Asahi Pentax Spotmatic Helios 44M
For a "Bokeh" photo session, Lyon, France, on June 27, 2023, I used my 1971 Asahi Pentax Spotmatic SP fitting the Zenit Helios 44M-6 lens 1:2 f=58mm.
I used a color film Kodak Gold 200 and the 36-exposure film was exposed for 200 ISO. Exposures were determined using a Minolta Autometer III light meter fitted with a 10° finder.
Jardin Botanique de Lyon, June 27, 2023
Parc de la Tête d'Or
69006 Lyon
France
After exposures the film was processed by a local lab service using the C-41 process. The film was then digitized at 24MP using a Sony A7 body fitted to a Minolta Slide Duplicator installed on a Minolta Auto Bellows III with a lens Minolta Bellow Macro Rokkor 50mm f/3.5. The RAW files obtained were then processed without intermediate files in LR and edited to the final jpeg pictures.
All views of the film are presented in the dedicated album either in the printed framed versions and unframed full-size jpeg accompanied by some documentary smartphone Vivio Y76 color pictures.
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About the camera body :
This Asahi Optical Company (originally (旭光学工業株式会社, Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-Gaisha) SLR was sold to its first owner on December 11, 1971.
The ASAHI PENTAX Spomatic SP was produced in Japan from 1964 to 1971. This exemplary was sold to me on July 25, 2022 after complete servicing of the camera with the beautifully conserved user manual, the original international warranty card, and a booklet describing the ASAHI PENTAX system.
The camera is equipped with its original normal lens Asahi Opt. Co. Super-Takumar 1:1.8 f=55 (M42 mount), a ASAHI PENTAX Skylight 49 mm filter, the original shade hood in a small leather case, the neck leather strap and the body half ever-ready case only. The two CdS photoresistors are still operated by a functionnal circuitry that is not sensitive by conception to the voltage difference between the original mercury (1.35V) and nowadays available silver-oxyde (1.55 V) batteries. This simple circuitry operates only with the closed diaphragm and gives matching values to a silicon Minolta Autometer III lightmeter.
About the lens:
This Helios 44M-6 is the normal lens fitted of my KMZ Zenit 122 circa 1994. using the M42 mount is the multi-coated version 6 of the Helios 44M manufactured in 1997 at Юпитер, (Оптико-механический завод «Юпитер» , "Jupiter") Valday, Novgorod region.
My exemplary of Zenit-122 was produced in 1994 by the Russian company KMZ (Красногорский механический завод, Krasnogorskiy Mechanicheskiy Zavod) located in the Moscow region. Zenit-122 were also manufactured by BelOMO factory. From 1990 to 2005, about 2 millions of Zenit-122 were overall produced. The camera is built on the tough previous Zenit chassis and uses the same curtain Leica-type shutter with no slow speeds. The body is cased with ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styren) thermoplastic. Zenit-122 is equipped with a two CdS cells for light metering (25-400 ISO) using a LED indicator in the viewfinder.
Asahi Pentax Spotmatic Helios 44M
For a "Bokeh" photo session, Lyon, France, on June 27, 2023, I used my 1971 Asahi Pentax Spotmatic SP fitting the Zenit Helios 44M-6 lens 1:2 f=58mm.
I used a color film Kodak Gold 200 and the 36-exposure film was exposed for 200 ISO. Exposures were determined using a Minolta Autometer III light meter fitted with a 10° finder.
Jardin Botanique de Lyon, June 27, 2023
Parc de la Tête d'Or
69006 Lyon
France
After exposures the film was processed by a local lab service using the C-41 process. The film was then digitized at 24MP using a Sony A7 body fitted to a Minolta Slide Duplicator installed on a Minolta Auto Bellows III with a lens Minolta Bellow Macro Rokkor 50mm f/3.5. The RAW files obtained were then processed without intermediate files in LR and edited to the final jpeg pictures.
All views of the film are presented in the dedicated album either in the printed framed versions and unframed full-size jpeg accompanied by some documentary smartphone Vivio Y76 color pictures.
--------------
About the camera body :
This Asahi Optical Company (originally (旭光学工業株式会社, Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-Gaisha) SLR was sold to its first owner on December 11, 1971.
The ASAHI PENTAX Spomatic SP was produced in Japan from 1964 to 1971. This exemplary was sold to me on July 25, 2022 after complete servicing of the camera with the beautifully conserved user manual, the original international warranty card, and a booklet describing the ASAHI PENTAX system.
The camera is equipped with its original normal lens Asahi Opt. Co. Super-Takumar 1:1.8 f=55 (M42 mount), a ASAHI PENTAX Skylight 49 mm filter, the original shade hood in a small leather case, the neck leather strap and the body half ever-ready case only. The two CdS photoresistors are still operated by a functionnal circuitry that is not sensitive by conception to the voltage difference between the original mercury (1.35V) and nowadays available silver-oxyde (1.55 V) batteries. This simple circuitry operates only with the closed diaphragm and gives matching values to a silicon Minolta Autometer III lightmeter.
About the lens:
This Helios 44M-6 is the normal lens fitted of my KMZ Zenit 122 circa 1994. using the M42 mount is the multi-coated version 6 of the Helios 44M manufactured in 1997 at Юпитер, (Оптико-механический завод «Юпитер» , "Jupiter") Valday, Novgorod region.
My exemplary of Zenit-122 was produced in 1994 by the Russian company KMZ (Красногорский механический завод, Krasnogorskiy Mechanicheskiy Zavod) located in the Moscow region. Zenit-122 were also manufactured by BelOMO factory. From 1990 to 2005, about 2 millions of Zenit-122 were overall produced. The camera is built on the tough previous Zenit chassis and uses the same curtain Leica-type shutter with no slow speeds. The body is cased with ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styren) thermoplastic. Zenit-122 is equipped with a two CdS cells for light metering (25-400 ISO) using a LED indicator in the viewfinder.