OT: Pentax screwmount SLRs

[Kim Coxon]

Hi, I have used both versions and although the 6 element has a slight edge, they are both excellent.

Kim

There are 3 versions: SMC 85/1.8 has 6-lens whereas the Auto 1.8- and Super 1.9- has 5 lenses. All quite compact (ca.350g)
According to this test: http://www.takinami.com/yoshihiko/photo/lens_test/pentax_tele.html
the last SMC-T 1.8/85 was superior to the later SMC-M 2/85. But also the older lenses received high credits.
cheers, Frank

 

[Jon Goodman]

Don't forget the Chinon 1.4 and 1.7. Nice stuff. Also, if you want a brand new screwmount wide angle lens for $25....you can look here:

http://www.apogeeinc.com/product.asp?itemid=421

I have one, and it has been very nice. I bought mine about 6 years ago. It was $22 back then. Inflation.
Jon

 

[Duncan Ross]

Duncan, I have to ask why you get that feeling with the ST605N? I can't wait to get a light seal kit (one of Jon Goodmans, of course) so I can give this body a run. I like the rather compact feel of it as well as the larger Prakticas.

Heath

Hi Heath!

It's something about the Fujica that I haven't noticed with other SLRs I've tried. The rewind is so completely frictionless that it feels at first as if you are winding thin air. As I said a bit disconcerting for a few seconds!

 

[Doug]

I've had several Pentax 85mm lenses, though that fact isn't likely to be of help because It's been some years since using them and I don't have a firm recollection of comparitive quality.

I had the Auto-Takumar 85mm f/1.8 in the 60's and used it quite a lot for street photography on a Spotmatic or H3v in combination with a 35mm on a Leica M2. I'd carry both around the neck on different length straps as I wandered the streets looking for subjects. By early 1972 I had gotten fed up with cranking the diaphragm back open after each shot and traded it on a Super-Takumar 85mm f/1.9 which I still have. Later that year when I got a new Pentax ES (Electro Spotmatic) I regretted that it wasn't a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar compatible with the ES's open-aperture metering.

The 85 has long been a favorite focal length, so when we got K-mount Pentaxes in '83, the SMC-Pentax 85mm f/1.8 was an early addition. My wife found it very useful for her theatre photography. I recently got it out and noticed the whole front ring with the filter threads was loose, and allowing the protective filter to contact the front element! Must have been some impact damage, so I got that repaired, and just finished a roll with it in my "new" K2 DMD. So we shall soon see some results, but my impression is that all these Pentax 85's are excellent.

 

[Jan Brittenson]

I recently got it out and noticed the whole front ring with the filter threads was loose, and allowing the protective filter to contact the front element!

My SMC Tak 50/1.4 just did that. I used it this morning, and when I got back home it was in pieces. The filter thread front piece seems like it's held down with three screws, they were nowhere to be found on mine of course, so I can't put it together again. Blech. Sucks after only a week's use.

 

[Doug]

My SMC Tak 50/1.4 just did that. I used it this morning, and when I got back home it was in pieces. The filter thread front piece seems like it's held down with three screws...

Interesting! So it could have simply been vibration backing the screws out... And maybe a rather easy repair once one has the screws on hand!

 

[Sonnar2]

Hi Joris,
you can throw me dead with short-telephotos for RF and SLR's; I think I gained 8 pieces with f/1.4, 1.8 and f/2 in the last couple of years.
About prices: Compared with RF equipment Pentax is still really cheap! And I the perfomance isn't much lower (if ever) ...think the price😛erformance ratio speaks for Pentax. I wonder why "portait telephotos" (f/2 or faster) are expensive compared to others in virtually every mount.
Last night I hunted a early Auto-Takumar black-chrome 2.8/105mm matching my 1959' H2 with case and caps from a collector for 41 USD, plus shipping. Not fast, but 49mm filter, 280g weight, more compact than a "portrait lens"... if I really need "speed".. well than there are 8 others in my cabinet waiting for me to use, incl. a Zeiss 1.4/85...

cheers, Frank

 

[Jan Brittenson]

Interesting! So it could have simply been vibration backing the screws out... And maybe a rather easy repair once one has the screws on hand!

That was exactly my thought as well. Couldn't find the screws though. 🙁 Anyway, dropped it off for service at Adolph Gasser today. Had been procrastinating on some other gear as well; a Pentax 67 400mmEDIF that needs a new mount flange, aperture adjustment, and CLA (it's going for sale and I want to get top dollar for it). So it was a good time to bring both in for some TLC. I expect fixing the smc-tak will be really inexpensive, if I had the screws I think I could have done it myself in ten minutes.

 

[doubs43]

Lens screws loosening is something of a problem in my experience. My first encounter was a Soligor 135mm auto lens for Exakta in 1972 when it disassembled during a return flight on a C-130 from Germany to Kansas. It went into the trash when I couldn't figure out how to fix it.

A few months ago I bought a 135mm f/2.8 Mamiya-Sekor lens on ebay and the mount portion was wobbly. I was able to slide a collar down that allowed me to tighten three loose screws and it's perfect now. It must have a lot of brass in it's construction judging by it's weight.

There have been a few more recently but fixing them has been relatively easy.

Walker

 

[titrisol]

those 135/2.8 sekors are pretty. Portraits with those are awesome!

I bought a couple of Sekor lenses under the Sears brand (cheap) and have been pleasantly surprosed

However, and as it has been pointed out, the construction is not in the takumar level.

 

[Uncle Bill]

I picked up a Pentax Spotmatic with a 50/1.4 lens at a Toronto area camera show for $40 Cdn with a 28mm wideangle lens thrown in for good.measure. Now to make things even better I also got at Henry's clearance centre a Takumar 55/1.8 and 135 F ( I can't remember off hand) for $35 for both lenses. I love shooting rangefinder, I also love shooting with my SLR's the spotmatic is for when I don't want to take out my Nikon or Nikkormat.

Bill

 

[oljim]

I've got an F and an SP with a cache of excellent lenses (and several so-so ones). I really love my Spotties. The focusing ring on both my 50 f1.4 and 55 f1.8 moves so smoooooothly I find myself purring. I also got a Helios 85 f1.5 because I need to build some upper body strength.

I turn up for "serious jobs" (on the rare occasion I get them) with my Spotmatics and a Rolleicord. I get laughed at for using my "old" gear, but smiled at when I show them the results. I swear, one day I'll go to a commercial gig with a Box Brownie.

 

[bmattock]

I've got an F and an SP with a cache of excellent lenses (and several so-so ones). I really love my Spotties. The focusing ring on both my 50 f1.4 and 55 f1.8 moves so smoooooothly I find myself purring. I also got a Helios 85 f1.5 because I need to build some upper body strength.

I turn up for "serious jobs" (on the rare occasion I get them) with my Spotmatics and a Rolleicord. I get laughed at for using my "old" gear, but smiled at when I show them the results. I swear, one day I'll go to a commercial gig with a Box Brownie.

I took a series of photos of a house fire recently with a Brownie Hawkeye and the local newspaper published one of them. I was amazed, but the old Brownie was still up to doing the job.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[doubs43]

In a couple of days I should receive a package containing a Praktica Super-TL andsome accessories. One of the accessories is a 105mm lens that appeared in the picture to be a Super Takumar. If I'm correct, the lens alone normally sells on ebay for 2 or 3 times what I paid for everything.

If an inexpensive SLR is desired, the M42 mount cameras are plentiful and cheap. The lenses have also been inexpensive with some exceptions. Pro-grade equipment can be had for a small fraction of the cost when new even 35 years ago. We may look back on this time as being the "Golden Days" for inexpensive film cameras.

Walker

 

[ErnestoJL]

The first SLR I had in my hands was Spotmatic, back in 1969. Unfortunately, I was too young to afford one of those, and some time later I bought a Miranda Sensomat RE. Not an M42 x 1 , but... some years later it got an adapter fitted on the lens mount. Undoubtedly, M42 lenses were far cheaper and there were lots of them new or used.
Now I have:
Miranda Sensomat RE (with M42 mount) Normal in use is Carenar 1.8 /50
Fujica ST 801 - EBC Fujinon 50/1.8
Praktica Nova Ib PL - Meyer Oreston 50/1.8 (zebra striped)
Carena Micro RSD (not working) (waiting for repair)
Zenit 12 XP - Helios 103 58/2

At the time I bought the Praktica, the vendor offered another normal, but he said "This one goes for $10, but is not as good as the one in the camera"... it was a CZJ Tessar 50/2.8 (zebra stripes). No regrets, of course!

I´m in doubt if today´s plastic and light alloy made lens barrels will be (mechanically) alive trhirty of forty years in the future. Those old Takumars, Soligors, Tamron, Fujinons, Mamiya/Sekor and others are still alive. They are heavy, made to last, ´feel that´s worth the extra weight!

 

[dmr]

Pro-grade equipment can be had for a small fraction of the cost when new even 35 years ago. We may look back on this time as being the "Golden Days" for inexpensive film cameras.

As I look back and remember the countless competing systems that were available at that time, it seems like only the Nikon/Nikkormat and the Pentax screw mount systems have really survived. Well, at least those seem to be far more common in this day and age than the others.

The Nikons, I admit, seem to have held their value a bit more.

I chose the Spotmatic mainly 'cuz my brother had an earlier Pentax and liked it. Some of my friends went, however, for such things as the Minolta 101, the Bessler Topcon (which you don't even seem to see anymore) and of course the Nikkormat. These seemed to be the ones my friends got or wanted badly. (The "real" Nikon F and the Leica were out of our league!)

There were countless others, Mamiya, Miranda, Kowa, Konica, Petri. Those you don't really see too much of anymore.

But those Pentax screw-mount and compatible cameras still seem to be popular, and very affordable.

 

[Doug]

These old Pentaxes may be long "obsolete" but we can still appreciate their quality and elegant designs. I'm happy to occasionally use my H3, which I treated to a full CLA service last year...