[jonhock]

Hi guys, It's just me again.
I posted earlier about stop~down metering (yesterday) and received a ton of help and good ideas.
Today I have another question . I only recently started using the Spotmatic and the 1:1.4 50, so I'll probably be able to keep you all in questions for some time to come .
About the auto/manual switch on the Tak 50..... When I used it on my K1000, which is why I bought the Spotty w/lens, I could move the a/m switch back and forth with no problem. When I put it back on the spotty (I wasn't going to keep it, but the bug bit me before I could get away-I even put my last roll of Ektar 25 in it) it will go from manual to auto but not back again. On the adapter ring for the K, it is flush right up to the edge. On the spotty there is a slight drop right before the edge. I figured out that the very small pin on the lens doesn't depress on the Spotty but does on the K1000.
My question being; Is this normal and if it is, why?

[noblepa]

Is the lens a Super Multi-Coated Takumar or simply a Super Takumar? Is the camera a Spotmatic or a Spotmatic F?

On the Super Multi-Coated Takumar or SMC Takumar lenses, thattiny pin prevents the A/M switch from functioning. On a Spotmatic F or the ES or ES II, with their wide-open metering, stopping the lens down manually will screw up the meter.

If your lens is a Super-Multi-Coated or SMC Takumar, it is working as designed.

On the Spotmatic F, the only way to stop the lens down with the lens mounted on the camera is to use the slide switch on the side of the lens mount. On the Spotmatic, this activates the meter and stops the lens down. On the Spotmatic F, this switch is only a DOF preview.

[jonhock]

Thank you Paul,
Yes, I can narrow that down a bit.
It is an SMC Takumar 1:1.4 50mm lens on an Asahi Spotmatic F.
As long as we're at it, I'm not familiar with doing a Depth Of Field preview either. I do know what a "depth of field" is and how to obtain a longer one using the shutter speed (slower) and the aperture (smaller using higher number), just not how the DOP thing works unless it just means to see if the in focus and out of focus zone is a short turn on the focus ring or a little longer turn.
I'm writing what I think I'm thinking hoping that what you read is what I mean or at least what I want to think is what I am writing. Whew!

[Mike Cash]

Thank you Paul,
Yes, I can narrow that down a bit.
It is an SMC Takumar 1:1.4 50mm lens on an Asahi Spotmatic F.

Then it is working exactly as designed.

The Spotmatic F is capable of open-aperture metering (a big change over earlier Spotmatics) and the lens should be left in Auto mode. You do your focusing/shooting from an open aperture. The camera can read what shooting aperture you have selected and meters based upon that, with the aperture wide open until the moment of shooting. Although this is now the norm and most people don't know that any other way ever even existed (which is why once common terms like "stopdown metering" now have to be explained), at the time it was quite a technological advancement.

There is a tiny pin on the back of the lens which will interact with the lens mount on Spotmatics lacking this feature (all but the F, ES, and ESII) and enable you to move the A/M switch. It is necessary on those other ones because you have to manually stop down in order to meter.

[jonhock]

Thank you Mike and Paul. That really helps me a lot. I've always had a "thing" about unanswered questions. Just knowing that something works isn't quite enough, I prefer to know how things work, especially the things that are really important to me, like pentax photography)
Now I feel like I am one step closer to my ultimate quest for the real answer--"What would Jesus shoot?" But thank you for the Links!

[Mike Cash]

Jeremiah 5:21

[noblepa]

Thank you Paul,
Yes, I can narrow that down a bit.
It is an SMC Takumar 1:1.4 50mm lens on an Asahi Spotmatic F.
As long as we're at it, I'm not familiar with doing a Depth Of Field preview either. I do know what a "depth of field" is and how to obtain a longer one using the shutter speed (slower) and the aperture (smaller using higher number), just not how the DOP thing works unless it just means to see if the in focus and out of focus zone is a short turn on the focus ring or a little longer turn.
I'm writing what I think I'm thinking hoping that what you read is what I mean or at least what I want to think is what I am writing. Whew!

Depth of Field refers to the range of distances from the camera that are in focus. It varies, depending on focal length and aperture.

A lens is only truly in focus at one precise distance from the camera. This is called the critical focus point. However, some distance in front of and behind the subject are in "acceptable" focus. This range is called the depth of field.

Have you ever seen a portrait, in which the person's face is in sharp focus, but the background is very blurred? This is shallow depth of field. On the other hand, you have probably seen pictures in which both the subject and background are in very clear focus. This is a deep depth of field.

Depth of field is affected by a couple of factors. The shorter the focal length of a lens, the more depth of field it inherently has. The longer the FL, the less DOF it has. For any given focal length, the wider the aperture, the less DOF; the smaller (larger number) the aperture, the more DOF.

On the Spotmatic F, the slide switch on the camera lets you stop the lens down to the selected working aperture. You will notice that the viewfinder gets considerably darker. If you look closely, you'll also see that things (not the principal subject) that were out of focus, suddenly snap into focus, even though you haven't touched the lens' focusing ring. That's depth of field. Not all 35mm SLR's had a provision for DOF preview. This is a somewhat desirable feature, even today, with digital SLR's.

[jonhock]

Thanks again Paul!
Mike Jer 5:21- Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear? This was a warning for God's people to have respect for Him, which I have the utmost of, but it still doesn't answer the question "WWJS"

[jonhock]

That is very cool!
I just came back from a short expeditionary into those 2 links. They look like fun!

[monochrome]

Jeremiah 5:21

(who have eyes but do not see)

[Mike Cash]

Thanks again Paul!
Mike Jer 5:21- Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear? This was a warning for God's people to have respect for Him, which I have the utmost of, but it still doesn't answer the question "WWJS"

Perhaps not, but it does speak to your missing the answer in my signature.

[jonhock]

Actually Mike, I did get the answer, but I was so intent on reading the replies to my original question that I missed the fact that this was your signature. (which also answers my question "what is a signature?".
I'm sure that Jesus would use Asahi/Pentax. After all, who has a better sense for capturing the Truth?
I was just looking at your photo of the Akagi Jinja Bridge III. That is great depth of field! The way that you set up for the photo is exciting and certainly sparks my imagination!
You guys certainly know yer stuff and I highly appreciate your sharing your knowledge and insight. Oh, and hey monochrome, your photos are not so "mono", they are great!

[jonhock]

Depth of Field refers to the range of distances from the camera that are in focus. It varies, depending on focal length and aperture.

A lens is only truly in focus at one precise distance from the camera. This is called the critical focus point. However, some distance in front of and behind the subject are in "acceptable" focus. This range is called the depth of field.

Have you ever seen a portrait, in which the person's face is in sharp focus, but the background is very blurred? This is shallow depth of field. On the other hand, you have probably seen pictures in which both the subject and background are in very clear focus. This is a deep depth of field.

Depth of field is affected by a couple of factors. The shorter the focal length of a lens, the more depth of field it inherently has. The longer the FL, the less DOF it has. For any given focal length, the wider the aperture, the less DOF; the smaller (larger number) the aperture, the more DOF.

On the Spotmatic F, the slide switch on the camera lets you stop the lens down to the selected working aperture. You will notice that the viewfinder gets considerably darker. If you look closely, you'll also see that things (not the principal subject) that were out of focus, suddenly snap into focus, even though you haven't touched the lens' focusing ring. That's depth of field. Not all 35mm SLR's had a provision for DOF preview. This is a somewhat desirable feature, even today, with digital SLR's.

I've been working with the depth of field preview switch and am loving it. It makes me more confident in the outcome of the actual photo.
Imagine, learning new things at my age!

[Lowell Goudge]

Depth of Field refers to the range of distances from the camera that are in focus. It varies, depending on focal length and aperture.

A lens is only truly in focus at one precise distance from the camera. This is called the critical focus point. However, some distance in front of and behind the subject are in "acceptable" focus. This range is called the depth of field.

Have you ever seen a portrait, in which the person's face is in sharp focus, but the background is very blurred? This is shallow depth of field. On the other hand, you have probably seen pictures in which both the subject and background are in very clear focus. This is a deep depth of field.

Depth of field is affected by a couple of factors. The shorter the focal length of a lens, the more depth of field it inherently has. The longer the FL, the less DOF it has. For any given focal length, the wider the aperture, the less DOF; the smaller (larger number) the aperture, the more DOF.

On the Spotmatic F, the slide switch on the camera lets you stop the lens down to the selected working aperture. You will notice that the viewfinder gets considerably darker. If you look closely, you'll also see that things (not the principal subject) that were out of focus, suddenly snap into focus, even though you haven't touched the lens' focusing ring. That's depth of field. Not all 35mm SLR's had a provision for DOF preview. This is a somewhat desirable feature, even today, with digital SLR's.

Just to be clear, depth of field also is a function of how big you enlarge your image. The viewfinder has one depth of field, your back viewing screen has another, and your computer monitor has still a third depth of field for the same lens taking the same image. This is also true for viewing distance from the final print.

Keep this in mind because sometimes things youthought were acceptably sharp in the view finder turn out to be less sharp than you thought in the final print because of the different image sizes.

It will take a little while to learn, for anyone's typical print size, what sharp in the viewfinder really means.

[jonhock]

Just to be clear, depth of field also is a function of how big you enlarge your image. The viewfinder has one depth of field, your back viewing screen has another, and your computer monitor has still a third depth of field for the same lens taking the same image. This is also true for viewing distance from the final print.

Keep this in mind because sometimes things youthought were acceptably sharp in the view finder turn out to be less sharp than you thought in the final print because of the different image sizes.

It will take a little while to learn, for anyone's typical print size, what sharp in the viewfinder really means.

Depth of field in the viewfinder is still pretty much the same as depth of field on the print if you are shooting film though, isn't it?