Black AP S

**Baard-Einar** · 03-19-2012, 03:17 PM

Hi!

I just got a nice package in the door with three black Asahi Pentax cameras. The Asahi Pentax S is the gem, the black SV also looks nice, but the black S1a looks abused, the flash terminals are gone.

Think I have to let the black SV go, I do have a nice chrome SV, the black version is more sexy but I need the money to finance the S.

I also bought a worn SP with some weird lenses: EDIXA-Auto-Cassarion 1:2.8 50mm and a tele-Ennalyt 1:3.5 135mm. Does anyone have any info on these lenses? Worth keeping?

On the picture left to right:

Asahi Pentax S with auto-takumar f2.2 55mm, Asahi Pentax S1a with the tele-Ennalyt and then the Asahi Pentax SV with Super-takumar f2 55mm.

Attached Images

View Picture EXIF

**TomB_tx** · 03-19-2012, 03:56 PM

Nice find! I bid on a chrome S recently, but it turned out to be a plain AP. I also got an H3 with gutted flash contacts...

séamuis · 03-20-2012, 05:59 AM

so you were the one who bought that lot on ebay. im not at all surprised a pentaxforums member bought it. you paid a pretty penny thug if I remember correctly. enjoy. you have undoubtedly one of the rarest pentax cameras in existence. that being the black S. but then paying what you paid for the lot, I suspect you already know that.

**Baard-Einar** · 03-20-2012, 08:16 AM

Yes it was me. I did know what I was bidding on, the seller found out during the processes about how rare the black S is. When I divide the price I payed on the 4 items in the lot, the end result was OK I guess. 650USD for a black S, a very nice and clean black SV, a motor drive and a not so good S1a. Think the AP S alone would catch a nice price. Any ideas?

Now I am looking for a lens for the Asahi Pentax S. There should be a all black version of the auto-takumar around. Does anyone have a photo of such a lens? Or maybe even a copy for sale?

séamuis · 03-20-2012, 08:40 AM

Originally posted by Baard-Einar

Yes it was me. I did know what I was bidding on, the seller found out during the processes about how rare the black S is. When I divide the price I payed on the 4 items in the lot, the end result was OK I guess. 650USD for a black S, a very nice and clean black SV, a motor drive and a not so good S1a. Think the AP S alone would catch a nice price. Any ideas?

Now I am looking for a lens for the Asahi Pentax S. There should be a all black version of the auto-takumar around. Does anyone have a photo of such a lens? Or maybe even a copy for sale?

you are asking for a very rare item. in all likelihood nobody here has one. much like your S. so even knowing where to get one would by difficult. I could show you a photo, but I recently sold my copy of the 'pentax bible.' the 1.8 55 Auto-Takumar was only available with the 'K' of 1958 if I'm not mistaken. the 'S' was available with two standard lenses. the 55mm 2.2 preset Takumar and the 1.8 preset. (your S as far as I know cant even use semi- or full auto lenses, because it lacks the aperture pin actuator. the 'AP' and 'S' were designed to be used with presets) either one could be had in black as far as I know, if you purchased a black camera. just the regular black and chrome 1.8 55 preset is extremely rare, but an all black one, would I think be just as rare as your black body. trying to figure out the value of such a rare item would be tricky. there isn't really anything to compare it to. if I were you, if you had any thoughts of selling for profit, I would have it properly restored first, as that will net the most money. could you sell it for what you paid for the lot? I would think so, and more but you have to find someone who knows how rare it is, and ebay isn't the right venue for that. a camera like that, to be sold should be restored and sold in a proper auction.

womble · 03-21-2012, 12:48 AM - **1 Like**

Sweet trio. Although rare and expensive, I hope you go out and shoot with them! K.

**Baard-Einar** · 03-21-2012, 01:23 AM

Originally posted by séamuis

you are asking for a very rare item. in all likelihood nobody here has one. much like your S. so even knowing where to get one would by difficult. I could show you a photo, but I recently sold my copy of the 'pentax bible.' the 1.8 55 Auto-Takumar was only available with the 'K' of 1958 if I'm not mistaken. the 'S' was available with two standard lenses. the 55mm 2.2 preset Takumar and the 1.8 preset. (your S as far as I know cant even use semi- or full auto lenses, because it lacks the aperture pin actuator. the 'AP' and 'S' were designed to be used with presets) either one could be had in black as far as I know, if you purchased a black camera. just the regular black and chrome 1.8 55 preset is extremely rare, but an all black one, would I think be just as rare as your black body. trying to figure out the value of such a rare item would be tricky. there isn't really anything to compare it to. if I were you, if you had any thoughts of selling for profit, I would have it properly restored first, as that will net the most money. could you sell it for what you paid for the lot? I would think so, and more but you have to find someone who knows how rare it is, and ebay isn't the right venue for that. a camera like that, to be sold should be restored and sold in a proper auction.

Thanks for the usefull information! There is no way that I will sell the S, the S will stay on display together with my original AP and the K. The AP and K does not work, so they will remain only for display. But taking the S out for a spinn is on my list of "to do"s. All it seems to need i a good CLA and a new mirror (there are some spots on the mirror). Currently I am using my Electro Spotmatic at lot, everything works smooth and fine, even the lightmeter works on my copy. Looking forward to getting the first roll developed.

All old cameras should for sure be taken out and used. Not only be on display.

LesDMess · 03-21-2012, 05:23 AM

Originally posted by Baard-Einar

The AP and K does not work, so they will remain only for display.

That's why we have Eric -> Home

**Baard-Einar** · 03-21-2012, 05:39 AM

Originally posted by LesDMess

That's why we have Eric -> Home

Oh yes. But it is pricy to send from Norway to the US :-(

séamuis · 03-21-2012, 06:22 AM

Originally posted by Baard-Einar

Oh yes. But it is pricy to send from Norway to the US :-(

sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the best in the business. things come at a price. your S at this stage already came at quite a price. no harm in getting it done right. on that note though, I would send an email to Eric, and see what he says. you are talking about a very old model, and if anything needs to be replaced or repaired beyond a basic CLA, you may be looking at a higher price, or a wait time trying to get parts. getting a spotmatic repaired is easy. getting the possibly, rarest model Pentax known to exist, not so much. if you have no plans on ever selling, then you have all the time in the world to save up the money needed to cover the cost of sending it to the best. personally, if I had been willing to pay that much to get my hands on a black S, I wouldn't be skimping on the repair job, just because the shipping to the US and back is expensive. just a thought.

**TomB_tx** · 03-21-2012, 07:36 AM

Originally posted by séamuis

sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the best in the business. things come at a price. your S at this stage already came at quite a price. no harm in getting it done right. on that note though, I would send an email to Eric, and see what he says. you are talking about a very old model, and if anything needs to be replaced or repaired beyond a basic CLA, you may be looking at a higher price, or a wait time trying to get parts.

That's right. Eric is replacing the shutter curtains on an AP for me now - and noted that he has to make them.

**monochrome** · 03-21-2012, 09:01 AM

Originally posted by séamuis

sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the best in the business. things come at a price. your S at this stage already came at quite a price. no harm in getting it done right. on that note though, I would send an email to Eric, and see what he says. you are talking about a very old model, and if anything needs to be replaced or repaired beyond a basic CLA, you may be looking at a higher price, or a wait time trying to get parts. getting a spotmatic repaired is easy. getting the possibly, rarest model Pentax known to exist, not so much. if you have no plans on ever selling, then you have all the time in the world to save up the money needed to cover the cost of sending it to the best. personally, if I had been willing to pay that much to get my hands on a black S, I wouldn't be skimping on the repair job, just because the shipping to the US and back is expensive. just a thought.

I know for a fact that Eric fabricated certain shutter parts for a rare camera RESTORATION rather than scour the world for no-longer-existent parts.

FABRICATED.

séamuis · 03-21-2012, 09:04 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

I know for a fact that Eric fabricated certain shutter parts for a rare camera RESTORATION rather than scour the world for no-longer-existent parts.

FABRICATED.

like I said, sometimes you just have to pay the price for the best.

you have a super rare black paint S, and you want to use it to appreciate its real beauty and engineering? then the cost of shipping to the US and back should be inconsequential. he is the best for a reason. personally I wouldn't trust anyone else to work on my cameras. I got my black spotmatic back the day before St. Patricks day. I took it out that day and put 22 rolls of film through it at the parade. thats almost 800 frames, on a brand new shutter assembly. (it had to be completely rebuilt and parts replaced) couldn't be happier with its performance. like I said. the best in the business.

**Baard-Einar** · 03-21-2012, 09:52 AM

I sent Eric an e-mail to inquire about a CLA + mirror replacement, so I will wait and see what he answers. From reading many statements regarding Erics knowledge and quality of workmanship, I do not doubt that he is the best for the job.

The next hurdle is to smugle in the S among the other cameras, without my wife finding out...... Scary....

Collecting is also an addiction I guess. Thanks to Pentaxforums I have a place to confess to my sins!

**monochrome** · 03-21-2012, 10:13 AM

Originally posted by Baard-Einar

I sent Eric an e-mail to inquire about a CLA + mirror replacement, so I will wait and see what he answers. From reading many statements regarding Erics knowledge and quality of workmanship, I do not doubt that he is the best for the job.

The next hurdle is to smugle in the S among the other cameras, without my wife finding out...... Scary....

Collecting is also an addiction I guess. Thanks to Pentaxforums I have a place to confess to my sins!

Yes, I have that problem also. Thing is, she knows about all of them. She chooses not "notice" all of them.

Also, nice Avatar!!

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03-19-2012, 03:56 PM	#2
TomB_tx Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,446	Nice find! I bid on a chrome S recently, but it turned out to be a plain AP. I also got an H3 with gutted flash contacts...

03-20-2012, 05:59 AM	#3
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	so you were the one who bought that lot on ebay. im not at all surprised a pentaxforums member bought it. you paid a pretty penny thug if I remember correctly. enjoy. you have undoubtedly one of the rarest pentax cameras in existence. that being the black S. but then paying what you paid for the lot, I suspect you already know that.

03-20-2012, 08:16 AM	#4
Baard-Einar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Oslo Photos: Gallery Posts: 964 Original Poster	Yes it was me. I did know what I was bidding on, the seller found out during the processes about how rare the black S is. When I divide the price I payed on the 4 items in the lot, the end result was OK I guess. 650USD for a black S, a very nice and clean black SV, a motor drive and a not so good S1a. Think the AP S alone would catch a nice price. Any ideas? Now I am looking for a lens for the Asahi Pentax S. There should be a all black version of the auto-takumar around. Does anyone have a photo of such a lens? Or maybe even a copy for sale?

03-20-2012, 08:40 AM	#5
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	Originally posted by Baard-Einar Yes it was me. I did know what I was bidding on, the seller found out during the processes about how rare the black S is. When I divide the price I payed on the 4 items in the lot, the end result was OK I guess. 650USD for a black S, a very nice and clean black SV, a motor drive and a not so good S1a. Think the AP S alone would catch a nice price. Any ideas? Now I am looking for a lens for the Asahi Pentax S. There should be a all black version of the auto-takumar around. Does anyone have a photo of such a lens? Or maybe even a copy for sale? you are asking for a very rare item. in all likelihood nobody here has one. much like your S. so even knowing where to get one would by difficult. I could show you a photo, but I recently sold my copy of the 'pentax bible.' the 1.8 55 Auto-Takumar was only available with the 'K' of 1958 if I'm not mistaken. the 'S' was available with two standard lenses. the 55mm 2.2 preset Takumar and the 1.8 preset. (your S as far as I know cant even use semi- or full auto lenses, because it lacks the aperture pin actuator. the 'AP' and 'S' were designed to be used with presets) either one could be had in black as far as I know, if you purchased a black camera. just the regular black and chrome 1.8 55 preset is extremely rare, but an all black one, would I think be just as rare as your black body. trying to figure out the value of such a rare item would be tricky. there isn't really anything to compare it to. if I were you, if you had any thoughts of selling for profit, I would have it properly restored first, as that will net the most money. could you sell it for what you paid for the lot? I would think so, and more but you have to find someone who knows how rare it is, and ebay isn't the right venue for that. a camera like that, to be sold should be restored and sold in a proper auction.

03-21-2012, 12:48 AM - 1 Like	#6
womble Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Hertfordshire Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,324	Sweet trio. Although rare and expensive, I hope you go out and shoot with them! K.

03-21-2012, 01:23 AM	#7
Baard-Einar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Oslo Photos: Gallery Posts: 964 Original Poster	Originally posted by séamuis you are asking for a very rare item. in all likelihood nobody here has one. much like your S. so even knowing where to get one would by difficult. I could show you a photo, but I recently sold my copy of the 'pentax bible.' the 1.8 55 Auto-Takumar was only available with the 'K' of 1958 if I'm not mistaken. the 'S' was available with two standard lenses. the 55mm 2.2 preset Takumar and the 1.8 preset. (your S as far as I know cant even use semi- or full auto lenses, because it lacks the aperture pin actuator. the 'AP' and 'S' were designed to be used with presets) either one could be had in black as far as I know, if you purchased a black camera. just the regular black and chrome 1.8 55 preset is extremely rare, but an all black one, would I think be just as rare as your black body. trying to figure out the value of such a rare item would be tricky. there isn't really anything to compare it to. if I were you, if you had any thoughts of selling for profit, I would have it properly restored first, as that will net the most money. could you sell it for what you paid for the lot? I would think so, and more but you have to find someone who knows how rare it is, and ebay isn't the right venue for that. a camera like that, to be sold should be restored and sold in a proper auction. Thanks for the usefull information! There is no way that I will sell the S, the S will stay on display together with my original AP and the K. The AP and K does not work, so they will remain only for display. But taking the S out for a spinn is on my list of "to do"s. All it seems to need i a good CLA and a new mirror (there are some spots on the mirror). Currently I am using my Electro Spotmatic at lot, everything works smooth and fine, even the lightmeter works on my copy. Looking forward to getting the first roll developed. All old cameras should for sure be taken out and used. Not only be on display.

03-21-2012, 05:23 AM	#8
LesDMess Pentaxian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,235	Originally posted by Baard-Einar The AP and K does not work, so they will remain only for display. That's why we have Eric -> Home

03-21-2012, 05:39 AM	#9
Baard-Einar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Oslo Photos: Gallery Posts: 964 Original Poster	Originally posted by LesDMess That's why we have Eric -> Home Oh yes. But it is pricy to send from Norway to the US :-(

03-21-2012, 06:22 AM	#10
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	Originally posted by Baard-Einar Oh yes. But it is pricy to send from Norway to the US :-( sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the best in the business. things come at a price. your S at this stage already came at quite a price. no harm in getting it done right. on that note though, I would send an email to Eric, and see what he says. you are talking about a very old model, and if anything needs to be replaced or repaired beyond a basic CLA, you may be looking at a higher price, or a wait time trying to get parts. getting a spotmatic repaired is easy. getting the possibly, rarest model Pentax known to exist, not so much. if you have no plans on ever selling, then you have all the time in the world to save up the money needed to cover the cost of sending it to the best. personally, if I had been willing to pay that much to get my hands on a black S, I wouldn't be skimping on the repair job, just because the shipping to the US and back is expensive. just a thought.

03-21-2012, 07:36 AM	#11
TomB_tx Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,446	Originally posted by séamuis sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the best in the business. things come at a price. your S at this stage already came at quite a price. no harm in getting it done right. on that note though, I would send an email to Eric, and see what he says. you are talking about a very old model, and if anything needs to be replaced or repaired beyond a basic CLA, you may be looking at a higher price, or a wait time trying to get parts. That's right. Eric is replacing the shutter curtains on an AP for me now - and noted that he has to make them.

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03-21-2012, 09:01 AM	#12
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by séamuis sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the best in the business. things come at a price. your S at this stage already came at quite a price. no harm in getting it done right. on that note though, I would send an email to Eric, and see what he says. you are talking about a very old model, and if anything needs to be replaced or repaired beyond a basic CLA, you may be looking at a higher price, or a wait time trying to get parts. getting a spotmatic repaired is easy. getting the possibly, rarest model Pentax known to exist, not so much. if you have no plans on ever selling, then you have all the time in the world to save up the money needed to cover the cost of sending it to the best. personally, if I had been willing to pay that much to get my hands on a black S, I wouldn't be skimping on the repair job, just because the shipping to the US and back is expensive. just a thought. I know for a fact that Eric fabricated certain shutter parts for a rare camera RESTORATION rather than scour the world for no-longer-existent parts. FABRICATED.

03-21-2012, 09:04 AM	#13
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	Originally posted by monochrome I know for a fact that Eric fabricated certain shutter parts for a rare camera RESTORATION rather than scour the world for no-longer-existent parts. FABRICATED. like I said, sometimes you just have to pay the price for the best. you have a super rare black paint S, and you want to use it to appreciate its real beauty and engineering? then the cost of shipping to the US and back should be inconsequential. he is the best for a reason. personally I wouldn't trust anyone else to work on my cameras. I got my black spotmatic back the day before St. Patricks day. I took it out that day and put 22 rolls of film through it at the parade. thats almost 800 frames, on a brand new shutter assembly. (it had to be completely rebuilt and parts replaced) couldn't be happier with its performance. like I said. the best in the business.

03-21-2012, 09:52 AM	#14
Baard-Einar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Oslo Photos: Gallery Posts: 964 Original Poster	I sent Eric an e-mail to inquire about a CLA + mirror replacement, so I will wait and see what he answers. From reading many statements regarding Erics knowledge and quality of workmanship, I do not doubt that he is the best for the job. The next hurdle is to smugle in the S among the other cameras, without my wife finding out...... Scary.... Collecting is also an addiction I guess. Thanks to Pentaxforums I have a place to confess to my sins!

03-21-2012, 10:13 AM	#15
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by Baard-Einar I sent Eric an e-mail to inquire about a CLA + mirror replacement, so I will wait and see what he answers. From reading many statements regarding Erics knowledge and quality of workmanship, I do not doubt that he is the best for the job. The next hurdle is to smugle in the S among the other cameras, without my wife finding out...... Scary.... Collecting is also an addiction I guess. Thanks to Pentaxforums I have a place to confess to my sins! Yes, I have that problem also. Thing is, she knows about all of them. She chooses not "notice" all of them. Also, nice Avatar!!