[Canada_Rockies]

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Vintage Visuals Photographic, in Calgary Alberta has my first ever Pentax camera. (I don't think it is actually mine, it's in too good of a condition.) The ORIGINAL, right down to the old shutter speed sequence: 1/50, 1/100, 1/200, 1/500, and with the original lens, a Takumar 55mm f/2.2 preset lens. A collector picked mine up with a comment that that shutter sequence only lasted for the first six months of production. I have a cubic meter of slides taken with that lovely old girl.

SWMBO has put the "No more camera gear!" sign up, unfortunately. Siigghh. That's what I get for overdoing it when I picked up the K10D. The sign went up right after I bought the DA* 16-50.

[ftpaddict]

Tough luck.

Maybe you could buy it back from the collector? (slim chances, but you might get lucky)

[Canada_Rockies]

Tough luck.

Maybe you could buy it back from the collector? (slim chances, but you might get lucky)

Good idea, but he is no longer with us. Also, the price would be probably the same, and mine was a lot more beat up than the one VV have. It's pristine! Here's the photo Tim sent me after my inquiry. Sob.

[Chako]

Ouch. Talk about sellers remorse.

You should keep an eye out at garage sales though. I kid you not. I got lucky and found an Asahi Pentax S in excellent condition (very well taken care of) for a whole 25 bucks.

Here is a photo of what I got with it.



The camera plus original leather hard case, Takumar 55mm f2.2 with original lens hood, Soligor Wide 35mm f/3.5, 2 original Pentax filters (the UV and the yellow + instruction sheet), Pristine owner manual, an HCE S1-642 85B blue filter, a Hoya polarizer, One "The camera Guide Focal Press - Pentax Guide" published March 1960. One Miranda flash bracket, Starblitz 160M flash and a Weston Master II exposure meter.

Here is a photo of the Asahi Pentax literature for their filters printed in 1958.


and a few more photos of the camera.





So keep your eyes open. You just never know what you will find at a garage sale.

[Canada_Rockies]

Nice catch, but it is not the original - the shutter speed sequence is 30/60/125 rather than 25/50/100. The original is a bit (lot) harder to find because there were not all that many of them produced before they switched the shutter speed sequence.

[ftpaddict]

That sucks, honestly. She was a real beauty, too. :/

@Chako - forgive me for being off topic, but what are all those tools for, in the background of the first picture?

[Chako]

I just posted my story to lift you up a little. Just saying that you just never know what will fall into your lap. Look at me; I got a rare S at a garage sale. I am told they only made them for one year, in limited quantities, and overshadowed by the more expensive model.

Ftpaddict, those are leather working tools. Its another hobby of mine, and one that gives me great enjoyment, about as much as photography.

Hmm..did a quick check and found this. Looks like it has your shutter sequences if I am not mistaken.

Asahi Pentax Original SLR kit (model AP) - eBay (item 280188256588 end time Jan-06-08 10:14:43 PST)

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Last edited by Chako; 01-05-2008 at 03:32 PM.

[woof]

The ORIGINAL, right down to the old shutter speed sequence: 1/50, 1/100, 1/200, 1/500, and with the original lens, a Takumar 55mm f/2.2 preset lens.

Nice original AP. I have one in just that condition, maybe a little better. I exercise it but never take it out in the field. A shame really. It's a closet queen now.

I learned photography on Dad's original AP, which I still have and which is non-working. I'll get around to fixing it.

So I went looking for a shooter. I did find a working one with a dented/scratched prism on eBay. $65.00 for the body. Shutter curtains are great and the interior is clean. I ran a roll of Tri-X and some Reala 100 through it and it works fine.

Here's one of the B&W shots which I happen to really like:

http://photos.jpgmag.com/386542_102469_e64b146ef5_p.jpg

This battered old relic is a keeper... it's nice to be able to concentrate on the shooting and forget about cosmetics. Really. The more I collect, the more I think I am better off with stuff that's a little less than perfect. I think the issue here is that I want to be able to shoot this stuff. Perhaps I am not so much a collector as a non-collector with too many options. Heh.

I notice that cosmetics on my rough ones have nothing to do with my enjoyment when I am shooting. I could care less. So I am starting to assemble a pack of shooters at this point and letting the really nice stuff go sit in someone else's closet.

woof

[woof]

You should keep an eye out at garage sales though. I kid you not. I got lucky and found an Asahi Pentax S in excellent condition (very well taken care of) for a whole 25 bucks.

Chako!

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice find. An "S" This is the Holy Grail of Asahi SLRs. A Store Demonstator is rarer in sense, but is actually just a production model with "grafitti." The "S" is a bona fide one in 4000 or so ever made. It's 5 times rarer than the original AP.

I have one of too. Mine cost me $150.00, and is Mint Minus. No dings, dents, or scratches. Beautiful. I have as yet to assemble all the fixings like you have.

Hold onto that. It's worth... keeping. That's one I __would__ put in my closet. Did you know what it was when you saw it?

woof

[Chako]

No I didn't. I bought it with the intention of handing it over to my photography class as another manual camera to punish. At the time, I was running out of cameras that were usable as the students are really rough on them.

However, since I had a soft spot for all things Pentax, I decided to keep it. It was in my closet for a year before I was curious of the back history of the model. After doing a lot of net searching, I came across a Pentax collector web site that told me it was a lot more valuable then $25.

I got lucky twice, once in finding it, and once again in keeping it. I almost sacrificed the camera to my classroom.

Anyways, here is a photo showing the serial number and model designation for info purposes.

[woof]

I got lucky twice, once in finding it, and once again in keeping it. I almost sacrificed the camera to my classroom.

Yes you did. Twice blessed. It's a nice story. You are fortunate to have all of that kit too... Do you shoot this camera? My advice would be to find a nice early Eveready for the H2/S2/H1/S1 series... the one with room for the meter... and use that. Works nice, and fits in a way that tends to protect the prism very well... and is not quite as cumbersome as the hard case. The hard case is a serious collector's item anyway.

Looks like mine is a little earlier in the SN range. They would both have been made in 1958. However, I note our numbers are some 9504 numbers apart. It's well known to have only been circa 4900 made. So I wonder if the numbers were interleaved with Pentax "K" numbers. It seems "K" and "S" were both made concurrently... and only in 1958.

Here's mine. Have never gotten around to taking a nice set of lightbox shots, so a quick and dirty job will have to suffice.




woof!

[Canada_Rockies]

I just posted my story to lift you up a little. Just saying that you just never know what will fall into your lap. Look at me; I got a rare S at a garage sale. I am told they only made them for one year, in limited quantities, and overshadowed by the more expensive model.

Ftpaddict, those are leather working tools. Its another hobby of mine, and one that gives me great enjoyment, about as much as photography.

Hmm..did a quick check and found this. Looks like it has your shutter sequences if I am not mistaken.

Asahi Pentax Original SLR kit (model AP) - eBay (item 280188256588 end time Jan-06-08 10:14:43 PST)

Thanks for the lift and the eBay link - the lens is not the original 55/2.2. It's still in pretty good shape for a camera made about 50 years ago - or a bit more.

[Canada_Rockies]

Nice original AP. I have one in just that condition, maybe a little better. I exercise it but never take it out in the field. A shame really. It's a closet queen now.

I learned photography on Dad's original AP, which I still have and which is non-working. I'll get around to fixing it.

So I went looking for a shooter. I did find a working one with a dented/scratched prism on eBay. $65.00 for the body. Shutter curtains are great and the interior is clean. I ran a roll of Tri-X and some Reala 100 through it and it works fine.

Here's one of the B&W shots which I happen to really like:

http://photos.jpgmag.com/386542_102469_e64b146ef5_p.jpg

This battered old relic is a keeper... it's nice to be able to concentrate on the shooting and forget about cosmetics. Really. The more I collect, the more I think I am better off with stuff that's a little less than perfect. I think the issue here is that I want to be able to shoot this stuff. Perhaps I am not so much a collector as a non-collector with too many options. Heh.

I notice that cosmetics on my rough ones have nothing to do with my enjoyment when I am shooting. I could care less. So I am starting to assemble a pack of shooters at this point and letting the really nice stuff go sit in someone else's closet.

woof

The cosmetics if I could ever find my real old purchase were pretty dismal, but the camera kept right on shooting until 1978. The shutters were getting really thin, and the collector had this nice KX with ... and I made out all right. It took me quite a while with the KX to stop trying to flick the aperture closed before shooting

[Chako]

Well Woof, looks like yours is much more pristine condition then mine. I sort of like the character of the one I got though, as you can tell it was used but loved for many years. Obviously the seller didn't have a clue as to what he had bought way back in the late 50s to sell it to me for 25 bucks. I did find a Gossen LunaSix F for 10 dollars at another garage sale, and an almost complete set of Spectralstar (cokin A compatible) filters for 8 dollars. Garage sales have been good to me over the years.

If your bidding on it Canada Rockies..good luck.

[woof]

Well Woof, looks like yours is much more pristine condition then mine. I sort of like the character of the one I got though, as you can tell it was used but loved for many years. Obviously the seller didn't have a clue as to what he had bought way back in the late 50s to sell it to me for 25 bucks.

Like I said before... I am coming to the conclusion that having less than perfect cameras might be the better way to go. I am afraid to take mine out. Another closet queen. If yours is not pristine, ENJOY IT! Better yet... sell it to ME! Or sell me the kit! Its an awesome find Chako, no matter how you cut it. The first one I can find that is not perfect I will buy.

I did find a Gossen LunaSix F for 10 dollars at another garage sale, and an almost complete set of Spectralstar (cokin A compatible) filters for 8 dollars. Garage sales have been good to me over the years.

I am going to make a point of going to more this summer. I've seen and heard these stories too often now.

If your bidding on it Canada Rockies..good luck.

I'll bet it's going to go for over $400.00. The 58mm lens alone can fetch over $100.00. I predict the winner will from Japan.

woof