[miniheli]

The camera I just bought does not come with a manual. Does anyone know where I can find a pdf for the spotmatic sp f?

O and what battery's if any does this camera take? Just did a google search and it says "PX400 mercury cell". Mercury yikes, do they still make these. A aircondition man came to my apartment about 5 weeks ago and said that "we cant let you have this kind of old thermostate, it has mercury in it" so he disposed of that one and replaced it with a non mercury thermostate.

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Last edited by miniheli; 09-02-2008 at 01:12 AM.

[ftpaddict]

One: http://www.cameramanuals.org/pentax_pdf/pentax_spotmatic_f.pdf Manual.

Two: W990124 Wein Cell PX400 Button Battery, 1.35 volt Zinc-Air. Battery.

[pasipasi]

After getting the K100d Super last year, I didn't restrict myself to one film body. I have 6 35mm bodies, a holga and a polaroid camera. Film bodies are so cheap that you can easily get several.

[miniheli]

Thanks ftpaddict for those links


"pasipasi"
" After getting the K100d Super last year, I didn't restrict myself to one film body. I have 6 35mm bodies, a holga and a polaroid camera. Film bodies are so cheap that you can easily get several. "

Ya I can defiantly afford many film body's. I hope collecting old cameras will be my new hobby

[Mike Cash]

Ya I can defiantly afford many film body's. I hope collecting old cameras will be my new hobby

Single people can definitely afford film bodies. It is we old married farts who have to defiantly buy them.

(Couldn't resist).

Be sure to keep us updated on how things are going for you and to ask any questions you may have about your Spotmatic.

[miniheli]

Thanks MikeCash. I went to my first meeting in photo 1 today, and in there was probebly one of the most helpfull nicest teacher ive met. Most of my class mates have dslr, im so happy Im getting the spotmatic next week in the mail. Took alittle longer than expected, since I did a error on the billing address, but a employe called me and we settled that.

[Mike Cash]

Did you tell your teacher you'll be using a Spotmatic? If so, I would bet he is almost as excited about it as you are. I wouldn't be surprised if you get a bit of special attention from him during the class. You'll definitely stand out from the crowd.

[Nesster]

LOL depends on the age of the teacher

In photo camp, the TA's didn't even know Pentax still existed, much less made DSLRs.

[miniheli]

"Did you tell your teacher you'll be using a Spotmatic? If so, I would bet he is almost as excited about it as you are. I wouldn't be surprised if you get a bit of special attention from him during the class. You'll definitely stand out from the crowd."

Nah not yet, I dont really care much for attention lol. O ya and he said he was a nikon guy.
O O lol.

Im still waiting for my spotmatic, but my mom found her old cannon film eos rebel, so I’m having fun shooting, but I wished it gave me more control over things. Even at full manual, I feel restricted somehow. Ya and Im trying to break away from using the meter helper thing. But it came in handy when I was shooting on my balcony when the sun was going down and hundreds of birds came out of nowhere (I hope they develop well). But its still a great camera and fun to use. Im currently looking through my house for my moms Konica Minolta slr, Ive looked everywhere. Still want my spotmatic to come in the mail!!!

"LOL depends on the age of the teacher

In photo camp, the TA's didn't even know Pentax still existed, much less made DSLRs."

Lol, wow that’s really behind. My teacher looks like he has loads of experience. Since he talks about film and digital equally rather than favoring one over the other.

Grrr I wished I could drop my photo history class though, its so boring.......

[woof]

Im trying to break away from using the meter helper thing. But it came in handy when I was shooting on my balcony when the sun was going down and hundreds of birds came out of nowhere (I hope they develop well).

What you need are referred to as Sunny 16 Rules.

Look here: Sunny 16 rule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The last bit is critical. 1/250th at f/11 is the equivalent of 1/125th at f/16. This is what will allow you to vary your shutter speeds. These are not hard rules to memorize. Start by applying the entire table without changing shutter speeds too much away from the ISO of your film. If you have to, keep a cheet cheet in your pocket for reference.

Memorize these general rules and even if your Spotmatic battery dies or the meter does not work, you can take pictures. Experiment. Bracket your shots and take various different pictures from easy conditions to difficult conditions such a backlit, etc. Use a notebook and record every frame, the settings used as well as the conditions. Use those notes and your building experience to refine the general rules expressed in the Wiki article.

Consider finding a nice fast 28mm lens for that Spotmatic. Let me know if you are interested. I might have a decent fast Soligor or Vivitar that I'd be willing to lend you.

woof!

[miniheli]

YAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!! I got my spotmatic today!!! I can’t believe how strong this thing is. I mean I knew it was gonna be strong but not this strong. It’s also heavy, but that’s the feel I like in cameras (and guns). Its well, PERFECT! This is a used camera but it looks to be in very good condition (including the lens).

Hey woof, thanks for the link. Ill tries to memorize it.

I think everything is working properly with my camera, is there anywhere I should use extra caution or places to check for problems?

Thanks for all the help everyone

[miniheli]

Spotmatic

Uhhmmm . This is my first vintage camera of this kind, so I would not know if this is normal or not with the spotmatic sp-f. When I look through the viewfinder and trip the shutter, everything goes blank and the mirror quickly comes back but in sort of a odd way. Again I don't know if this is normal/odd with this particular camera because I have very little experience with it.

The mirror comes back into view but I can see it slow down just a little tiny bit as it nears the top of the finder to completely see an image through the viewfinder again. This is much more visible when I set the camera to a lower shutter speed. Is this normal? The slowing down is barley noticeable, its just I may have amplified something thats quite unnoticeable but I dont know. The camera itself seems to have very consistent shutter timing.

Hope im making sense to some

[miniheli]

You know what, scratch out what I said above, I dont think theres anything wrong with it. I went to my cannon eos rebel and I could see the mirror slowing down at the end, and that camera takes good pictures, so I dont think it will affect picture quality. Quick eyes arnt always good lol

[geauxpez]

If you need some help with the sunny 16 rule, Rick Oleson has this nifty "Pocket Calculator" that is easy to make.

Universal Pocket Exposure Calculator

[woof]

If you need some help with the sunny 16 rule, Rick Oleson has this nifty "Pocket Calculator" that is easy to make.

Universal Pocket Exposure Calculator

Nice! I don't really NEED it, but boy I'd love to have had this when I WAS learning! Nice find. I think I'll print it out for my boy. At five he is already learning to focus a Super Tak f/1.8 55 on a Spottie! We went through it top to bottom this morning and he seems to generally have it. The weight of the camera is the sole limiting factor it seems.