SPOTMATIC: Happy 50th Anniversary

cuthbert said:

..."evil Japanese stole the Pentax name" and bla bla bla...

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You wrote stole. I didn't.
The post-WWII occupation, reconstruction and rapid economic growth in Japan was scripted by the U.S. with the allied powers good grace.
Asahi was recipient of scientific acquisitions, owned by the allied powers.
It was Harry S. Truman's “License to Steal” and its aftermath which changed the game in certain industries.

Just business as usual.

However, your statement that “Leica couldn't design a proper slr” exhibit pretty shallow knowledge in regards to photographic history - hopefully that makes you a better photographer.

Leica, Zeiss main business objectives after WWII were not making cameras on the cheap and neither was pre-WWII.
They, as well as other European optical companies, focused more on previously unexplored, large scale industrial applications.

Never owned a Spotmatic, but my first SLR was a Yashica TL Electro-X which was a Spotmatic II clone I'm told. Lovely camera with a fast f/1,4 Yashinon lens which sadly fell apart all by itself.

Boys, regardless of the infighting, nevertheless, Happy Anniversary.

Photographically, we are better off, whether due to this 'theft', yeomen's hard work, or intellectual mastery. In the end, insight, not fight, reigned and substantiated. - David Lyga

My Spottie F says "happy Xmas" to everybody here, including the Leica fanboys.

I have many Pentax Spotmatic and related cameras, and have used them since (I think) 1966.

I think their high points are that they are light, no other camera in the world feels better in the hand or has better placed controls, and they have great optics. Any other camera feels clunky in comparison. Also I found that the automatic ES and ES2 worked as they should, despite the old-time meters.

The low point is that the screw mount is inconvenient. Also I think they were always fairly backward in terms of features, especially that only special models accepted motor drives, and the meter is old fashioned, but if you know how to use an averaging meter (and can get a battery), it's not a problem.

skruft said:

I have many Pentax Spotmatic and related cameras, and have used them since (I think) 1966.

The low point is that the screw mount is inconvenient. Also I think they were always fairly backward in terms of features, especially that only special models accepted motor drives, and the meter is old fashioned, but if you know how to use an averaging meter (and can get a battery), it's not a problem.

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Pentax adopted the screw mount since it was considered the universal mount at that time - availability of lenses being the key.
Also, you may remember that motor drives back then were prohibitively expensive costing even more than the bodies sometimes.

I am one of the few who actually LOVE that M42 screw mount. If I had been a fast-paced sports photographer I would probably opt for something faster to change lenses with. But the solidity, simplicity, and lack of problems (compare Canon FD) are remarkably satisfying to me. - David Lyga

David Lyga said:

I am one of the few who actually LOVE that M42 screw mount. If I had been a fast-paced sports photographer I would probably opt for something faster to change lenses with.

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When I shoot fast-paced action, it makes no difference if I am using bayonet-mount cameras or screw-mount cameras, I still carry three bodies; each mounted with a lens so I do not waste time changing lenses.

https://flic.kr/p/8UwY9o
https://flic.kr/p/ahCiMp