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Ed Sutton

Ed Sutton

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Just curious what this camera is.

henrydiltz.jpg
 
It's a Pentax S1a - see next to the rewind knob.

It was a slightly cheaper version of the SV...

Pentax SV in half ever ready case.JPG

The lens looks like the 180mm / f2.8 Zeiss Sonar, many versions of which could be used both on the 42mm thread and the Pentacon Six series cameras, by removing the thread mount.
 
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AndrewFlannigan said:
It's a Pentax S1a - see next to the rewind knob.

It was a slightly cheaper version of the SV...

View attachment 402767
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Thanks. :)

I thought it looked like a Pentax but I only knew of the Spotmatic before my time with an ME, nd it didn't look like one of those when I searched for pictures..
 
In the 1960s, you bought the Nikon F if you could afford it and the Pentax if not.

At least, that's what the camera magazines tended to claim. Those of us beyond the pale bought the East German Pentacon / Praktica or if really impecunious, a Soviet Zenith!
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
In the 1960s, you bought the Nikon F if you could afford it and the Pentax if not.

At least, that's what the camera magazines tended to claim. Those of us beyond the pale bought the East German Pentacon / Praktica or if really impecunious, a Soviet Zenith!
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My first SLR in 1976 was a Zenith E. It was great. Traded it for a Yashica FX2 when I started earning, then the Pentax ME (because the MX I really wanted was just a bit too dear for me) when I got my student grant. Still got the ME with its dents and scratches from being chucked in a bag with no padding and then being taken fishing for ten years. Happy days.
 
I'm even sadder, :ROFLMAO: , strictly speaking it’s a Honeywell Pentax H1a, the version marketed in America where Honeywell were the agents. Apart from the model designation which changed from S1a to H1a, the AOC motif on the pentaprism housing changed to Honeywell's 'H' logo and 'Honeywell' replaced 'Asahi' further down on the pentaprism housing.

Going further, as the 'R' on the rewind knob is orange rather than green, unleess it has been replaced, it is from the second release of the S1a/H1a, which was available from 1964 to 1968. The second release had a modification within the mount to accept the newly released 8 element Super Takumar 50/1.4 which projected a bit further into the mirror box and would be hit by the aperture close down plate in the earlier models.IMG_8839.jpeg
 
Flighter said:
I'm even sadder, :ROFLMAO: , strictly speaking it’s a Honeywell Pentax H1a, the version marketed in America where Honeywell were the agents.
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Proper people don't mention the "H" word.

It's like calling a Chinonflex TTL a "Prinzflex". Just not cricket, old boy... :naughty:
 
Flighter said:
I'm even sadder, :ROFLMAO: , strictly speaking it’s a Honeywell Pentax H1a, the version marketed in America where Honeywell were the agents. Apart from the model designation which changed from S1a to H1a, the AOC motif on the pentaprism housing changed to Honeywell's 'H' logo and 'Honeywell' replaced 'Asahi' further down on the pentaprism housing.

Going further, as the 'R' on the rewind knob is orange rather than green, unleess it has been replaced, it is from the second release of the S1a/H1a, which was available from 1964 to 1968. The second release had a modification within the mount to accept the newly released 8 element Super Takumar 50/1.4 which projected a bit further into the mirror box and would be hit by the aperture close down plate in the earlier models.View attachment 402777
Click to expand...

I'm in awe.... :D
 
Flighter said:
I'm even sadder, :ROFLMAO: , strictly speaking it’s a Honeywell Pentax H1a, the version marketed in America where Honeywell were the agents. Apart from the model designation which changed from S1a to H1a, the AOC motif on the pentaprism housing changed to Honeywell's 'H' logo and 'Honeywell' replaced 'Asahi' further down on the pentaprism housing.

Going further, as the 'R' on the rewind knob is orange rather than green, unleess it has been replaced, it is from the second release of the S1a/H1a, which was available from 1964 to 1968. The second release had a modification within the mount to accept the newly released 8 element Super Takumar 50/1.4 which projected a bit further into the mirror box and would be hit by the aperture close down plate in the earlier models.View attachment 402777
Click to expand...
The logo threw me.
 
Flighter said:
I'm even sadder, :ROFLMAO: , strictly speaking it’s a Honeywell Pentax H1a, the version marketed in America where Honeywell were the agents. Apart from the model designation which changed from S1a to H1a, the AOC motif on the pentaprism housing changed to Honeywell's 'H' logo and 'Honeywell' replaced 'Asahi' further down on the pentaprism housing.

Going further, as the 'R' on the rewind knob is orange rather than green, unleess it has been replaced, it is from the second release of the S1a/H1a, which was available from 1964 to 1968. The second release had a modification within the mount to accept the newly released 8 element Super Takumar 50/1.4 which projected a bit further into the mirror box and would be hit by the aperture close down plate in the earlier models.
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That's some serious camera nerdery right there. I thought I was bad. You're in a totally different league. :ROFLMAO: :eek:
 
Flighter said:
Heiland!

Agreed, I think it’s a shame that they felt they couldn't market them as Asahi Pentax in the US.
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What is that with US models being renamed? Canon had 'Rebel' cameras, Nikon had a few models with different designations (N8008, N2002 etc), Minolta Ithink were called 'Maxxum' instead of 'Dynax'. But it's exactly the same thing. Purely marketing BS.
 
Bridges said:
What is that with US models being renamed? Canon had 'Rebel' cameras, Nikon had a few models with different designations (N8008, N2002 etc), Minolta Ithink were called 'Maxxum' instead of 'Dynax'. But it's exactly the same thing. Purely marketing BS.
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I don't know if the thinking was that Asahi was too Japanese and people would still be thinking of Pearl Harbour. For later cameras I've seen suggestions that it was a way to identify 'grey' imports easily and therefore restrict warranties to those cameras brought in the respective territories.
Olympus were also at it with OM4Ti which was just the OM4T in the States and the OM2 spot/program became the OM2S program. However, the OM3Ti was the same in all markets. It all gets very confusing.
 
Flighter said:
It all gets very confusing.
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It does. US versions of the FM/E cameras, and the F3/4/5 models, didn't change at all. Neither did most Canon cameras.So it's mystifying why certain models had different designations. And changing 'Dynax' to 'Maxxum'? What's that all about?
 
Flighter said:
For later cameras I've seen suggestions that it was a way to identify 'grey' imports easily and therefore restrict warranties to those cameras brought in the respective territories.
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^^ That has been said, more often it will be what name appeals to the local market, they do it with cars too Mazda MX5 / Miata / Eunos same car different markets.
 
Bridges said:
What is that with US models being renamed? Canon had 'Rebel' cameras, Nikon had a few models with different designations (N8008, N2002 etc), Minolta Ithink were called 'Maxxum' instead of 'Dynax'. But it's exactly the same thing. Purely marketing BS.
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In the case of Canon and Nikon they did retain the brand names, just changed the model number. As for Honeywell, who have actually got their name on the cameras, it might be an example of the company contacting Pentax and offering to market them in their home market under their own name. Which makes a sort of sense, from Pentax's point of view.
 
I believe there used to be a thing about customs duties not being paid by returning servicemen (from Japan, Vietnam mainly) so they were able to identify camera bought in Asia as opposed to those bought with Sales Tax paid in the good ole USA
 
Plain Nev said:
In the case of Canon and Nikon they did retain the brand names, just changed the model number. As for Honeywell, who have actually got their name on the cameras, it might be an example of the company contacting Pentax and offering to market them in their home market under their own name. Which makes a sort of sense, from Pentax's point of view.
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Not all Canons are branded as such: I have a Canon Dial 35 half frame camera branded as "Bell and Howell Dial 35".
 
StephenM said:
Not all Canons are branded as such: I have a Canon Dial 35 half frame camera branded as "Bell and Howell Dial 35".
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That's interesting. I didn't know that.
 
Plain Nev said:
That's interesting. I didn't know that.
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Just as Honeywell had the exclusive franchise for Asahi, Bell and Howell had a similar deal with Canon.

There were deals in place for other brands / importers.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
Just as Honeywell had the exclusive franchise for Asahi, Bell and Howell had a similar deal with Canon.

There were deals in place for other brands / importers.
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That's ringing a bell actually. I recall seeing a Bell and Howell SLR on e.bay and thinking that's a Canon. I forget which model it was, exactly.
 
Ed Sutton said:
Thanks. :)

I thought it looked like a Pentax but I only knew of the Spotmatic before my time with an ME, nd it didn't look like one of those when I searched for pictures..
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It may have been slightly cheaper than the SV because it lacked the self timer and the top speed of 1/1000 sec,. - But not quite. In the 60's a Daily Express camera man Victor Blackman who used to write a weekly article for the Amateur Photographer included where the 1/1000 had gone. Well it was still there, but not indicated on the shutter speed dial. There was one more click after 1/500 but not marked. The company that imported Pentax at the time came clean on this but said yes it s a 1/1000th speed but the accuracy of the shutter is not adjusted or guaranteed. Blackman had a SIa checked and the shutter speed was not 1/1000th but not far off it. It didn't have the self timer.
 
Rodinal said:
The company that imported Pentax at the time came clean on this but said yes it s a 1/1000th speed but the accuracy of the shutter is not adjusted or guaranteed.
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I once did a comparison test of my SV and my S1a, on the same piece of film.

The S1a "mystery speed" looked the best part of a stop slower than the marked speed of the SV. To be fair, that may have been because when I bought both bodies (very cheaply) they looked pretty well used and I never bothered to get them serviced.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
I once did a comparison test of my SV and my S1a, on the same piece of film.

The S1a "mystery speed" looked the best part of a stop slower than the marked speed of the SV. To be fair, that may have been because when I bought both bodies (very cheaply) they looked pretty well used and I never bothered to get them serviced.
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The informant to Victor Blackman did say that the extra speed was not adjusted or checked for accuracy so there could be wild variations. probably they found it cheaper to use the same shutter mechanism but leave off the 1/1000 marking.
 
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