Pentax Spotmatic SP

I’ve wanted a Pentax Spotmatic since I rebooted my collection in 2006. It is a seminal SLR, the first to offer through-the-lens light metering. Finally, I have one.

Pentax Spotmatic SP

You need to know three things about the Spotmatic’s built-in meter:

  • It is a match-needle meter. A needle inside the viewfinder shows the meter’s light reading. You adjust aperture and shutter speed until the needle is horizontal, which means you have a good exposure.
  • It is a stop-down meter. The meter reads light only when you turn it on by sliding the lever on the side of the lens mount housing up until it clicks. The viewfinder dims when you do this because the aperture blades engage (“stop down”) to limit the amount of light passing through the lens.
  • It is NOT, however, a spot meter, despite the camera’s name. The camera measures light across the frame and sets exposure at the average reading.
Pentax Spotmatic SP

Except for the light meter, the Spotmatic is entirely mechanical. And except for stopping down to meter, it works and handles just like the later Pentax K1000, which is built on the Spotmatic chassis. Unlike the K1000, however, the Spotmatic can’t use Pentax’s K-mount lenses. Instead, it uses M42 screw-mount lenses. Pentax made a very nice line of M42 screw-mount lenses, all of which had Takumar in their names. I bought a 55mm f/2 Super-Takumar for my Spotmatic. But many other manufacturers made M42 screw-mount lenses, giving the Spotmatic an incredible range of glass. I follow the blog of another collector and photographer who routinely uses his Spotmatic with a delightful Mamiya 135mm lens; see some of his work with it here.

Pentax Spotmatic SP

Pentax offered a range of Spotmatics from 1964 to 1976. The SP came first, accepting film from 20 to 1600 ASA and offering a focal plane shutter that operates from 1 to 1/1000 sec. Other Spotmatics offered slightly different features but all worked the same, except the last in the line, the Spotmatic F, which did away with stopping down (with SMC Takumar lenses only) and was tantamount to the K1000.

The Spotmatic’s meter needs juice from a 1.35V PX-400 mercury battery that is no longer made. A 1.5V 387 silver-oxide battery is the same size, so I ordered one online. The 387 battery is just a 394 battery fitted into a removable plastic ring. The ring is durable, so I guess that next time I need a battery for my Spotmatic my options are doubled.

If you like Pentax SLRs, also see my reviews of the Spotmatic SP II (here), the Spotmatic F (here), the ES II (here), the H3 (here), the venerable K1000 (here), the KM (here), the ME (here). Or check out all of my camera reviews here.

I loaded some Arista Premium 400 black-and-white film and got busy. As usual, I started in my yard. This table and chair grace my deck in the warm months.

Table and Chair

I visited the covered bridge and mill at Bridgeton and brought my Spotmatic. It was a blisteringly bright day and I didn’t bring a yellow filter, so I got the dreaded white sky effect. But dig that sharpness. The 55mm f/2 lens is a winner.

Bridgeton Mill

Here’s a photo from inside the bridge. The original 1868 bridge was destroyed by arson in 2005; locals rallied to rebuild, and the new bridge was finished in 2006. It was here my Spotmatic gave me some grief: the meter stopped registering. I whipped out my iPhone and metered using the Fotometer Pro app.

Bridgeton Bridge

The Spotmatic later accompanied me downtown on a visit to the Indiana State Museum at White River State Park. Whatever had ailed the meter in Bridgeton had corrected itself here, and I had no more trouble.

Sculpture

The Indiana State Museum features sculpture all over its exterior that represent each of Indiana’s 92 counties. This is the sculpture for Henry County. Wilbur Wright was born here; hence the plane. The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is also in Henry County.

Hoops Plane

The museum backs up to the Indiana Central Canal, a waterway built in the 1830s to connect the Wabash and Erie Canal to the Ohio River. It’s a Downtown attraction now, with walking paths on either side. I just pointed, metered, focused, and shot this without worrying about exposing for that deep shadow, and the Spotmatic managed it all right.

At the Clock

I forget which county this little Atlas represents. But I sure thought he was interesting, so I moved in close. Under my fingers the Spotmatic’s controls all felt solid but not luxurious. The stop-down lever was a little hard to push, but that’s nothing a proper CLA couldn’t fix.

Atlas

See more photos from this camera in my Pentax Spotmatic SP gallery.

I enjoyed using my Spotmatic but for the stopping down. I might not mind it so much if my Spotmatic F didn’t offer open-aperture metering. The stop-down step eliminated, this later Spotmatic just handles more easily. But I’m glad to have experienced this Spotmatic for its historic significance.

If you like old film cameras, check out all of my reviews here!
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Comments

22 responses to “Pentax Spotmatic SP”

  1. Jon campo Avatar
    Jon campo

    Those are some very sharp pictures Jim, very nice work. Your SP looks very clean, enjoy it.
    Thanks, Jon

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks Jon. It is in nice shape. Not sure what was up with the light meter in Bridgeton but otherwise it worked like a champ.

  2. Carole Avatar
    Carole

    Really nice black & whites. Good subject matter. More please.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Black and white sure is nice, isn’t it? I don’t shoot more because I can get Fujicolor 200 so cheaply and easily — Meijer sells it for under $2 a roll. The cheapest b/w I’ve found is $2.69 a roll and I have to get it mail order. The b/w I like best is $7 a roll!

  3. Mike Avatar

    My Mamiya 135 thanks you for your recognition of its excellence. An advantage of the Mamiya lens I haven’t discussed before is the fact that it doesn’t contain any of the slightly radioactive Thorium Oxide of the early Pentax Takumars. While the Thorium Oxide actually improves sharpness by suppressing chromatic aberration, it also tends to yellow the glass over time.

    The f1.8 Super Takumar which was on my Pentax when I bought it about 1970 eventually got discolored enough to give my color shots a bit of a warm tinge. I think the later SMC Takumars were exempt from the problem; I was pleased to get one of those as a gift some time ago, and now use it as my normal lens on the old Spotmatic. Of course, as your fine results show, the Thorium has no ill effect in b&w image making.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Happy to sing the praises of your Mamiya 135! I didn’t know that the thorium oxide could yellow the Takumars. Mine still seems clear; perhaps I’m fortunate.

  4. pesoto74 Avatar

    Nice results. I think the f/2 Super Takumar is one of the great lens bargains.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I find that for SLRs, the f/2 prime lens is usually the best buy and lets me get into a camera for the least amount of money. I acquired a Nikon F2 recently that had no lens, and the f/2 prime Nikon AI lens was relatively inexpensive.

  5. Christpher Smith Avatar
    Christpher Smith

    Nice work Jim, I like the old Pentax cameras like you I have wanted a Spotmatic I have lots of other Pentax models, but the Spotmatic is on my wish list. clean ones can be expensive on eBay but I keep my eye open for one. Once again you have a nice set of photos there you have done the old Spotmatic justice.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks Christopher! If you have a K1000, I see no need to get a Spotmatic. Just enjoy your K1000 and move on!

      1. Andy Umbo Avatar
        Andy Umbo

        Jim, don’t you find that the Pentax Spotmatic SP seems much “smoother” and vibrationless than the K1000? I can’t remember if I’m feeling it correctly, but I used a lot of 35mm cameras over the years at different employers, and I remember when the K-1000 became the camera of choice for college photography classes, I picked up a students to take a few pictures, and thought it was extremely loud and had a lot of vibration compared to my old Spotmatics. I think you have them both, so you can try them out and tell us!

        1. Jim Grey Avatar

          Hmmmmmm. It’s been a while, but my memory is that the K1000 feels a little cruder in use than the Spotmatic. But none of Pentaxes have gotten a CLA so it might not be a fair comparison!

  6. Moni Avatar

    oh those are nice!! I need to get some black and white film in mine and play!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Do! What kind of b/w film do you like best? I’m a big fan of Tmax 400, but the Arista Premium 400 I’ve been using is a darn sight cheaper.

      1. Moni Avatar

        I love Tri-x a lot. Though I’ve been playing with 100ASA film and like the contrast of it. I am really liking Fuji Acros lately!

        1. Jim Grey Avatar

          Tri-X is classic and I’d never turn down using it. I’ve used the Fuji Acros and like it. Tmax is similar to me and a little cheaper so I tend to go for it. And it just feels right to buy Kodak film.

          1. Moni Avatar

            I actually bought Tmax 100 a couple of days ago and am looking forward to trying it! it was a lot less than the Acros so I thought I’d try it.

  7. Christpher Smith Avatar
    Christpher Smith

    I tend to use Ilford a lot FP4+ or HP5+ and occasionally Pan F+ although I have some out of date (2004) Tura 100 and 400 film I have to use up yet ( I believe its no longer made ) but I just developed a roll I took using and Olympus OM10 and it came out ok

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I’ve never tried the Ilford films, though I’m curious about them. I’m reluctant to try a film I haven’t used before in a camera I haven’t used before as then I can’t tell in the images what is the camera and what is the film. But perhaps I should buy some Ilford and store it for when I shoot one of my frequently used cameras like my Pentax ME.

  8. Khürt Williams Avatar

    I am surprised that you mentioned the Spotmatic F but not the Spotmatic II.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I didn’t want to do the entire Spotmatic history here, so I really condensed it!

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