My Journey Into Photography: Pentax SP1000 and SP500

January 2017 was a new year and a new start for me. I had decided to take photography seriously after years of being a “happy snapper” and figured I would start with the basics and made a choice to use 35mm Film. Film photography has taken a battering in the first 2 decades of the 21^st century. From being at an all time high during the late 90’s to being utterly decimated by the digital revolution in the space of 10 years was too much for a lot of companies to withstand. Many film producers went to the wall, either disappearing altogether or being absorbed into bigger companies. Agfa was one of the casualties.

I also made a choice to make life as easy as possible to start with. I needed to learn the basics of photography. Aperture, Shutter and framing. ASA or ISO is set by the film speed, it can be changed but that’s advanced level photography. I was so green I glowed like 3 Mile Island. After some searching I found a Pentax SP1000 and a Helios 44m-4 58mm lens on ebay for £20. The Pentax SP1000 and SP500 are the “Budget” Spotmatics. They don’t have the self timer of the Pentax Spotmatic so was cheaper to make and buy. The SP500 didn’t have the 1/1000th shutter speed of the SP1000, or so I thought until I discovered the difference between the SP1000 and the SP500 was the omission of the number 1000 from the shutter speed selection dial. Click it one more click past 500 and the 1/1000th shutter speed is there.

Now that I had my camera and lens I needed 35mm film. My friend and photography mentor Owen told me about Agfa Vista 200 35mm that was on sale in a local discount store here in the UK. It was being sold cheap because the retailer had bought some of the last Agfa 35mm film produced before the company ceased trading. For a novice film photographer it was too good to pass up and I bought 10 rolls.

I met Owen in Wigan Park, he talked me through the basics and we got on with it. For the most part my lack of skills was evident from the start, however I soon began to find my mojo and compositions started becoming clear. It’s amazing how the simple act of taking a photograph changes your perception of your surroundings. I hadn’t really noticed the detail in the Calderbank Fountain before, nor had I fully appreciated the majesty of the Pavilion, which is a great place for a coffee and an ice cream. We headed into town and took more photo’s around the statue of local Wigan Rugby League legend, Billy Boston. I had found the camera I bought wasn’t performing as it should and Owen kindly loaned me his ME Super to try. Now that is a camera I enjoy using. In Wigan we are lucky to have a Max Spielmann Photo Store that still develops 35mm colour film in one hour so we didn’t have long to wait to see the results.

In my first blog, “Beginnings…” I posted a couple of images from that first roll, one unedited view towards the Pavillion and the other, “Husky In The Fountain” which was saved after a lot of editing and It never fails to make me smile. Not all my images from that first roll were awful, there were a couple that I could use and to be honest I learned a lot from them. They also taught me a valuable lesson in how to by quality gear from ebay. Humble Pie was consumed.

Another foray onto ebay saw a Pentax SP500 and another Helios 44m-4 purchased and these were in much better shape. The light meter worked, the light seals on the camera were in good shape and the lens was beautifully smooth. I loaded a roll of Agfa Vista 200 into the SP500 and had a wander to Wigan Pier. Often the butt of music hall jokes, Wigan Pier was a major port on the canal network in Lancashire. It carried coal and cotton to and from Liverpool Docks, and finished goods to all points on the canal network. It’s also a great location for photography. This shoot was much more satisfying as I had gone out on my own with hand written notes in my pocket and a determination to do better. When I got the film developed at Max Spielmann I was happy to see some decent images that gave me confidence I was doing the right thing.

The initial bad experience with the SP1000 didn’t put me off and I have really enjoyed using the SP500. The rudimentary light meter is pretty accurate for a camera that was introduced in 1974 and the shutter speeds also hold up well to scrutiny. Are there better camera’s for the beginner? Yes, plenty of them, but I have found that less really does give you more as I had to learn how to choose the right aperture, shutter speed and even lens for the occasion. I am happy with my Pentax camera’s, I have learned so much from them and will enjoy them for a few more years to come.