[ismaelg]

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Hello,

I have always liked these older cameras. Well, I just got this by "accident" on eBay while looking for something else. I can't believe how good it looks. And it seems to be in perfect working order.

Pentax SV (circa 1962)




Now I need to figure out how this thing works.
Hey woof where are you?

Thanks,

[Nesster]

That's serious cheescake. I look forward to hearing how you use it, and seeing the results.

[straightshooter]

Great looking camera. You can find the manual for the meter here.... http://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/m42/meter_ii_s.pdf and the manual for the camera here.... http://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/m42/honeywell_h1a_h3v_manual_s.pdf. The camera manual is for the Honeywell H1a/H3v but the SV and H3v are the same camera.

The password for both manuals is Pentax.

CW

[ismaelg]

Thanks straightshooter! The meter manual will be very handy.
Anybody has any idea if it is possible to determine the year of the camera with the serial number? The serial number seems low: 1916861.

Thanks,

[straightshooter]

There is no way that I know of to determine when the camera was manufactured using the serial number. It does appear that your camera has an orange R on the rewind knob and that the latch is attached to the camera body rather than the film door. This would make it a post-1964 version as from 62-64 the latch was on the door and the R on the rewind knob was green.

CW

[stevebrot]

I saw that camera on eBay and almost went for it three or four times. Congratulations on buying such a primo older camera.

Steve

[Blue]

Thanks straightshooter! The meter manual will be very handy.
Anybody has any idea if it is possible to determine the year of the camera with the serial number? The serial number seems low: 1916861.

Thanks,

You can tell if it is the "early" or "late" version based on the color of the R on the film rewind crank. If it is green, it is the earlier version, if it is orange it is the later version. This mainly applies to the SV.

Edit: The early SV was made from 1962-64 and the late was made from 1964-68. http://www.aohc.it/slr02e.htm

[raymeedc]

I have an almost identical camera in similar condition that I CLA'd last year (SV3). Be careful with the meter..... you don't want to mar that beautiful pentaprism. I leave mine unmounted for this reason..... kind of bulky & unwieldy to use anyway, although it's nice to have. Better off with a hand held meter. It also defeats the small, balanced, beautifully simplistic nature of the tool. Great camera.
P.S. - How many megapixels does yours have? Should be indicated on the pressure plate.

[Blue]

Thanks straightshooter! The meter manual will be very handy.
Anybody has any idea if it is possible to determine the year of the camera with the serial number? The serial number seems low: 1916861.

Thanks,

Its just an educated guess, but I'd say yours was made closer to the end of the run on the SV. I have a late SV and the serial number is 904XXX which is 6 digits. Yours has seven digits.

[geauxpez]

Beauty of a kit Ismael.

[Banjo]

Hello,

I have always liked these older cameras. Well, I just got this by "accident" on eBay while looking for something else. I can't believe how good it looks. And it seems to be in perfect working order.
Thanks,

Thanks for sharing.

I've got one of these (without the meter).

I used it recently (couple of weeks ago) with a Fujicolour Superia 400 ISO 24 exposure film a Minolta F spotmeter and a Takumar M42 f/4 17mm Fisheye lens, using hyperfocal distance focusing.

Every shot came out perfectly exposed with excellent colour rendition and sharp as a tack (the 17mm focal length gives incredible depth of field).

These older cameras require a bit of extra trouble in making the shot than (auto everything "point and shoot") newer ones, but its like driving a classic car, they have that extra something the plastic fantastics lack: class.

They also have some features, like DOF scales and DOF preview buttons/levers, which can be very handy.

[séamuis]

a great camera, I use mine quite often. and the 55 is of course a true gem. if the meter is accurate it could be fun. but I prefer to use a handheld meter with the SV, and not spoil the lines of the camera.

[ismaelg]

Great news!
I found a correct 1.35V battery and the meter works! I have no idea how accurate it is so I'll be doing some tests and comparisons.

Thanks,

[raymeedc]

You might want to experiment with using the meter head as a separate hand held meter & transfer the settings to the shutter speed dial manually, as you would with any hand held meter. It would eliminate the awkward addition the meter makes to the camera's handling. This method has the additional benefit of making the meter much more flexible & easier to manipulate into different positions.

[Blue]

Someone got themselves the early version of the SV plus a soligor lens and the shoe mount adapter for $3.45 + $17.95 shipping (which is 2x what it out to be) but even with a CLA by eric isn't bad.

Asahi Pentax SV with Soligor Screw Mount lens - READ! - eBay (item 320389540427 end time Jul-05-09 17:55:36 PDT)

O.k. Fess up. Who got it.