Junk and Cheap Camera Month: Will it or won’t it work for me?
I got this camera along with 3 others in a job lot of 99p, so I wasn’t holding out much hope. It looked very rough when it arrived, but I have other cameras that look worse and work fine.
For that price, of course it didn’t come with a lens but I have a few M42 lenses I could attach if needs be. The camera was first produced in around 1963/64. It had a seven year run and later versions had an orange R on the rewind knob as opposed to a green one, that made mine a later model. It is a completely mechanical camera and has no need for a battery. It accepts films between 12-1600asa and has speeds up to 1/1000th of a second. It seems a lot like the SP1000.
Before I attached a lens, I tried out the functions, changing the dials and advancing the film….advancing the film….erm nope. It was completely jammed. I took the bottom off to see if I could encourage it along. I managed to move it along once with force and cock the shutter…hey?? Where was the shutter curtain?? And now the mirror was locked up.
The shutter curtain seemed to be jammed in the recess and was not coming out. This example was well and truly kaput.
So, did it work for me? NO, into the junk pile you go.
Other people have used great examples though and you can read some of those in the links below.
That Pentax has been through a lot of battles. That series and the Spotmatic series have a very solid construction and with details in the design that really make them stand out. I love Mike Eckman’s reviews. One of my favorite cameras is the SP 500 and of course the Takumar lenses have earned their fame.
It really has. They are like tanks so this being so bad was a surprise. I am sure someone with skill could take this apart and refurbish it, but not me.