A Spotmatic Package "Deal"

[doubs43]

Often, the best deals to be found on ebay are "packages" that include a bunch of things. FedEx delivered just such a "deal" to my door yesterday. The box contained:

An Early Asahi Pentax Spotmatic in good working order needing only a fresh battery and new foam light seals. The original camera manual with warranty card serial numbered to the camera was included along with other brochures and manuals.

50mm f/1.4 Super-Takumar lens that will need a re-lube of the focusing helicals.... not difficult to do. The lens is in otherwise excellent condition.

28mm f/3.5 Super-Takumar lens in excellent condition with caps and case.

135mm f/3.5 Super-Takumar lens in mint condition with caps, hood and case.

200mm f/4 Super-Takumar lens in mint condition with caps, hood and case.

Three of the lenses came with skylight filters and all optics are clear, unscratched and free of fungus.

A "SUPER TIGER" CdS hand-held exposure meter in perfect working order. It reads reflected light only but seems accurate. The battery it uses is the common 625 size.

A daylight film changing bag.

The total price - delivered - was $125.71. I don't find deals like this often but this is one I'm particularly happy with.

Walker

[Just Plain Curt]

Nice package Walker. Great to get all those Pentax lenses in one kit. I tend to buy kits more often now too, but usually get camera body, a 50mm, vintage hippy strap, generic 135mm and/or 80-200 store brand zoom. I have several M42 Pentax Takumar 50mm's, both semi automatic and automatic, two 135 Super Takumars, a 200 f 4 Super Takumar and a 35 Super Takumar but every 28mm Super Takumar I bid on I get outbid. Guess I'm just a wee bit too cheap.

[John Parry]

Well done Walker

Was trying to get my head round the 'backwards conversion', but that's a pretty good deal. Curt is right - you generally get the camera with it's 'generic' lens (you did well to get the 1.4), but usually the original customer was starting to run out of cash then - which is how Vivitar and Tamron got rich on the 28's and 135's.

Now, as the Monty Python sketch said "Our viewers need proof". Let's see some of your first efforts!

Regards - John

[John Parry]

PS Curt

Yes - I've got one of those hippy straps....

It's white and covered in red maple leafs - my dad brought it back from your part of the world. Will be sure to get it on my next avatar!!

Regards - John

[doubs43]

I sent my Hippy straps to Brian Sweeney who, I believe, uses them as gifts for his friends who like those kinds of straps. I've found the wide Hippy straps to be difficult to use as they seem to get in the way of the film advance lever. I either use the narrow straps, or narrow at the camera but wide at the neck straps or snake chains. Some of the guys have had sudden breaking of the snake chains so I'm getting a bit leery of them.

Walker

johnrparry said:

PS Curt

Yes - I've got one of those hippy straps....

It's white and covered in red maple leafs - my dad brought it back from your part of the world. Will be sure to get it on my next avatar!!

Regards - John

[doubs43]

Thank you, John. I'll definitely post some shots once I've had a chance to use the gear. I just finished re-lubing the 50mm f/1.4 Super-Takumar lens. The helical threads were almost bone-dry so it's no surprise that the focus action had hitches in it. It's as smooth as new now... just the right amount of stiffness.

Walker

johnrparry said:

Well done Walker

Was trying to get my head round the 'backwards conversion', but that's a pretty good deal. Curt is right - you generally get the camera with it's 'generic' lens (you did well to get the 1.4), but usually the original customer was starting to run out of cash then - which is how Vivitar and Tamron got rich on the 28's and 135's.

Now, as the Monty Python sketch said "Our viewers need proof". Let's see some of your first efforts!

Regards - John