Pentax Spotmatic light meter issue

vladimiroltean · 10-01-2011, 12:55 PM

Thanks for the input, I do have a donor camera with a working meter, but obviously I don't know exactly how to repair this thing! By the way, how do I take the cover off? I'm stuck at the advance lever.

**TomB_tx** · 10-05-2011, 12:17 PM - **1 Like**

As you get into it you can generate lots of questions. For the Spotmatic a great resource is the National Camera soptmatic repair manual. It was part of their technician training course, and covers full teardown and assembly.
http://www.natcam.net/manuals.html

K1000x · 07-23-2015, 09:12 AM - **1 Like**

I know this is an old thread, but before resorting to opening up your camera, try this.
I bought a SPII with a 55mm f1.8 SMC Takumar lens pretty cheaply off ebay recently. Everything was fine apart from the light meter, which was stuck in the centre after replacing the spent battery with a new AG3. I opened the lens up to f1.8, activated the meter and shone one of those bright white LCD torches into it for a second.
Seconds later it was working & after testing it against the meter on my K1000 its giving accurate readings.
Hopefully this will work for others with the same problem.

imagei · 02-27-2017, 06:01 AM

@K1000x, I registered to thank you for this hint -- it seemed silly but the light meter in my otherwise excellent-looking Spotmatic was alternating between complete over- and under-exposure like others reported above.

I did what you suggested -- turned on the torch in my phone, activated the light meter, pointed the camera at the light for a few seconds from close distance and bam! the meter suddenly works just fine!

Had to flip the battery upside down too to fix the indicated value but that's all (by the way, I'm using a Varta V394).

Many thanks again!

**Pepe Guitarra** · 12-19-2017, 08:44 PM

Turned the battery upside down, flat surface down to contact the bottom of the hole, and bingo. Everything works fine.

cooltouch · 12-30-2017, 09:52 AM

I'm glad you revived this discussion, Pepe. I've bookmarked it. Useful for all the diffferent battery numbers that work on the Spotmatic, as well as the tip on the contacts under the base plate.

My SP's meter works intermittently. So I removed the bottom plate and examined the contact on the base of the camera. It showed some evidence of corrosion, so using the smooth side of a pretty well worn out emery board (I actually broke a small piece off the end), I was able to smooth out that contact, make it shiny again.

The meter is still intermittent. Curiously, when the meter is activated, often it shows a a reading lower than it does when it's off. Fiddling with the shutter speed dial -- and sometimes even the film advance lever can cause it to unstick and peg itself at the top -- if I have a slow speed dialed in. After that, it usually responds to aperture and shutter speed settings. I'd like to figure out what's causing this. It's annoying. But then it's probably close to being a 50 year old camera, so maybe I should cut it some slack.

**Pepe Guitarra** · 12-30-2017, 07:48 PM

Michael, I discovered through Google that the Spotmatic F uses the battery with the + sign showing when you put the lid down. The other Spotmatics use the battery flipping it, that is, the + does not show before you put the cover. The flashing light also worked, I did it, it seems like the battery goes to sleep until a strong light wakes it up. Also, cleaning the contact with lighter fluid also helps.

cooltouch · 12-31-2017, 05:54 PM

I have a Spotmatic F as well. I vaguely recall that it's battery is reversed from the other Spotmatics. It is sitting inside my photo gear cabinet right now, so I don't have a battery loaded in it. I guess I should drag it out, load a battery to wake up its meter, and cycle the shutter a few dozen times, just for good measure.

Smolk · 06-03-2020, 06:24 PM

Thanks for the tips in this old thread! I have a Spotmatic Sp II which came in a lot with four lenses. I wanted the lenses, but left the camera untouched for long. Now I've just revived it and the light meter came back to life thanks to the advice given here. Just the one addition: I popped out the blastic bottom of the battery holder, (unscrewing the bottom plate) so as to make space for the thicker LR44 battery. A tip on Youtube.

stevebrot · 06-03-2020, 09:42 PM

Originally posted by Smolk

Thanks for the tips in this old thread! I have a Spotmatic Sp II which came in a lot with four lenses. I wanted the lenses, but left the camera untouched for long. Now I've just revived it and the light meter came back to life thanks to the advice given here. Just the one addition: I popped out the blastic bottom of the battery holder, (unscrewing the bottom plate) so as to make space for the thicker LR44 battery. A tip on Youtube.

I would have suggested getting a 387S battery rather than modifying the holder. At least that is what I use on my Spotmatic and Spotmatic II. As for battery choice, I would suggest a SR44 due to longer life and better voltage profile on discharge than the LR44.

Steve

**Cerebum** · 09-13-2021, 08:30 AM

Originally posted by stevebrot

I would have suggested getting a 387S battery rather than modifying the holder. At least that is what I use on my Spotmatic and Spotmatic II. As for battery choice, I would suggest a SR44 due to longer life and better voltage profile on discharge than the LR44.

Steve

Steve, I recently bought my spotty sp a nice new wein cell. Two questions, 1) The needle when pointed at bright light is down in the minus, is that right or do I need to flip the cell?
2) it will move through the full range but is under exposing (it suggests iso 400, f16 & 1/1000 are perfect for a dull and dismal day), is the flashlight trick worth a go or is there something arcane and mysterious I need to do?

titrisol · 09-13-2021, 08:54 AM - **1 Like**

Looks like it is upside-down
did you try the battery test mode?
ASA 100 and Speed in B; when the lightmeter switch is flicked needle should go all the way down
- If it goes up battery is flipped
- If it goes half way battery is weak
- If it does barely or not move at all is dead
https://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/m42/honeywell_spotmatic_w_s.pdf PAGE 16

Originally posted by Cerebum

Steve, I recently bought my spotty sp a nice new wein cell. Two questions, 1) The needle when pointed at bright light is down in the minus, is that right or do I need to flip the cell?
2) it will move through the full range but is under exposing (it suggests iso 400, f16 & 1/1000 are perfect for a dull and dismal day), is the flashlight trick worth a go or is there something arcane and mysterious I need to do?

**Cerebum** · 09-13-2021, 10:25 AM

Originally posted by titrisol

Looks like it is upside-down
did you try the battery test mode?
ASA 100 and Speed in B; when the lightmeter switch is flicked needle should go all the way down
- If it goes up battery is flipped
- If it goes half way battery is weak
- If it does barely or not move at all is dead
https://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/m42/honeywell_spotmatic_w_s.pdf PAGE 16

I did the deed and flipped it. Now it makes sense and the results it is returning are quite positive. Out in my garden, muted daylight it returned 1/125, f3.5, iso400 which is more like it. The needle moves in steps from top to bottom as I turn either the aperture or shutter speed, so, fingers crossed. I have a test roll of fomo 200 in at the moment so I can try exposing using both my spotty meter and my android one, taking a shot with each. Should be interesting

titrisol · 09-13-2021, 12:06 PM

Foma 200 is forgiving, so you should be fine.
If you have a smart phone get the lightmate app so that you can compare results
Also you have to take into account the variability of your shutter (when wasi t serviced)

Originally posted by Cerebum

I did the deed and flipped it. Now it makes sense and the results it is returning are quite positive. Out in my garden, muted daylight it returned 1/125, f3.5, iso400 which is more like it. The needle moves in steps from top to bottom as I turn either the aperture or shutter speed, so, fingers crossed. I have a test roll of fomo 200 in at the moment so I can try exposing using both my spotty meter and my android one, taking a shot with each. Should be interesting

**Cerebum** · 09-13-2021, 12:32 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by titrisol

Foma 200 is forgiving, so you should be fine.
If you have a smart phone get the lightmate app so that you can compare results
Also you have to take into account the variability of your shutter (when wasi t serviced)

Serviced? ........ Lol. I have given it a clean and a sparse lube (to stop the mirror sticking). It was one I bought for the lens so I have no idea of its history. What I do know is it is now smoooooooooth

........ And blue lol

12-19-2017, 08:44 PM	#20
Pepe Guitarra Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,223	I had the same problem with my 4 spotmatics and I solved, how? See below Turned the battery upside down, flat surface down to contact the bottom of the hole, and bingo. Everything works fine.

12-30-2017, 07:48 PM	#22
Pepe Guitarra Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,223	These posts are very useful when we google for a problem solution Michael, I discovered through Google that the Spotmatic F uses the battery with the + sign showing when you put the lid down. The other Spotmatics use the battery flipping it, that is, the + does not show before you put the cover. The flashing light also worked, I did it, it seems like the battery goes to sleep until a strong light wakes it up. Also, cleaning the contact with lighter fluid also helps.

09-13-2021, 08:54 AM - 1 Like	#27
titrisol Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: In the most populated state... state of denial Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,852	Looks like it is upside-down did you try the battery test mode? ASA 100 and Speed in B; when the lightmeter switch is flicked needle should go all the way down - If it goes up battery is flipped - If it goes half way battery is weak - If it does barely or not move at all is dead https://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/m42/honeywell_spotmatic_w_s.pdf PAGE 16 Originally posted by Cerebum Steve, I recently bought my spotty sp a nice new wein cell. Two questions, 1) The needle when pointed at bright light is down in the minus, is that right or do I need to flip the cell? 2) it will move through the full range but is under exposing (it suggests iso 400, f16 & 1/1000 are perfect for a dull and dismal day), is the flashlight trick worth a go or is there something arcane and mysterious I need to do? Attached Images

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10-01-2011, 12:55 PM	#16
vladimiroltean Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Bucharest, Romania Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,465 Original Poster	Thanks for the input, I do have a donor camera with a working meter, but obviously I don't know exactly how to repair this thing! By the way, how do I take the cover off? I'm stuck at the advance lever.

10-05-2011, 12:17 PM - 1 Like	#17
TomB_tx Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,446	As you get into it you can generate lots of questions. For the Spotmatic a great resource is the National Camera soptmatic repair manual. It was part of their technician training course, and covers full teardown and assembly. http://www.natcam.net/manuals.html

07-23-2015, 09:12 AM - 1 Like	#18
K1000x New Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 3	I know this is an old thread, but before resorting to opening up your camera, try this. I bought a SPII with a 55mm f1.8 SMC Takumar lens pretty cheaply off ebay recently. Everything was fine apart from the light meter, which was stuck in the centre after replacing the spent battery with a new AG3. I opened the lens up to f1.8, activated the meter and shone one of those bright white LCD torches into it for a second. Seconds later it was working & after testing it against the meter on my K1000 its giving accurate readings. Hopefully this will work for others with the same problem.

02-27-2017, 06:01 AM	#19
imagei New Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 1	@K1000x, I registered to thank you for this hint -- it seemed silly but the light meter in my otherwise excellent-looking Spotmatic was alternating between complete over- and under-exposure like others reported above. I did what you suggested -- turned on the torch in my phone, activated the light meter, pointed the camera at the light for a few seconds from close distance and bam! the meter suddenly works just fine! Had to flip the battery upside down too to fix the indicated value but that's all (by the way, I'm using a Varta V394). Many thanks again!

12-30-2017, 09:52 AM	#21
cooltouch Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Houston, Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 982	I'm glad you revived this discussion, Pepe. I've bookmarked it. Useful for all the diffferent battery numbers that work on the Spotmatic, as well as the tip on the contacts under the base plate. My SP's meter works intermittently. So I removed the bottom plate and examined the contact on the base of the camera. It showed some evidence of corrosion, so using the smooth side of a pretty well worn out emery board (I actually broke a small piece off the end), I was able to smooth out that contact, make it shiny again. The meter is still intermittent. Curiously, when the meter is activated, often it shows a a reading lower than it does when it's off. Fiddling with the shutter speed dial -- and sometimes even the film advance lever can cause it to unstick and peg itself at the top -- if I have a slow speed dialed in. After that, it usually responds to aperture and shutter speed settings. I'd like to figure out what's causing this. It's annoying. But then it's probably close to being a 50 year old camera, so maybe I should cut it some slack.

12-31-2017, 05:54 PM	#23
cooltouch Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Houston, Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 982	I have a Spotmatic F as well. I vaguely recall that it's battery is reversed from the other Spotmatics. It is sitting inside my photo gear cabinet right now, so I don't have a battery loaded in it. I guess I should drag it out, load a battery to wake up its meter, and cycle the shutter a few dozen times, just for good measure.

06-03-2020, 06:24 PM	#24
Smolk Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Eerbeek Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,857	Thanks for the tips in this old thread! I have a Spotmatic Sp II which came in a lot with four lenses. I wanted the lenses, but left the camera untouched for long. Now I've just revived it and the light meter came back to life thanks to the advice given here. Just the one addition: I popped out the blastic bottom of the battery holder, (unscrewing the bottom plate) so as to make space for the thicker LR44 battery. A tip on Youtube.

06-03-2020, 09:42 PM	#25
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Smolk Thanks for the tips in this old thread! I have a Spotmatic Sp II which came in a lot with four lenses. I wanted the lenses, but left the camera untouched for long. Now I've just revived it and the light meter came back to life thanks to the advice given here. Just the one addition: I popped out the blastic bottom of the battery holder, (unscrewing the bottom plate) so as to make space for the thicker LR44 battery. A tip on Youtube. I would have suggested getting a 387S battery rather than modifying the holder. At least that is what I use on my Spotmatic and Spotmatic II. As for battery choice, I would suggest a SR44 due to longer life and better voltage profile on discharge than the LR44. Steve

09-13-2021, 08:30 AM	#26
Cerebum Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Lancaster Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,828	Originally posted by stevebrot I would have suggested getting a 387S battery rather than modifying the holder. At least that is what I use on my Spotmatic and Spotmatic II. As for battery choice, I would suggest a SR44 due to longer life and better voltage profile on discharge than the LR44. Steve Steve, I recently bought my spotty sp a nice new wein cell. Two questions, 1) The needle when pointed at bright light is down in the minus, is that right or do I need to flip the cell? 2) it will move through the full range but is under exposing (it suggests iso 400, f16 & 1/1000 are perfect for a dull and dismal day), is the flashlight trick worth a go or is there something arcane and mysterious I need to do?

09-13-2021, 10:25 AM	#28
Cerebum Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Lancaster Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,828	Originally posted by titrisol Looks like it is upside-down did you try the battery test mode? ASA 100 and Speed in B; when the lightmeter switch is flicked needle should go all the way down - If it goes up battery is flipped - If it goes half way battery is weak - If it does barely or not move at all is dead https://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/m42/honeywell_spotmatic_w_s.pdf PAGE 16 I did the deed and flipped it. Now it makes sense and the results it is returning are quite positive. Out in my garden, muted daylight it returned 1/125, f3.5, iso400 which is more like it. The needle moves in steps from top to bottom as I turn either the aperture or shutter speed, so, fingers crossed. I have a test roll of fomo 200 in at the moment so I can try exposing using both my spotty meter and my android one, taking a shot with each. Should be interesting

09-13-2021, 12:06 PM	#29
titrisol Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: In the most populated state... state of denial Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,852	Foma 200 is forgiving, so you should be fine. If you have a smart phone get the lightmate app so that you can compare results Also you have to take into account the variability of your shutter (when wasi t serviced) Originally posted by Cerebum I did the deed and flipped it. Now it makes sense and the results it is returning are quite positive. Out in my garden, muted daylight it returned 1/125, f3.5, iso400 which is more like it. The needle moves in steps from top to bottom as I turn either the aperture or shutter speed, so, fingers crossed. I have a test roll of fomo 200 in at the moment so I can try exposing using both my spotty meter and my android one, taking a shot with each. Should be interesting

09-13-2021, 12:32 PM - 1 Like	#30
Cerebum Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Lancaster Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,828	Originally posted by titrisol Foma 200 is forgiving, so you should be fine. If you have a smart phone get the lightmate app so that you can compare results Also you have to take into account the variability of your shutter (when wasi t serviced) Serviced? ........ Lol. I have given it a clean and a sparse lube (to stop the mirror sticking). It was one I bought for the lens so I have no idea of its history. What I do know is it is now smoooooooooth ........ And blue lol