Danger: GAS and a Review of the Pentax Spotmatic F

Good things come in a box

The Danger of GAS

Yes, I know, I have no discipline. I have enough cameras to last the rest of my days and swore that I would not buy any more hardware except for specific accessory items, like filters. But Jim Grey, my friend from Indiana, extolled the virtues of the Pentax Spotmatic F body. This was the last version of the famous 35mm camera line that accepted 42mm thread-mount lenses. The F featured open-aperture metering, meaning the viewfinder did not darken as you stopped down the lens. My older regular Spotmatic uses stop-down metering. This seldom posed any inconvenience, but the option of open aperture metering sounded tempting. Well, you know the story, GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome, not flatulence) overcame me. Soon, a handsome Spotmatic F along with the magnificent 50mm ƒ/1.4 SMC Takumar lens appeared in a box. Total cost was $49 including shipping. You can buy this level of craftsmanship and excellence for $49 in 2023?

After an initial test, I sent the camera to Eric Hendrickson, one of the best-known Pentax repair people in the USA. It and the 50mm lens came back clean and ready to go. He emphasized that the light meter will work correctly with 625A (alkaline) batteries. Internet "experts" churn back and forth about which batteries will and will not work, but I trust Mr. Hendrickson. The original specification was for 625 mercury cells, but these have not been available for at least 25 years. The 625S (silver) cells are also now gone. The 625A batteries do not last long in this camera, so possibly there is a minor current drain. But the cells are inexpensive, and I remove them when I am not using the camera. (General camera rule: ALWAYS remove batteries when you will not use a camera for weeks or longer.)

Spotmatic Cameras

Mike Johnston wrote about the Spotmatic in The Online Photographer in 2017 and explained why the Pentax 50mm ƒ/1.4 lens was one of the finest 50s in the film era. The table below lists the various Spotmatic models.

Asahi Pentax Screw-Mount Cameras 1
Model 2	Date	Features
Original	1957	Modern appearance, right side wind lever, instant return mirror. ≈ $199 with 55 mm f/2.2.
S	1957	Contemporary geometric sequence of shutter speeds. 9 lenses available.
K	1958	Semi-automatic diaphragm
Asahi S3 (identical to Honeywell H3)	1960	Fully automatic diaphragm.  $199 with 55 f/1.8 lens.
Honeywell H1	1961	≈ $150;  1/500 top speed.  World's first clip-on CdS meter available ($32).
Asahi S3v (Honeywell H3v)	1963 - 1969	Added self-timer and automatic frame counter.
Asahi S1a  (H1a)	1963 - 1969	Added auto frame counter.  14 lenses available.
Spotmatic	1964 - 1971	Through-the-lens CdS meter.  $299 with 50 f/1.4.  Very popular!  Most chrome, some black paint.  Motorized model made in 1970 (uncommon).  Rare 250-exposure model.
SL	1969	Same as Spotmatic but without CdS meter.
Spotmatic 500	1971	Lower cost, 1/500 top speed, supplied with 55 f/2.0 lens.
Spotmatic II	1971	Added accessory shoe; sold with multi-coated lenses with extra indexing levers.
Spotmatic IIa	1972	Sensor for automatic Honeywell flash.
ES	1972	First Pentax auto exposure camera with electronically-controlled shutter.
Spotmatic F	1974	Finest manual Spotmatic; open-aperture metering, $375 with 55mm f/1.8.
SP 1000	1974	No self-timer
ESII	1974?	Improved reliability over ES. End of the era for Pentax screw-mount bodies.
Notes: 1.  Sources: “A History of Pentax” articles by W. L. Fadner in Shutterbug (1988) 2.  U.S. cameras had the Honeywell name and logo on the prism.  International models were labeled with the Asahi name and logo.

M42 thread mount

M42 refers to the thread mount of 42×1 mm used to attach the lens to the camera body. This was a common size in the 1950s through the 1970s. European, Russian, and Japanese companies made hundreds of M42 lenses in various focal lengths. Many people consider the Asahi Optical Company's examples to be among the best optically and mechanically in the 1960s and 1970s. It is common to buy an old Takumar lens that will still operate perfectly, while a drastically more expensive Leica lens of similar age will often have haze or film on the inner elements and need professional cleaning and re-lubrication. Takumar lenses have a following among serious photographers today because they can be mounted on most mirrorless digital cameras. The M42 mount lost popularity in the 1970s because it was slow to exchange lenses, while companies like Nikon, Minolta, and Canon used faster bayonet mounts on their cameras. 

Simplicity and meticulous craftsmanship

Utter simplicity: rewind knob, flash shoe, shutter speed dial, shutter release, and wind lever. No baffling 400-page instruction manual needed.

Set the film speed in the window within the shutter speed dial. Note it is still shown as ASA.

SMC (Super Multi Coated) 50mm ƒ/1.4 lens, mid-1970s.

Examples with Kodak Plus-X Film

Jim Grey sent me two rolls of Kodak Plus-X film. He bought a brick and said the first two rolls performed correctly. I used Plus-X in the 1970s but rarely since then. Plus-X was a traditional cubic-grain film, not one of the more modern T-grain emulsions, like T-Max 100. I will write more about Plus-X in a later article. Here are some examples from Vicksburg, Mississippi, during March of 2023. On some of my walks, I even wore the camera in its handy leather camera case (also known as a never-ready case). 

Waiting for a ride, 2620 Washington Street (50mm ƒ/1.4 SMC Takumar lens)

Monroe Street view south (135mm ƒ/3.5 SMC Takumar, ƒ/5.6)

Minor trouble at the corner of Marshal and Harris Streets (35mm ƒ/3.5 Super-Takumar lens)

I really like this 35mm ƒ/3.5 Super-Takumar lens. This is one of the older versions that must be stopped down for the light meter measurement. The Spotmatic F is supposed to be capable of both open-aperture as well as stop-down metering. But mine gives the wrong exposure for the latter mode. I sent the body back to Mr. Hendrickson to check, but it still does not meter quite right. That is a minor inconvenience because I usually carry a hand-held meter. The newer Super-Multi-Coated and SMC Takumars all have the tab for open aperture metering on the F and ESII bodies. 

Garage on Polk Street in unoccupied but not abandoned house (50mm ƒ/1.4)

Cottage at 733 Johnson Street. It has been razed since I took this picture (50mm ƒ/1.4).

Silos, Hwy. 80, Delta, Louisiana (135mm ƒ/3.5 SMC Takumar, polarizing filter)

The meter in the Spotmatic F measures correctly with a polarizing filter mounted on the lens. This camera works perfectly well with a linear polarizer. Many novice photographers insist that they need a CPL or circular polarizer (after all, they saw it on YouTube). No, usually they do not. A CPL is required for cameras that use a beam-splitter for auto-focus function.

Examples with Fuji Acros 100 Film

House on Bethany Street, Shreveport, Louisiana (24mm ƒ/3.5 SMC Takumar lens, Fuji Acros film).

The Spotmatic F meter works correctly with a wide lens, in this case, 24mm. But this was not a severe test because the light was soft and overcast that day. Spotmatic meters are have a broad coverage area, so you need to point the camera slightly downward to avoid having the bright sky fool the meter. 

The Little Shanty art store, Line Avenue, Shreveport, Louisiana (28mm ƒ/3.5 SMC Takumar lens)

The road west in the rain, Tahoka, Texas (55mm ƒ/1.8 SMC Takumar lens)

Jefferson Street view north, Olympia, Washington (55mm ƒ/1.8 SMC Takumar)

Squaxin Park, Olympia, Washington (28mm ƒ/3.5 SMC Takumar)

Summary

I am very pleased with my Spotmatic F. The open aperture metering is certainly convenient, and the measurements closely match reflected light readings from my Gossen Luna Pro digital hand-held light meter. The camera feels good and fits my hands perfectly. It is compact and only slightly more bulky than a Leica M camera. It demonstrates meticulous 1970s craftsmanship and precision, the finest of Japanese production. What is not to like?

And I like the gritty feel of Plus-X film. It is grainy, but that is suitable for this type of subject matter. Fuji Acros 100 is finer grain. 

Appendix

Here is my wife's 1971 Spotmatic camera with its superb 55mm ƒ/1.8 Super-Takumar lens. As you can see, the camera looks very similar to the 1974 or 1975 Spotmatic F. This camera has been to USA, Europe, Iceland, the Middle East, and the Nile River and has always performed flawlessly. This body feels smoother when you wind film or release the shutter then my newer Spotmatic F. Possibly the gears were made of different metals or some internal details were different. 

This 55mm lens is single-coated and has at least one element with thorium salts. The lens had yellowed over the years, but treating it with a small LED table lamp from Ikea cleared the yellow tone. Many manufacturers added thorium salts to their glass mixtures in the 1940s through the 1970s. No studies have ever demonstrated any health effects from the minor amount of radiation. I think this particular 55 is higher resolution than my later SMC 55. 

On the Pier at Old Orchard Beach, Maine

The ocean pier is a time-honored cultural and recreation tradition in American beach communities. The pier typically housed restaurants, a dance hall, snack shops, penny arcades, and places for people to fish. It was the fun place to foregather after sunning in the sand to meet your friends, eat hotdogs, and play arcade games.

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Heinz Ocean Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, after the September 1944 hurricane (photographer unknown, Beach Erosion Board Archives)

This is the remains of the Heinz Ocean Pier, also known as “The Sea Shore Home of the 57 Varieties,” in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The September 1944 hurricane tore off much of the famous boardwalk and part of the pier. It was demolished after the storm.

Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Old Orchard Beach is a popular tourist destination in southern Maine. Its famous pier first opened to the public on July 2, 1898. This original pier suffered from storms over the century, and the Great New England Blizzard of '78 washed away the remnants. From gothavelmaine.com:

The middle of the century saw the heyday of the Pier Casino Ballroom, which held as many as 5,000 people. The Ballroom was noted for its moving picture shows and live entertainment, featuring acts such as Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Guy Lombardo, and Benny Goodman. Over the years, a series of storms ebbed away at the pier causing the casino to be razed in 1970. Then the great blizzard of 1978 destroyed what was left of the pier. The Pier, as we know it today, was re-opened in 1980, and houses many fine shops and restaurants. The current Pier stretches 500 feet into the Atlantic Ocean. The wooden walk way is lined with souvenir shops, food vendors, restaurants and a night club at the end of the pier.

The view under a pier is a photographic cliché, but it is fun nevertheless. This is the new (1980) pier. 

It is a short beach season in Maine, so locals and tourists soak in the rays.

The gift shops and snack bars on the pier are the fun places to explore. 99¢ for a hot dog (of dubious ingredients) and a Coke? An Internet cafe with AOL? I love it.

I took these photographs on Kodachrome slide film (probably K25) using a Pentax Spotmatic camera with 55mm ƒ/1.8 Super-Takumar and 28mm ƒ/3.5 SMC Takumar lenses. Great optics, and still totally usable today.

Salvaging Faded Ektachrome Slides

1957 Ektachrome booklet (courtesy of Mr. Maurice Fisher at Photographic Memorabilia)

Eastman Kodak introduced Ektachrome transparency film in sheet film format in 1946. The big advantage of Ektachrome over the famous Kodachrome was the former could be developed at local laboratories or even at home. In Ektachrome, the color couplers were included in the emulsion and processing required only one color developer. Kodachrome required a major laboratory operation for developing, and this meant a turnaround time of several days for most users. 

The film that my dad used in 1959 would have been the version that required the E-2 Process or the Improved E-2 Process. The film speed was probably 32 ASA. His slide mounts have the same blue pattern as the example on the cover of the Kodak booklet. The text on the slide mount is in English, but I do not know where he had them processed. Were there color photo labs in Rangoon at the time?

The big failing of early Ektachrome was that colors faded. Most 1950s and 1960s Ektachrome slides are now a red mess. Image data is there, but much of the color information has been lost. In the days before Photoshop or other sophisticated software packages, there was not much you could do with one of these faded slides. I threw out hundreds of family slides decades ago when my wife and I sorted my dad's archives. 

Let us look at one example from Rangoon, Burma, from 1958 or 1959. I scanned the slide on a Plustek 7600i film scanner using Silverfast software via a Mac mini computer with the BigSur 11.7.4 operating system. The original slide shows the characteristic red color shift. You see the same with Anscochrome slides from the 1960s. 

Standing on a furniture box that came from Hong King

This is the scan on "Auto" mode as a 48-bit TIFF file (16 bits for each color). There does not appear to be much useful color data left. (I have resized for this article but not changed color).

This is the "Portrait" mode in Silverfast. I am amazed how well it did with no more intervention on my part. The software is doing some clever work in the background.

This is a 16 bit monochrome scan. This does not look too bad and demonstrates that there is still image data on this media. In another 64 years, will there be retrievable image data on our digital storage media or on our accounts in the "cloud"? Sorry I keep asking this, but you readers know the answer.

Photoshop's automatic color correction tool did not work well on a slide this badly shifted. The grey dropper also did not work. On the Photrio forum, experienced Photoshop users said the best way to correct a faded slide was to use the curves tool manually. I moved the curve to the extents of the color data and adjusted the amplitude. The example above is or the blue channel. I am far from a sophisticated Photoshop user but did the best I could in CS5. The result is slightly different than the Silverfast "Portrait" scan, neither better or worse. 

Summary:  There is some recoverable color data in old faded Ektachrome slides. And a conversion to monochrome can look surprisingly good. Maybe future software will be more sophisticated, but I have not seen many (or any?) new scanners in the last decade. But we can always hope for software development.