Asahi Super-Takumar 55mm f/1.8
This is the second roll I shot on the Pentax ES (“Electro-Spotmatic”), but the first roll was ruined in development. This is also the second Pentax ES I’ve shot – I bought two bodies and experimented with both, eventually cobbling together a working camera from the two. One of them came with a 28mm f/3.5 but I didn’t end up using that lens for this roll, opting instead for my friend’s 55mm f/1.8 that I had used on the previous Spotmatic roll. As with that roll, I struggled with metering, but I’ve now found that certain M42 Asahi Pentax lenses (like the 28mm that came with it) have an extra component towards the rear element that provide aperture feedback to the camera, allowing for automatic aperture priority shooting. I had mentioned with the previous Spotmatic roll that I was on the hunt for a solidly built old school Spotmatic body and the ES is what I eventually decided on. It’s one of the last in the Spotmatic line, meaning it’s one of the last to accept M42 glass natively. As mentioned, there’s an aperture priority mode for simplified and quicker shooting, along with a range of purely mechanical speeds from 1/1000 to 1/60 and bulb. And very importantly, it uses a pretty common, affordable, and long lasting battery (4LR44). My only complaint is that the light meter is a matchstick that can be very hard to see in many conditions (I’ve been spoiled by LEDs). It’s also very heavy compared to the M series that came after it, but that’s to be expected with the solid, even rugged, build quality. I have had some issues with the mirror locking up but once you remove the electronic metering board from the bottom, performing the “standard” mechanical fix is identical to any other Spotmatic, all of which can run into the same issue. This camera feels very “serious” and shooting it makes me feel like a war correspondent or something, even when I’m taking snapshots of family. This roll was very experimental, still getting used to the camera and the metering and the auto, but in the end I was pleased with most of the results.
Hit Rate: 27/36 (75%)
December 23, 2021
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