[WPRESTO]

One Q7 body plus the K mount adapter and all the lenses except the Toy Telephoto which will be here in a couple weeks.

Not pictured: A spare yellow Q7 body with lower shutter count.

The camera and the lens below it are older - age had yellowed them.

[Jonathan Mac]

F801S by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

[steamloco76]

I started posting photos of my cameras on Instagram. Here's my MX, Program A's (sliver and black), SV, and Auto 110 Super. Little tidbits of each are on Instagram but I'm too lazy to copy-paste here.

A Super Program/Program A is a very hard to beat film camera. TTL OTF flash metering, big viewfinder and generally very accurate metering. I used two, one with the rare 3.5 fps motor drive A, professionally in the early 1990’s. Neither let me down. I gave both and three lenses to a budding teen photographer. Two years ago, I purchased a lens lot which had a Super Program included. I’ve sold all the lenses, but the Super Program is my go-tp film body when I want to trust the camera and concentrate on creativity.

[Hepcat]

This is the highest serial SL I've been able to find in any literature online... The SL was the meterless Spotmatic and was produced from 1968 to 1974 with a total production (so I've found) of about 200,000 cameras. That against 2.7 million M42 Spotmatics, and 4.4 millon M42 Pentax bodies in total, so the SL is somewhat less easy to find.

This particular body has the original box, a cold shoe in the original box, an ever-ready case and leather strap. It has a seven-element Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm f/1.4 attached.

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Last edited by Hepcat; 11-11-2020 at 07:22 AM.

[Sam_I_am]

Wow! That is super clean.

[From1980]

Has anyone seen a breakdown of chrome vs black SL models produced? I would like to acquire a black one since I already have the chrome. I believe I have only ever seen a couple black ones for sale anywhere but I usually see the chrome model with only a short search.

[ismaelg]

Beautiful SL!

My understanding is that there were about 4.4 million Spotmatics made within all variants.

2,700,000 regular Spotmatics
580,000 Spotmatic F
300,000 SPII (including SPIIa)
250,000 SP1000
240,000 ES (including the ES II)
200,000 SL
170,000 SP500

From the original 1957 Asahi Pentax to the last SV and S1a, there were about 1.25 million made.

For a grand total of about 5.7 Million M42 cameras!

Thanks,

[microlight]

I have two SLs in beautiful condition.

One’s a Pentax, the other’s a Mercedes...!

[stevebrot]

This is the highest serial SL I've been able to find in any literature online... The SL was the meterless Spotmatic and was produced from 1968 to 1974 with a total production (so I've found) of about 200,000 cameras. That against 2.7 million M42 Spotmatics, and 4.4 millon M42 Pentax bodies in total, so the SL is somewhat less easy to find.

This particular body has the original box, a cold shoe in the original box, an ever-ready case and leather strap. It has a seven-element Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm f/1.4 attached.

Very nice. IIRC, the SL was intended to replace the S1a/SV when those hit end-of-life in 1968. I have never seen one, but think it would be nice to have a Spotmatic without the intrusion of the meter into the viewfinder.


Steve

[Hepcat]

Thank you for clarifying that! The source I was referencing wasn't clear about the total numbers.

Beautiful SL!

My understanding is that there were about 4.4 million Spotmatics made within all variants.

2,700,000 regular Spotmatics
580,000 Spotmatic F
300,000 SPII (including SPIIa)
250,000 SP1000
240,000 ES (including the ES II)
200,000 SL
170,000 SP500

From the original 1957 Asahi Pentax to the last SV and S1a, there were about 1.25 million made.

For a grand total of about 5.7 Million M42 cameras!

Thanks,

[Baard-Einar]

These two are among my favorit cameras. I love the esthetic look and feel as well as handling of the camera and pre-set lenses. Black or chrome? Hard to decide.

Do you have a favorit from this period?

[ismaelg]

THAT'S some gear p0rn right there!
I love my AP and K, but the SV is a contender for my all time favorite...

Thanks,

[TomB_tx]

THAT'S some gear p0rn right there!
I love my AP and K, but the SV is a contender for my all time favorite...

Thanks,

I actually preferred the larger diagonal micro-prism focusing spot of the H1a to the SV screen. Otherwise (except for self timer) same camera. Of course, it was my first SLR in 1965, so there's an emotional factor.

[womble]

These two are among my favourite cameras. I love the aesthetic look and feel as well as handling of the camera and pre-set lenses. Black or chrome? Hard to decide.

Do you have a favorite from this period?

A black S out in the wild... right up there with Unicorn droppings...

At the moment it is my SV, because I have one which has had a CLA and is working great. I have a slew of other early models (of the next generation after the AP/S/K) including a couple S1a/H1as but none have had a CLA and so they don't get used. (I prefer to wait until I have a CLA done so that I don't fling the remains of bumper foam all over the inside of the camera). I also have an AP which came in a bundle of parts bodies that I am planning to send off for an assessment in the next round of services. At the moment I have a Kershaw Raven on its way back to me.

[tonyzoc]

Some new toys I picked up the past couple of weeks. The Nikkormat FTN, Nikon EL2 and a black Spotmatic. The Spotmatic curtains weren't closing all the way. A little clean and lube on the bottom gears fixed that. The Nikon EL2 came with the AW-1 winder not working. I disassembled to find what I was expecting, the nylon motor gear had split. I ordered a couple brass replacement gear from Sover Wong ($25 ea) so hopefully I can fix it and get the winder reassembled. I must have removed 30 screws. This week I also picked up a Nikkormat ELW with the winder...same issue with the winder and the cameras CdS cells are shot...meter responds to light but underexposing by 2+ stops in bright light and 8+ stops in low light. It's good as a manual camera but no auto exposure or metering.