Asahi Pentax S1a 35mm SLR

Big Dawg · Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 2530 Location: Thach Alabama

A nice find. It at one time had the auxiliary light meter attached as the rub marks are still on the satin chrome to attest to it's one time presence. A minimalist camera as there is no coupled light meter and no battery needed. Basically a Spotmatic without the meter. Again if you go one click past 500 on the shutter speed dial you will get 1/1000th shutter speed. True trust me. No split focus so it is a tad harder to get spot on but a very good bright viewfinder. I like it. Same as the Honeywell Asahi H1a. 1962 vintage.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Thanks !

Interesting confirmation that there was an "hidden" 1/1000 on these S series as well as on the Spotmatic 500's.

Big Dawg · Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 2530 Location: Thach Alabama

scsambrook · Expire: 2011-11-18

The UK distributor for the S1a (Rank Organisation) insisted that the "extra" speed was not calibrated by Asahi and that we (retailers) risked problems with customers if we sold the S1a as having the 1/1000th speed. No way of knowing if they were uttering that on oath, of course Very Happy

, but we did sometimes get buyers grumbling that the unmarked speed wasn't anything like 1/1000th . . . Hey-ho, that was not unusual for customers back then ! "Er, I've got an unspecified bonus shutter setting on my camera and I want to complain that it isn't what I want it be . . ."

I think that when Amateur Photographer reviewed the S1a they pointed out that the extra speed was somewhere around 1/700th, which was probably not untypical of many contemporary 1/1000th settings.

"Selling-up" to the SV was never really an option for retialers. Everyone knew about the bonus speed, and apart from having a self timer and a slightly different focusing screen the only difference was that the SV came with the f1.8 lens. But the only real difference there was the slight increase in speed . . . so the Sla always outsold the SV by maybe 5:1. The S1a was about 30% cheaper, so I guess it was a "no brainer" to go for it. Of course, we never used such colourful terms in the mid-60s - !

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Thanks !

Interesting to hear from someone in the trenches at the time !

Oddly enough it seems the SP500's and S1a's aren't nearly as common as the plain Spotmatics and SV(H something or other for Honewell imports) on US ebay.
Maybe the price structure was different for US distributors or something like that.

Xpres · Expire: 2014-10-28

I've just been putting together a 35mm kit for a friend based on an S1a or SP500. After managing to jam the S1a I gave him the SP500...

...But in the process I tested the speeds on two S1as and the SP500, which revealed the 1/1000th setting to be around 1/500th in each case. So my guess is that this setting was indeed uncalibrated. It is there though, so I guess with a bit of work as part of a cla you could recalibrate.

Big Dawg · Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 2530 Location: Thach Alabama

nrparsons · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:31 am Post subject:

This was my first SLR, bought new at the Canadian AF BX at Zweibruecken, Germany, in spring 1968. The prices at the American BX at Rhein-Main were higher, so it was worth the drive. I got it, instead of a Spotmatic, which cost more, along with a 55/1.8, a 135/3.5, and the clip-on light meter. My wife and I used that camera for years, with one CLA in Houston in the late 80s. Then in 2008 it was destroyed in a fire.

Two years ago I replaced it with an H1a, and just recently I found another meter. Right now the camera has an unreliable shutter. Sometimes the "1/1000" notch gets close to that, and sometimes it's closer to 1/500. The other speeds have some problems, too, so apparently it also needs a CLA. The meter needs some calibration as well, but I've figured out how to do that (instructions at https://sites.google.com/site/pentaxmeter/). But the camera is still a blast to shoot. Holding it in my hand just feels right, and the sound of the shutter takes me back.

Noel

Big Dawg · Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 2530 Location: Thach Alabama

nrparsons · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:29 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Big Dawg. If you find a good battery replacement for the old PX-13 mercury, let us know. I'm using an LR44/357/303 silver in mine, but it isn't as large as the original, so I had to bend the contacts. The test button sends the needle over just 1-2 mm short of the green spot; that's probably a result of the difference in voltage, or possibly the age of the circuit--or both.

Noel

Big Dawg · Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 2530 Location: Thach Alabama

Bogie · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:12 pm Post subject:

Last saturday I bought a S1a too. It came with the lightmeter on top and a Super-Takumar 1:2/55 and a Hanimex 1:28/105 lens (the last one is a presetlens). Ofcourse the camera had an issue after nearly 50 years. The shutter-curtain was not opening fully at the fastest speeds (1/500 an the hidden 1/1000s). After putting a drop of WD40 in both the upper- and lower curtainrail and firing the shutter for a few hunderd times it works fine now. The lightmeter had a leaking old battery, but that was easy to clean. Here are two pictures of this purchase.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Lovely and uncommon black version !

I have the same flat-front meter, but with a glossy paint finish not the matte textured finish on yours. There were several variants of all these I suppose.

Big Dawg · Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 2530 Location: Thach Alabama

Very nice one Bogie!!