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11-08-2019, 03:27 PM   #16
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Funny to see a lens I had in that advert - and the price asked for it new. I reckon you'd add a nought to the end now.

11-08-2019, 03:28 PM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ontarian50 Quote
Yes, the motor drive kit was expensive, but keep in mind that wasn't an add-on motor, like we saw in later years. For that price you got the camera, lens, and motor. It was a special model. Regular Spotmatics didn't take a motor or winder.
Some enterprising fellow even made a one-off K1000 using the Spotmatic motor drive. Wow!

11-08-2019, 04:19 PM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by Wasp Quote
The motorized Spotmatics must be pretty rare these days. I can't imagine the prices that they fetch.

But this is the age of the internet. The asking price for this one is about $600.

RARE PENTAX MOTOR DRIVE UNIT w/SPOTMATIC MD BODY & F/2.2 55MM AUTO-TAKUMAR | eBay

Here is a good write-up on this rare beast:

AOHC - Asahi Optical Historical Club: Some notes on Spotmatic, ESII, KX and KM Motor Drive cameras
Thanks for the links, very interesting reading. I have the Spotmatic motor drive in a Pentax briefcase including the 250 exposure back and the information is very helpful
11-08-2019, 05:16 PM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by Not a Number Quote
For perspective the cumulative rate of inflation from 1971 is 534%

So $149.50 USD in 1971 would be $947.74 USD in 2019.

Still think the KP is too expensive?

Inflation Calculator | Find US Dollar's Value from 1913-2019
Yeah, people should run numbers through the inflation calculator before talking about how expensive today's cameras are. Especially considering what today's cameras can do.....

11-08-2019, 08:11 PM   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by texandrews Quote
Yeah, people should run numbers through the inflation calculator before talking about how expensive today's cameras are. Especially considering what today's cameras can do.....
Plus with film cameras you have to factor in the cost of film and processing. I don't want to do the math but how much would say a 100,000 images on slides cost?
11-08-2019, 10:20 PM   #21
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Calcium Fluorite is not used for lenses now. New lenses use fluorocrown glass that is less likely to crack but still sensitive to heat. That is why some Pentax lenses also have a heat reflective surface.
11-09-2019, 12:14 AM   #22
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But Cambridge would have shipped you something else, or at minimum
not honored the advertised price, as they were a well known "clip joint".

Chris

11-09-2019, 12:40 AM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by pentaxus Quote
Calcium Fluorite is not used for lenses now. New lenses use fluorocrown glass that is less likely to crack but still sensitive to heat. That is why some Pentax lenses also have a heat reflective surface.
Don't Canon still use Fluorite elements in EF lenses?
https://asia.canon/en/consumer/celebrates-50th-anniversary-of-lens-employing...-fluorite/news

11-09-2019, 05:37 AM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by DWS1 Quote
in the bottom right, the Pentax motor drive package is twice the price of the camera and lens.
That motor driver package INCLUDED the camera and lens, not just the motor drive.
Thanks for the blast from the past - fun times!
11-09-2019, 06:52 AM   #25
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QuoteOriginally posted by The Squirrel Mafia Quote
That motor drive was insanely expensive back then.
Motor drives were exclusively for pros . You had to be quite an enthusiast to buy a 36 instead of a 24 frame roll...
11-09-2019, 08:13 AM   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by The Squirrel Mafia Quote
That motor drive was insanely expensive back then.
Minolta had the same marketing scheme for their motor drives back in the day.
11-09-2019, 08:27 AM   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by Robin Quote
Motor drives were exclusively for pros . You had to be quite an enthusiast to buy a 36 instead of a 24 frame roll...
I used an LX and a Super A with motor drives in the eighties, but almost always in single shot mode. In continuous mode the LX drive could burn up a roll of 36 in about seven seconds!

It was very useful for sports photography as it meant that you could look through the viewfinder all the time and not miss any of the action.
11-10-2019, 11:12 AM   #28
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QuoteOriginally posted by Robin Quote
Motor drives were exclusively for pros . You had to be quite an enthusiast to buy a 36 instead of a 24 frame roll...

Standard lengths for 35mm were 36 and 20 - not 24 - exposures then.

Chris
11-10-2019, 11:53 AM   #29
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Back in the eighties and nineties films came in 24 or 36 - in my valley at least, don't know about elsewhere or further back in history.

Edit: 12 exposure rolls were also on the shelves, but I never bothered with those. If you had a bulk loader, you bought thirty meters of film in a tin and rolled your own in any length you wanted. You could not exceed 36 of course. I suppose you could squeeze in an extra one or two, but I never tried it. There were smaller tins as well - ten meters I think but my memory is a bit hazy on this.

Last edited by Wasp; 11-10-2019 at 12:25 PM.
11-14-2019, 11:12 AM   #30
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I may be wrong, I often am, but I think you will find Minolta did white lens barrels before Canon.
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