loneranger
Well-known
To those of you who have or have had one of these M42 /screw mount cameras, which would you say is the most reliable, well constructed and compact...
I just got a mint pentax spotmatic SP that I am starting to really like. Mine came with a fujinon 35/1.9 , both for a $100 from my local camera store. It seems as solidly built at the nikon F but smaller and kind of nicer looking.
I just got a mint pentax spotmatic SP that I am starting to really like. Mine came with a fujinon 35/1.9 , both for a $100 from my local camera store. It seems as solidly built at the nikon F but smaller and kind of nicer looking.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
The Pentaxes are about the best ones out there. Some of them I see need a CLA because the lubricants in them do dry up from age, but mechanically they are indestructable and they are cheap to have serviced. Pentax lenses from the 1960s and 1970s for M42 are incredible too
Pickett Wilson
Veteran
The SP is a fine camera. And the M42 lenses are generally extremely good. Enjoy!
pschauss
Well-known
My favorite is the Praktica PLC3 because it can do open aperture metering with the Praktica electric lenses. Next in line would be the MTL3 because its meter is relatively immune to the effects of light entering through the eyepiece when you use small apertures. For light weight and small size the Fujica STnnn cameras are nice, but the light meter tends to underexpose for the reason noted above.
Of course the great thing about the M42 mount is the variety of great, relatively inexpensive lenses available.
Of course the great thing about the M42 mount is the variety of great, relatively inexpensive lenses available.
Argenticien
Dave
The nice thing about the Pentax M42 line is the choices. You can go with a fully mechanical, meterless chunk of metal (S1a, Honeywell-badged H3, etc.), or stop-down metering with match-needle action and mechanical shutter (most of the Spotmatic line), or open-aperture metering with match-needle action and mechanical shutter (Spotmatic F), or open-aperture metering and aperture-priority AE (Spotmatic ES/ESII). All are well constructed, structurally. I most recently got an ESII. These are a bit of a gamble (albeit a gamble of only USD 36 with a good lens, in my case), because you need to be electronically inclined (not just mechanically inclined) to be able to fix it yourself. I am not so inclined, and the 40-year-old electronics on mine have started failing, so I must either run crippled with the limited mechanical shutter speeds, or send it off to Eric.
I researched a lot online before buying the ESII. Many people seem to like the Fujica ST801 (with LEDs -- oooooooh how modern). I have never met that camera in person, but I believe it's said to be not compact, failing one of your criteria.
--Dave
I researched a lot online before buying the ESII. Many people seem to like the Fujica ST801 (with LEDs -- oooooooh how modern). I have never met that camera in person, but I believe it's said to be not compact, failing one of your criteria.
--Dave