Another pentax spotmatic question

Okay,
thanks to all for the dlash sync stuff. stupid mne didn't see the X sync
clearly labeled on the side of the camera. oh well, only one roll of film to
learn that!
but, the other thing i wondered was the auto/manual slider on the lens. some
posters stated that that is for whether yuo want to compose then shoot at
full aperture. well, that only works with the meter off. once the meter is
on, the lens stops down regardless of the lens settings. is this standard?
it seems really time consuming to go through all of this to get a "quick"
shot.

Joe mama

Re: another pentax spotmatic question

I usually meter before composing with whatever camera I'm using, since
what I want to meter often isn't in the center of - or in the case of
the spotmatic, dominates - the viewfinder: When I meter, I'll usually
cut out excessive sky and concentrate on *what* I want to meter (often
the main subject).
Once that is taken care of, I can compose...

Chris Loffredo

Re: another pentax spotmatic question

That is news to me. All of my rear lens caps depress the locking pins. And
some of my lenses were purchased new--with OEM rear caps.
That's right. I recall the older model Bellows II being a problem. The pin
got stuck into a screw hole on the lens mount and it required a Pentax
technician to remove it.
Asahi really designed their SMC Takumar lenses to be used on Asahi Pentax
bodies. There was also the well-documented situation of the SMC Takumar
50mm f/1.4 lens, with its rear element that stuck out too far, and would
often interfere with the swinging mirrors of other brands of cameras.
And there were a couple of lenses that Asahi specifically warned against
mounting on Spotmatic and ES bodies. I don't remember offhand which lenses
they were.
Best approach is to not mix & match brands. Asahi bodies and Takumar lenses
were, with just three or four exceptions, compatible.
I often see Super-Takumar lenses for sale on eBay where the seller notes
that the Auto-Manual switch "appears to be stuck." I wonder how many
misinformed people have tried forcing those switches and ended up damaging
them?

Jeremy

Re: another pentax spotmatic question

I had never before heard of anyone metering before composing. If it works
for you, who am I to criticize? But I would think that if you recompose the
shot after metering, you might sometimes be faced with lighting that is not
the same as it was when you first metered.
The Spotmatic and the subsequent models Sp-II and SP-IIa, featured a meter
switch that was automatically switch off when the shutter was fired. So, if
you first composed, then turned on the meter and set the aperture, and then
fired the shutter, the meter switched off to conserve the battery, without
your having to remember to do it manually. Based on that typical shooting
sequence, I suspect that Asahi assumed that metering was done just prior to
shooting, not prior to composing.
Of course, the Spotmatic-F and the ES models made all of that a moot point.
With the SP-F the meter remained on as long as the lens cap was off--a
feature that I personally despised. When the ES models were introduced, the
meter came on when the shutter button was depressed halfway down (typically
just before the shutter was fired. There was no need to manually set the
exposure values on the camera, because the ES/ES-II were aperture-priority
auto exposure. The meter was switched on as part of the shooting sequence,
and it was switched off when one took his finger off the shutter button.
When I shoot with my Spotmatic, I tend to use the older SP-IIa. I like the
ability to shut off the meter when not needed. The SP-F is a pain, because
I almost always have lens hoods affixed, and I have to unscrew the hood in
order to put the lens cap back on. When I first got a SP-F I thought that
feature was cool, but once I learned about the benefits of using lens hoods,
the feature became a pain to live with. Even full-aperture metering seems
rather unnecessary. I probably could have stayed with the SP-IIa and not
bothered to upgrade at all. The SP-F commands a higher price on the used
market, but its improvements over the older model may be more hindrances
than helps.

Jeremy

Re: another pentax spotmatic question

...
The slider switch on Super-Takumar and SMC Takumar lenses has nothing to do
with Spotmatic or ES bodies. You should leave the switch in the "Auto"
position when using those lenses on Spotmatics and ES. In fact, the switch
is designed so as to remain in the "Auto" position when mounted on those
bodies. If you attempt to force it back to the "Manual" position you risk
damaging the lens. If you absolutely *must* check out the switch function,
take the lens off of the camera body and screw on a rear lens cap, to
depress the tiny pin that will release the switch. Then you can move the
switch back and forth with ease.
Just remember--when you mount those lenses on a Spotmatic or ES camera body,
put the switch in the auto position and leave it there. In fact, you should
forget that the switch is even there!
When you want to shoot in stop-down mode on the ES or Spotmatic, you should
push up on the switch located on the left side of the lens mount.
So, you ask, why is that slider switch even on the lens in the first place?
Simple. It was to allow the owners of older Pentax bodies (i.e., all the
various models that preceded the Spotmatic in 1964) to use these newer
lenses. The older camera models did not support automatic diaphragm. In
other words, the lens needed to be stopped down to shooting aperture prior
to firing the shutter. When Asahi stopped making the previous line of
Takumar lenses and came out with the Super-Takumars (and, subsequently, the
SMC Takumars), they added the slider switch to ensure backward compatibility
for owners of the older-type bodies. This prevented the existing base of
users from being orphaned. They could keep on using their older cameras and
still be able to mount the newer lenses on them. And they would be able to
continue using the Super-Takumars into the future, when they replaced their
older bodies for the newer Spotmatics.
If you are using a Spotmatic or ES, none of the above applies to you. Just
leave the switch in Auto and forget about it. But, should you ever acquire
an older body, you can rest easy in the knowledge that your Super-Takumar
lenses will be compatible with it.
Asahi Optical has always been committed to non-obsolescence, more so than
any other camera maker. Although Asahi (later renamed Pentax) has had a
history of regular upgrades to its cameras, their customers didn't have to
worry about not being able to use their existing lenses on newer bodies.
Even today you can mount a screwmount lens onto the latest Pentax digital
bodies, with an adapter. That slider switch on the Super-Takumar lenses is
another example of how Asahi Optical looked out for its customers, rather
than orphaning them when upgraded equipment was introduced.

Jeremy

Re: another pentax spotmatic question

"quick"
P.S.:
With manual exposure cameras, I usually go around with the exposure
pre-set for the circumstances. And even pre-focussed if I'm using a
wide-angle lens.
This means you can quickly shoot without metering, if necessary.
You'll often find that the light in a given situation doesn't vary that
much (for example, walking around outside on an overcast day) and your
exposure should be well within the ballpark if it was previously set.

Chris Loffredo

Re: another pentax spotmatic question

Please disregard the above: The Spotmatic has fully manual, stop-down
metering, not aperture-priority AE.
Next William will start calling the Spotmatic a "darnded Liberal!"...
The manual selection lever on the lens is mainly for compatibility with
older models and for special circumstances (lens on bellows, or reversed).
In practice, you'll probably just use the meter lever to manually stop
down and check depth of field.
So, yes, it is standard, and in most circumstances you can happily
ignore it.
Usually, I meter first, then turn off the meter so the diaphragm opens,
brightening up the image, compose & shoot. The diaphragm will close down
to the selected value again when the shutter fires.

Chris Loffredo

Re: another pentax spotmatic question

...
to
some
SP ll and prolly a couple more; and the Spot F and ES and ESll. The
lenses that come w/ the last three have a post in the back to inform the
meter as to what aperture is set. They all have a pin to stop down the lens
as it's fired. I don't find it to be all that slow as there just aren't very
many choices. Very soon everything is automatic. For some reason, I had a
Pentax ZX-30. I shot about 3-4 rolls and ebayd it. Horrible. Everything was
so auto and so many choices, I gave it up.
Bob Hickey

Bob Hickey

Re: another pentax spotmatic question

Yes. I stand corrected. - More information of these Spotmatics can be read
here:
http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?AsahiPentaxSpotmaticSPII.html~mainFrame

William Graham

Re: another pentax spotmatic question

...
No. The lens aperture should remain full open until a fraction of a second
after you press the shutter release button, just before the mirror is lifted
and the camera shutter goes off. It stays open so you can get as bright a
view of the scene as possible. The meter in the camera compensates for
this....It, "knows" where you have set the lens aperture to
for the exposure, and sets the speed accordingly (in aperture priority mode)
The sequence of events is as follows:
1. You set the lens aperture for the shot.
2. The camera holds the aperture wide open, in spite of where you set the
aperture in step 1.
3. You compose the picture, and press the shutter release.
4. The camera lifts the mirror, and stops the lens down to where you have it
set.
5. The shutter is released, and the picture is taken.
The photo should be correct, because the cameras electronics calculated the
speed based on where you set the lens aperture, even though it measured the
light at full open.

William Graham

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