Marnie - someone else may already have explained the answer, but her's my 0.02 worth! Wide-open (or open-aperture) metering, as with an SP F or ES series - the lens is attached, but it does not stop down during metering: you turn the aperture ring or shutter speed until the needle in the viewfinder lines up with the indicator of correct exposure. In these models the indicator is, I believe, the same as the SP, a frame on the side of the viewfinder with a plus and minus mark and you centre the needle between them - quick and easy. The lens must have the tab on the mount which indicates to the camera what it's maximum aperture is, and the metering system then takes this into account. You do not have to do anything else to the lens or to the camera to achieve metering.
Stop-down metering, as with the earlier Spotmatics: you press the button, or push the switch, whichever it may be, and turn the aperture ring or shutter speed dial until the needle lines up, just as above. The difference is the aprture is actually stopped down (by the switch) to whatever it is currently set to, so the viewfinder darkens. By releasing the switch, the lens opens back up to the full aperture for clear viewing. You can then take the shot straight away, or wait: if the light doesn't change, the exposure is still correct. With these cameras, no lens mount tab is necessary, and older lenses can be used, with a few exceptions, with metering enabled. In general, if you have later cameras than the SP, you will have to stop the lens down in order to meter with older lenses: I know I have to do this with my ME and later cameras when I use the screw-mount adapter, as there is then no communication of the lens maximum aperture to the camera. HTH John Coyle Brisbane, Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2003 3:57 AM Subject: Re: Spotmatic? II or F? > Graywolf wrote: > > >IIRC, of the Pentax screw mount cameras: > > >The ES, ESII, and F meter wide open with the correct lenses, stop down with > others. F is manual exposure, ES's are auto exposure. > > >The SP, and SPII use stop down metering but meter the same way with all > screw > mount lens. > > >The models previous to the SP do not have internal meters. > > Yeah, but you see this metering wide open or stopped down stuff is exactly > what throws me. You can explain it until you are blue in the face and I am still > not sure I'll get it. Because what I am not getting is... > > What I need to know is what STEPS *I* have to go through to take a picture. > > I point the camera at something, I manually focus, I set the aperture, I set > the shutter speed, and the meter says, okay, go ahead. Then I take the > picture. That is what I was used to on the K-1000. It seems that the Spotmatics are > more complicated. And some only work with some lenses. Or maybe all work only > with some lenses. > > When people mention stopped down or wide open metering, I keep thinking, > okay, that means *I* will have to do something differently. Take the meter reading > and reset the shutter speed or reset the aperture setting. Or do some type of > mental calculations to get the right meter reading. > > Which is why my question was -- which meters *the most like the K-1000?* (See > steps above.) And which can I use non-Tak/SuperTak screwmount lenses on? If > any? > > If I am limited to Taks/SuperTaks that's okay. But I need clarification on > that point as well as what do *I* have to do step-wise, metering. > > Sigh. > > Marnie :-| I already know putting screwmounts on the Canon will mean some > mental calculations and resetting to get right meter reading. I guess. Pretend I > am a complete metering dummy here. :-) >
