Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic

The legendary Pentax Spotmatic 35mm speaks for itself if you’re familiar with SLRs. Mine, as most were in their day, is paired with the Takumar 50mm f/1.4, and together they started the revolution that would become SLR photography. The copy I have is a first-generation model, and according to the serial number, it was made in 1965. There were later models that changed some of the camera features, but this is the one I am reviewing.

Some trivia first: this camera debuted at Photokina in 1960, and it was intended to be a true spot-metering system. As the Tokyo Olympics neared in 1964, it was released instead, using center-weighted average TTL metering. It wasn’t the first camera to offer TTL metering (Topcon RE Super), but it was the first successfully mass-marketed one, and it started an onslaught of followers, like Minolta and Nikon. It was produced in one form or another until the mid 1970’s, and between 4 and 5 million copies were sold.

Honeywell was the official importer of this camera, so many of them are badged as such, rather than “Asahi Pentax”. At its core is a simple and reliable mechanical camera, and it was the precursor to the Pentax K1000. The Honeywell versions function identically to “Asahi” badged copies.

The Takumar 50mm f/1.4 was the ‘kit’ lens, and it rivaled Zeiss Planars, earning the nickname “The Zeiss Killer”. The sharpness, color rendition, and creamy character (when shot open) still compete today with modern lenses. 

As I stated, there were subsequent models, such as the SPII and SP F, that continued to be manufactured until 1977. The big differences were an automatic metering instead of the stop-down metering that is on most of the original models. They also added a wider ISO range from the original’s 20-1600 and began including hotshoes for the flash.

The "SW" switch is used to activate the meter for stop-down metering.

The Spotmatic used a 1.35V mercury battery that is no longer in use, but the circuit is voltage-insensitive, which allows us to use modern batteries to power the meter. The shutter goes up to 1/1000s, flash syncs at 1/60 (as most vintage cameras do), and as stated, the camera uses stop-down metering. This means that you have to flip a switch next to the lens to raise the mirror and activate the meter. On the Spotmatic, as soon as the image is composed and you take the image, the shutter release will reset the metering button automatically.  It’s not nearly as cumbersome as you might think, and the extra step quickly becomes second nature, as far as workflow is concerned. It’s also not necessary to take a photo. It only activates the needle-matching light meter. Once you are content with your exposure, you can snap away happily until light conditions change.

The camera itself is tank-like, made from an aluminum body and mirror box, while the lens mount is chromed brass. It has a smaller footprint than most of its competitors in the day, and the film advance lever is smooth. There are no auto-modes on this camera. It is purely manual, which likely accounts for the large numbers of these cameras still in existence. 

The Super-Takumar lens deserves a post of its own, but I’ll include it here, since they were often paired together. The early version, made between 1964 and 1966, had 8 elements in 6 groups. These are harder to find and were designed to be a direct rival to Zeiss. 

The Takumar lens is well worth the price of admission.

The 7-element version that was produced, beginning in 1966, was a simplified design that was typically coated with thorium-doped glass, making them slightly radioactive. 8 elements were later used to replace the 7 elements, and the coatings became multi-coated for better flare resistance.

Wide open, the Takumar has a dreamy, lower contrast quality that was sought after for portraits. Stopped down f/4 to f/8, and the lens produces tack-sharp images all of the way across the frame with excellent contrast. It is still a sought-after lens today, and the current price of the camera, if paired with this lens, makes purchasing a Spotmatic a no-brainer.

On the side of the lens is a switch used for placing the lens in ‘automatic’ or ‘manual’ aperture mode. By leaving it on ‘auto’, the lens stays wide open at f/1.4 while you compose and focus, and then stops down to the aperture-ring setting when you press the shutter. When set to ‘Manual’, the aperture ring controls the aperture the entire time, and the viewfinder will get darker as you close it down.

These cameras are vastly underrated in the current market. I was able to locate one on eBay for $85.00, in an ‘open-box’ condition. The camera is an M42 screw-mount body, and will  accept nearly all other M42 lenses. I didn’t have any issues at all using my copy for this review. Stop-down metering takes some adjustment, if you’re like me and like seeing constant meter info until you press the shutter. Other than that, it was very similar to shooting any other SLR of its generation. 

The SNAP;

If you’re looking to get into fully manual film photography, the Spotmatic is a great choice. Not only will you get a very reliable, mechanical camera that does not rely on electronics to function, but you’re also getting a great lens that can be adapted to many platforms. I would be content to use the Spotmatic as an everyday shooter or even a reliable travel camera. With the M42 mount, there is a wide field of lenses that can be added to it, and it provides the full tactile film experience that vintage camera buffs love. The current cost of these cameras are well worth the cost of the lens alone.