advance lever.) But what frustrated me this time was the fact that the frame-counter wheel was tensed by a VISIBLE, long, circular spring right under that film-counter wheel. Subsequent models did away with this spring location, (I believe, because of the impediment it caused for removing the top), by placing that spring safely underneath anything that required its removal when taking off the top cover. I had a big problem re-instating that frame-counter spring when I put the top back on and was prepared to sacrifice the frame-counter in return for having a clean prism area. But, after a night's rest, I re-examined the situation and succeeded this morning with everything intact. Also, another indicator of the difference between this model and subsequent ones: the mirror cannot be fully raised by a finger before firing the shutter.

Question: am I correct in stating that this had to be an initial production model? And that that situation was remedied with subsequent models? - David Lyga

 

[Hatchetman]

I concur! Great camera. I will go home and wish them a Happy Birthday!

 

[filmamigo]

A true milestone. For me, the Spotmatic is the Platonic Ideal of a camera.

I learned to shoot on my Dad's black Spotmatic F. That camera is now mine, and is THE camera that I would never sell and keep forever.

I have heard other folks wax about their perfect cameras -- often a Nikon F2, Leica M3 or Canon F-1. The Spottie may seem proletariat amongst that noble crowd. But the Spotmatic's excellent mechanical build, solid heft, and beautiful Takumar lenses do not leave me wanting for anything else. After all these years, the only drawback I find is the slightly dim viewfinder, which may have more to do with the mirror in my specific Spottie than with the model as a whole.

 

[David Lyga]

The Spottie may seem proletariat amongst that noble crowd.

The 'proletariat' analogy attains validity in appearance only, and seems so simply because all of the unnecessary 'errata' have been eliminated. (The Canon 'mechanicals' suffered from internal overkill in this regard.)

This 'simple' Spotmatic body is, really, the result and refinement of much intellectual labor, and, frankly, one could be justified in calling this a 'professional' machine. - David Lyga

 

[dynachrome]

My collection of M42 mount cameras includes three Pentax models which are in various states of disrepair. They are a Spotmatic, a Spotmatic II and a Spotmatic F. Of the three, the original Spotmatic was the most important and had the longest run. In some ways the Spotmatic was behind the times soon after it came out. It was an early camera to have TTL metering but it was stop-down metering. It also had a thread mount rather than a bayonet or breech lock mount. Even the Super Takumars had decent coating. The later Super Multi Coating was even better. In 1965 the Konica Auto Reflex (Autorex) was introduced. It had both a bayonet mount and shutter priority automation but it did not have TTL metering. In 1966 we saw the Minolta SRT 101 and the Canon FT QL. Both were match needle metering cameras. Minolta had the bayonet mount and Canon had the breech lock mount. Both had TTL metering. The big difference? The Minolta had full aperture metering. In 1968 Konica brought out the Autoreflex T. It added TTL metering while removing the half frame feature of the Auto Reflex. By 1971 Asahi had the Spotmatic II and lenses with more advanced coating but it stuck stubbornly with stop-down metering and the thread mount. That was the same year Canon had the F-1 and FTb QL models. Both used the new FD lenses and had full aperture metering. By the time the Spotmatic F came out its full aperture metering with the SMC lenses still couldn't compensate for the lack of a bayonet mount. The bayonet 'K' mount finally appeared in 1975 with the KM, KX and K2 models but by then the feature sets of these cameras were nothing special. I use a KM and a K2 now and I am waiting to have a KX overhauled. When I think about the Spotmatic and Spotmatic II models I think about the annoying metering tab which must be reset for each shot (if metering is needed for each shot). Both the Canon FT QL and the Mamiya 500DTL and 1000DTL cameras use stop-down metering but have more smooth operation. The Mamiyas allow you to choose between spot and averaging metering and the FT QL has limited area metering. At some point I will get my M42 Pentax cameras to Eric Hendrickson so I can use them with confidence. When I look through a Spotmatic I see a fairly dim image. This has caused me to use my Takumars mostly with adapters on Minolta X-700 and Canon F-1 cameras. While the Spotmatic was never my favorite camera, it is for reasons of convenience and not of quality. I respect its capabilities and the many years of success it had in the market.

 

[David Lyga]

Dim image? I think that that might be ameliorated by the sharpness in the viewfinder. Appreciate you comments, dynachrome. - David Lyga

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

David,
Could you post a shot of that SP, please?
Can you tell what is the max ISO under the shutter dial and what is the shape of the meter switch, please? Is the switch small and thin in width?

 

[Les Sarile]

It is too bad it took Pentax a number of years to go from the first prototype TTL metering before finally producing the Spotmatic. The prototype even sported a spot meter. In the context of their era, I have always appreciated the big bright viewfinders introduced by Pentax starting with the original AP through the Spotmatic F.

Happy 50th Anniversary to the Spotmatic!

 

[David Lyga]

David,
Could you post a shot of that SP, please?
Can you tell what is the max ISO under the shutter dial and what is the shape of the meter switch, please? Is the switch small and thin in width?

OK,Ricardo, but wait until tomorrow. I will have time by then.

And, by the way, Les Sarlie, I happen the think that the Spotmatic's predecessor, the SV, was the most aesthetic body ever produced. I adore them, especially when having to remove the top to clean them: so easy! - David Lyga

 

[DREW WILEY]

I still have a lens from mine, which had a lovely rendering I often miss with my more modern super-contrasty Nikon lenses. So if I can find one of these Spotmatics in good condition (still good seals) I wouldn't mind picking one up. It's almost unbelievable what kind of hell I put it thru in the mtns, trip after trip. It even took a serious dunking in ice water with me once. Finally the shutter speeds started wearing out. But no fancy electronic camera would have ever endured a fraction of the punishment I gave that machine. Mine was an early Honeywell that required an externally coupled meter. But I never got even Kodachrome incorrectly exposed.

 

[PentaxBronica]

My working Pentax M42 bodies are a Spotmatic, an SV, and a H2.

The latter was a lucky find. It looks great, but only cost £5 due to the shutter not firing. A bit of strategic dribbling of lighter fluid and then a few drops of light oil, and the test roll was a complete success. It's the early type without the notch for the clip-on light meter, at the moment I have a 55mm f2.2 lens attached which would originally have partnered an S1/H1.

The basic mechanism from the Spotmatic was used in the KX, KM, K1000 and finally the MX. About its only weak spot is a tendency for the shutter to cap, but a bit of cleaning and oiling will usually solve that.

 

[Peltigera]

This is the camera I lusted after when the best I could afford was a Zenit E (and even that took some saving up for!). Very pleased to say that I eventually have one and I love it.

 

[Hatchetman]

One of my babies:

 

[Les Sarile]

OK,Ricardo, but wait until tomorrow. I will have time by then.

And, by the way, Les Sarlie, I happen the think that the Spotmatic's predecessor, the SV, was the most aesthetic body ever produced. I adore them, especially when having to remove the top to clean them: so easy! - David Lyga

At the moment I really would like to get the S to fill the void between the AP and the K.

 

[Chrismat]

I love Spotties, but I really love my Pentax SV that Eric Hendrickson cla'd earlier this year. Beautiful camera, and I learned not too long ago that Pentax gave the Beatles the black versions of the SV. They used them a lot during the film of A Hard Day's Night. I have a Honeywell Pentax H3 that hopefully I'll ship to Eric before the end of the year for a much needed cla.

 

[oreston]

David,

Congratulations on your new Spottie. From your description you evidently do have an early model (look forward to seeing some pics. of it) but exactly how early is not so easy to say since during the early part of its production run the Spotmatic seems to have been in a state of near continuous development. Quite a few minor features and construction details changed between the camera's launch in the latter half of 1964 and the formal change of its Asahi product number from 231 to 23102 - which I believe happened sometime in 1966. The great majority of Spotmatic SP cameras (by which I mean the original Spotmatic, not including the Spotmatic II, Spotmatic F, SP 500, SP 1000, SL, ES etc.) are the later 23102 variant.

To know whether yours is the 1964 absolute first production model it would need to have a few other characteristics besides those you've already mentioned. If present, these would separate it not only from the 23102 version but from slightly later "early" 231 type Spotmatics from 1965-66.

The lens mount would need to be attached to the front standard by four screws. The internal construction of the film speed sub-dial would need to be different from all later Spotmatics and their K series descendants. Hard to explain, but the actual dial is attached to the top of a sort of tube with three vertical slots cut out from it, the tube sitting with the coil spring inside it within the shutter speed dial. The three slots engage with tabs on the internal base of the speed dial. The trick for reassembling it is that the slots are at irregular intervals and you can only fit the dial back together properly one way, when the right slots are aligned with the right tabs. The most significant difference though is the film speed range, which on the very earliest Spotties was 10-800 ASA rather than 20-1600 ASA.

These features I believe describe the Spotmatic as it was in October 1964 when an American called Fred Springer-Miller got his hands on one and tried it out at the Tokyo Olympics. His initial impression of the new camera (not a full test report) was published the following spring in Popular Photography when the camera was about to make its international export debut. You can download a copy of the article here: http://petapixel.com/2013/10/06/blast-past-pentax-spotmatic-review-1965/

The Spotmatic had already started to evolve by early 1965 and (while any early Spottie is comparatively uncommon) you will look long and hard for one with the early film speed range and dial. I got lucky and scored one from Japan on ebay a few months ago. It was sold for spares or repairs and was a wreck mechanically (far, far beyond my level of skill to put right) so it's taken a professional CLA to bring it back to life. Fortunately I was able to afford the expense and for me reviving an original 1964 Spottie seemed a fitting way to mark the 50th birthday of an iconic piece of equipment for which I have immense respect and admiration (and I say this as someone who wasn't even alive in 1964). Unfortunately it didn't come with a lens. The ultimate would have been a matching 8 element Super Takumar 50/1.4, but never mind.

To answer your other question, the exposed return spring under the frame counter dial seems to have disappeared around the time they changed over to the 23102 model. The earlier arrangement with the spring right under the counter dial needed a visibly taller cover for the counter dial and this makes cameras equipped with it quite easy to identify. I can relate to your experience trying to reassemble the darned fiddly thing. Probably quite a few got swapped for the later type during service over the decades.

I think the changes that Asahi made from the early to the later Spotmatic were for the best. Even if you have small fingers, the wide meter switch is much easier to use. It's good to have the early version of the camera though and it's no small tribute to the Spotmatic concept, its ergonomics and excellent engineering, that 50 years on anybody even cares about the small stuff.

 

[Steve Roberts]

got his hands on one and tried it out at the Tokyo Olympics. .

A slightly unusual Pentax I have is what's known as an S2 Super, basically an S1a with the 1/1000th sec speed marked as opposed to the position being there but not labelled. I bought this some years ago from a lady whose parents went to Tokyo for the Olympics and bought the camera there. IIRC the S2 Super was only offered to the Japanese home market.
Steve

 

[David Lyga]

OK, here is the body I have. The photos are taken AFTER I put everything back together again (lots of swearing!).

It is NOT the SP. The serial number is 1042609. The first photo shows the (rare) side screw. The metering allows from ASA 20 to 1600. - David Lyga

 

[Steve Smith]

In late 1964 the Spotmatic was (finally!) released

It's as old as me the!


Steve.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

OK, here is the body I have. The photos are taken AFTER I put everything back together again (lots of swearing!).

It is NOT the SP. The serial number is 1042609. The first photo shows the (rare) side screw. The metering allows from ASA 20 to 1600. - David Lyga

Thanks David!
I see you have the American version Heiland, not the Asahi labelled.
The original Asahi Pentax Spotmatic did have a SP on the top plate.
Apart from the different name yours is identical to mine, screw and everything else. Mine serial is 1067493.
The first production batch had the ASA only to 800.

 

[narsuitus]

Two of my earliest cameras, the Argus C3 and Miranda Sensor, used screw-mounted lenses (well, the Sensorex used both screw and bayonet mounted lenses).

When the Sensorex proved to be unreliable, I got rid of it and replaced it with an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic that also used screw-mounted lenses.

Today, I still use the Spotmatics and the following three Takumar lenses; each mounted on a body so I do not waste time changing lenses.

a) 135mm f/3.5

b) 50mm 8-element f/1.4

c) 28mm f/3.5


I also use a 28mm Vivitar f/2.8


https://flic.kr/p/ahCiMp

https://flic.kr/p/9ykQzo

 

[Hatchetman]

I have a Takumar problem. I have the 20mm, 28mm, 35f2, 50f1.4, 50Macro, 55f1.8, 100Macro, 135f2.5, 200mm, 300mm, and 500mm.

Wouldn't mind having the 17mm fisheye and 85f1.8, but those go for big $$$.

 

[GarageBoy]

Black Pentaxes have that look that screams 1960s pro to me

What would be a nice, inexpensive 3 lens set up?

 

[Hatchetman]

What would be a nice, inexpensive 3 lens set up?

The 28mm f3.5 and 55mm f1.8 are fantastic and dirt cheap. A third good one is going to be more pricey. the 135mm f3.5 is cheap but may be a little long.

 

[oreston]

Thanks for the pics, David.

Looks like a 1965 example to me. The only practical difference between your camera and mine will be the film speed range. My suspicion is that the 10-800 ASA version was never marketed in the West, so yours (being a Honeywell) is probably the earliest Spotmatic version that was actually sold in the US.

I read somewhere that Spotmatic serial numbers began at 1000000, so yours is one the first 40,000 or so (out of a total production run of 2.5 million!)