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| The Spotmatic F |
It's been some time since I made a review post about the Spotmatic line
of cameras. If you haven't read it, have a look first on my old post
about them (link here). This is more like a long winded lasting
impressions post.
I sold the first spotmatic soon after I made
the original post in 2015. I didn't think it was for me, at that point I
was after a good AF SLR camera that would get the job done with minimum
fuss. A couple of years later, another Spotmatic came my way, this time
together with two Takumar lenses (28f/3.5 and 55f/1.8). Over a period
of few months (and without putting any particular effort) I gathered a
few more M42 lenses. So overall I ended up with:
* The Takumars: both very good lenses. Performed like modern lenses, I couldn't fault them.
* A Pentacon 50f/1.8: not bad - not great, these lenses will get the job done. If you are not very demanding or pixel peeking you might actually enjoy it.
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| The characteristic yellowing of the radioactive Thorium |
* A DDR Zeiss Pancolar 50f/1.8: a good lens, couldn't fault it. As good as the Takumars.
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| The radioactive Pancolar |
Just before the pandemic I sold off all my M42 kit. I had no regrets, I wasn't using it a lot and the extra cash went towards some Nikkor glass. The Spotmatic kit gave me a few good pictures and was a joy to use when photographing the family but it made more sense for me to sell it.
A few months ago I came across this Spotmatic. I wasn't looking for one, I am pretty content with my camera collection at the moment. I picked it up, I couldn't see any faults to it - it felt familiar. The guy asked for little money, I thought I could have it. Now I regret selling the Takumars and the Pancolar. So, here I am with another Spotmatic without a lens, waiting to see if any nice cheap lens comes my way. Surely enough, a 35f/3.5 with slow aperture mechanism came up for peanuts... and I bought it.
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| Hello gorgeous... |
In order to clean the aperture mechanism you need to: remove the front bezel, unscrew 3 screws that hold the metal ring, mark the way the focusing ring is screwed on the helicoid, unscrew three screws, mark the helicoid's position before unscrewing the aperture ring. Bellow it are three screws that hold the mount. I recommend putting the whole mount inside a lunch box with IPA and gently swirl it. Take it out, operate the aperture, put it back in and swirl it again. Do it until is completely clean. If you are going to use cotton buds, be careful not to knock out the tiny spring underneath the metal arm. Anyway, mine now works great.
The Spotmatic II (SP ii) was an upgrade to the original Spotmatic reviewed above. It featured a new line of lenses with better coating (Super-Multi-Coated Takumar) and a few improvements on the hot shoe. Also the advance mechanism was improved - cogs that carry heavier loads are made from beryllium copper, an alloy stronger than brass that is corrosion resistant. Hard plastic is used to cushion impact and reduce friction in some parts of the shutter. Finally the ISO sensitivity for the meter has been extended. All these improvements (plus a SMC 50f/1.4) was an extra $30 compared to the old SP with the older 50f/1.4 takumar so people went for the newer SP II instead. Soon after, the Electro-spotmatic and the Spotmatic F with full open aperture meter will appear paving the way for auto exposure (requires the more recent SMC-Takumars).
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| Taken with the Takumar 55 f/1.8 wide open |
I find reading the user manual quite entertaining; Pentax doesn't hold
back and makes some extraordinary claims (most of them being false too).
But whilst reading the user manual I noticed a feature that otherwise
would have gone unnoticed - the meter works within a specific range; if
you notice a red mark on the shutter index, it means that your are
outside the meters range for the selected ISO. Clever.
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| Some extraodinary claims in here (highlighted by me) |
There are also a couple of nice touches that shows that Pentax was really thinking of the users: a nice red window that shows that the shutter is cocked and a small reminder of 20/36 exposure film next to the rewind crank. Not particularly useful for me but I like that Pentax thought about it. Another thing that I like about the Spotmatics are the rubberized silk curtains - I haven't seen any with creases and cracks, unfortunately I can't say this about other camera makers or its predecessor, the beautiful Pentax SV.
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| Wide open with the Takumar 35 f/3.5 |
When it comes to the Takumar lenses, you need to try really hard to dislike them. When i hear people saying that they don't like them I wonder what has gone wrong. Their build quality is exquisite and optical performance maintains a great balance between modern (clinically sharp) and old (bokeh, glowing highlights). I think Takumar lenses are the next amazing thing to be discovered by younger generations. Grab one before they reach silly prices online.
The Spotmatics are fun cameras to use. They are simple and mostly reliable although they are getting a bit old. Personally I wouldn't pick them up for street photography but that's because I am not good at adjusting exposure and focus quickly enough. That was one of the reasons I ended up selling the previous two kits. For other applications I am sure I will be fine with them.
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| Taken with the Takumar 35 f/3.5 at f/5.6 |
I don't think I will be selling this one though. It looks gorgeous in black with patina. I am thinking that, if i keep buying the same camera again and again, there must be a good reason deep inside. Maybe i do like it a lot, maybe it feels familiar, maybe I appreciate the mechanical quality of it. It probably belongs to those cameras in my collection (SRT, SR-1, OM-1, ME, Leica) that are not the cameras I will grab once opening the camera cupboard but I do enjoy running a film through them from time to time. I think there is something about being aesthetically pleasing as a camera - both to look and use.
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| The gorgeous Spotmatic II |
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