That was in the transition days when they were moving from the screw mount to the k-mount. They actually sold both models in both mounts for about 2 years. It seems like that was around 1973 or 1974. gs
George Sinos -------------------- [email protected] www.georgesphotos.net plus.georgesinos.com On Sun, Sep 16, 2012 at 7:11 PM, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: > The SP500 (which I have one of) actually does have a shutter speed of 1/1000. > There is an unmarked space on the shutter speed dial where the 1/1000 speed > would have been on the SP. Not only a space on the dial, but a detente if you > move the dial to that blank space. And if you press the shutter release it > will fire! > > The story I heard is that the marketing department wanted a "discount" > Spotmatic, so came up with the idea for the SP500. Problem is that it would > have cost way to much to design and build a new shutter mechanism with no > 1/1000th speed. > > The solution was to use the same shutter mechanism as the Spotmatic but not > paint 1/1000 on the dial. And not calibrate the 1/1000 speed. > > The result is that for most SP500s the "phantom 1/1000" speed is off by about > 1/4 stop - hardly noticeable with most films, which tend to have a much wider > exposure latitude than digital. > > Back when I used my SP500 I used that phantom 1/1000 all the time and it > worked just fine! > > Since the SP500 lacked a few other features (self timer and hot shoe, which > by that time was - I believe - on the Spotmatic) it was still cheaper to make. > > I have no idea what this has to do with the current discussion; just a bit of > Pentax trivia is all... > > Cheers, > frank > > "What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof." -- > Christopher Hitchens > > --- Original Message --- > > From: Stan Halpin <[email protected]> > Sent: September 16, 2012 9/16/12 > To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: Best FF Pentax Rumour Story EVER!!!!!! > > > On Sep 16, 2012, at 5:07 PM, Toralf Lund wrote: > >>> What you're suggesting for Pentax would be a recipe for oblivion. It's >>> a rare product that can sell and compete by boasting about what it >>> DOESN'T have/do. >> It would be dumb to market it that way, of course, but there is after all a >> certain appeal in being able to classify a product as simple and/or easy to >> use (as a result of not having many functions), and there are examples in >> the camera business on how a focus on different qualities than a long list >> of features or "cutting-edge" technology can be successful at least in a >> relative sense. Just look at the interest generated by the recent Fujifilm >> cameras. Or the Leica Ms for that manner. We're of course talking about a >> quite different market, there, but it seems to me that to a certain extent, >> they sell because of the features they don't have. Like auto-focus, for >> instance. The marketing doesn't actually boast about not offering it, though. >> >>> OK, I can do w/o just about all picture modes, in >>> camera RAW processing and in-camera HDR. But some people just love >>> that. >> I'd love to see someone should trying to make a camera without that >> functionality, though. Maybe it wouldn't be sensible as the only option, but >> if you based such a model on a different one with all those features, the >> development cost should also be close to 0. As such, it might not be such a >> bad idea from a business perspective, even if the marked might be limited. > > IIRC, back in the Spotmatic days, Pentax had two camera models identical in > virtually all specs. Except one had a max shutter speed of 1/1000, the other > had a limit screw which restricted the shutter speed max to 1/500. Don't want > fast shutter? Pay less. I think this would also work today. Don't want video > on your DSLR? Pentax should give you a discount of $200 compared to a > "full-featured" model, then charge you a $225 firmware upgrade fee if you > change your mind later. > > stan > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
