Take a look at how this Pentax Spotmatic looks with brown leather.
The Pentax Spotmatic is a camera that I stupidly gave away a long time ago to help someone else discover their analog passion. And this listing made me want it all over again. I adored the Pentax Spotmatic and the lenses that it can use. This particular Pentax Spotmatic is also quite special. It’s been reworked to have lovely brown leather. The leather contrasts beautifully with the grey/silver colored camera body. And when you sling this around your chest, it will look like a fine piece of jewelry. Of course, you can load it up with T-Max 400 and do lots of serious work with it. The Zeiss 50mm f1.8 lens it comes with will ensure that. Being a vintage camera, it’s manual focus. But I assure you, the viewfinder in these cameras is spectacular.
Be sure to check out more from our Vintage series.
Check out the listing here. The Pentax Spotmatic isn’t a K-Mount camera. It’s an M42 mount, which means that there are loads more lenses for it. This mount had maker from Pentax, Zeiss, Yashica, and many more. These lenses are sharp and have a unique character about them. Better yet, they’re incredibly affordable. In fact, I’ve always wondered why someone didn’t make a mirrorless digital M42 mount camera. They’d have a ton of lenses available. And camera manufacturers care more about pushing cameras than their own lenses, it seems. So an affordable M42 mount camera could saturate the market and take over.
I digress though, from the Pentax Spotmatic. These cameras are made of metal and have all the controls you’d possibly need. They feel the way a camera should. And though the seller states that the light meter hasn’t been tested, you really don’t need it. I use the tried and true Sunny 16 method and get photos I love. Every time I put the viewfinder to my eye, I was always amazed by what I saw. It’s super clear, crisp, and easy to focus with. Sometimes that’s difficult for film SLR cameras. But this one isn’t the case.
In my older review of the Pentax Spotmatic, I stated:
“I really, really like the Pentax Spotmatic. Itâs always going to be reliable, there are a ton of great lenses from Pentax, Vivitar, and Zeiss that I can get and then adapt onto my Sony cameras. These days, thatâs just something that we all really want: a camera that simply works.”
So who is this camera for? Well, the discerning photographer, of course. I’ve seen Pentax Spotmatic cameras go for super affordable prices. Granted, that was before I wrote about it. After that, the prices started to go up, and they became collector’s pieces. They’re still all over the market, though. However, you can’t get one with a strap, a case, and two lenses for $40 anymore. Considering that this camera is in perfect condition, and $205 isn’t a bad price point. Especially considering the leather job that was done. With time, the leather is just going to get wear and look even better. Brown leather always ages better than black leather. It develops cracks, creases, etc. Better yet, this camera works perfectly fine without a battery. The shutter is mechanical and doesn’t need a battery at all. You only need that for powering the light meter. That means you can take this camera anywhere and everywhere with you since it’s truly analog.
And that translates into a lot more adventures and memories. Below, we’ve got photos from our Pentax Spotmatic review.
All images from this listing are by the seller robert-wang7. Think you’re an awesome camera hunter? We’re looking to hire you.
