Pentax Spotmatic F (SMC Takumar 1:55 f1.8)

My mother-in-law asked me to check an old camera they have stashed away. Lo and behold, to my surprise it was a Pentax Spotmatic F with Takumar 1:55 f1.8, 1:200 f4 and 1:35 f2 lenses. Obviously, the camera needs some repair as it was not been used for years. The 200mm and 35mm lenses already have a huge amount of mold and I suspect it is beyond cleaning.

I took it to Quiapo to have it repaired and the 55mm lens cleaned. I waited for it for about 2 hours because I wanted to try it out already. I asked the repair man if this was a good camera – he said without hesitation, yes.

I tested it on my son’s birthday and I can say that this camera even after so many years of not having been used still takes sharp pictures. Although I used it indoors and got a lot of blurred shots (because the ISO is fixed and unlike a digital camera you can change ISO) I am still happy with the way this camera performs.

Some sample shots are below. Film used is Kodak Gold 100. Photos are unedited and scanned (sorry don’t have a film scanner yet and I don’t want to wait two days to have the film transferred to cd)

Two months ago I ditched my Nikon D80 and used a Canonet 28 Rangefinder, and now that I have a Pentax Takumar in my possession, I am completely migrating to film photography.