Very well said Bob. I knew there had to be more to it, regarding the competition with the German lens makers. Everytime I wind, change ASA settings, or set film type with the Spotmatic, I`m amazed at the workmanship that went into that camera, and the S.-M.-C. Takumars optical and mechanical construction. It was the same kind of thing with the early Vivitar Series 1 lenses. We need another no-name company to come out and produce some no holes barred equipment.
Steve Larson Redondo Beach, California ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Rapp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 2:36 AM Subject: Re: Brief overview of the Spotmatic lenses > Mike, > Thanks for the overview. Most of us "screwheads" already know about the > mistique of the Spotmaitcs and their fantastic lenses. > I have heard reports that Pentax lost money on each lens they sold and > that they were hand polished. Test reports in the late 60's by both Modern > and Popular confirmed the fact that their normal lenses were a cut above the > rest. It was unfair to Leitz that their lenses of normal lenses of that era > were very ordinary compared to the rest. It was a low point in their lens > developement. > Pentax was trying to gain market share from the Germans and to do so > they must produce a superior product - and they did. Canon had their > rangefinder and no SLR and Nikon had their rangefinder and the F and later > Nikormat. Pentax, almost by them selves, saw to it that the prior lengends > from Germany would soon see their demise in the SLR field. > Meanwhile, in Japan, every manufacturer wanted a piece of the action. > They started producing "Pentax" Compatible cameras and lenses - at a cheaper > price to erode Pentax'x market share. > To produce cameras and lenses today to the standards of the Spotmatics > and Taukmars, the price of the MZ-S and Limited lenses would appear the be > bargins. > I do love my Spotmatics, but I have extended my love afair with Pentax > to include the later lenses and bodies. However, when I feel like spoiling > myself, out come the Spotmatics and lenses. > For the "Breach Locks" in the list, I suggest that you obtain an oldie > and spend a little time with revisiting a very unique and wonderfull era. I > know that the magic returns when I lift the Spotmatic to my eye. > > Bob > > Note - due to my over loaded schedule, I must leave the list for a short > time. By all means, "have fun and do good". > - > This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, > go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to > visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
