I have a asahi pentax spotmatic sp II and dont have a manula!! i need help with opening it and using it! thanks

If there is a film in the camera, then the interlock will prevent the film being wound on. Can you operate the shutter, or is that locked too ? If you are willing to sacrifice the film in the camera, open the back and remove it, then try again with an empty camera.

Have the film come to the end of the roll and the camera will not fire, if so rewind the film. Sorry, a shutter is not a self service item. This should be sent in for a CLA.

if the camera is jammed for any reason, then the rewind button will not pop out. on this model it was common that the mirror cock lever at the bottom jumped. in which case the camera will jam up.

remove three screws holding the bottom cover, remove cover. in the middle of the camera is a lever that needs to be latched by pushing it forward. the camera should release and revert to normal usage.

if this is not the case then there may be something jammed in the winding or shutter gears. in which case you would have to remove the top cover and/or front covers.

You may download a copy of the manual from here.

Asahi Pentax 35mm cameras are not valuable....most can be purchased on ebay and other similar sites for under $100.

Hi, You are goi8ng to have to find repair shop with pentax parts in order to get this fixed. You can sometime find the parts on eBay - but you have to be lucky.

Remove the lens and look into the throat of the camera. The mirror should be resting at a 45 degree angle, but if it's fully or partially stuck upwards then the mirror has locked up.

There were a number of Spotmatic models made between 1964 and 1976, all were fully manual and mechanically operated so the battery was used only to power the light meter. This is important, as on later models the battery also powered the shutter and a flat battery would cause mirror lock up. On your model (either an SP500 or an SP1000), the lock up is either due to an internal breakage or simply due to dried out lubricants which may have been in there for around 40 years now. Fixing your camera requires professional attention; if you're lucky then the camera just needs a CLA service (Clean Lubricate Adjust), new light seals and possibly a battery recalibration (original mercury batteries are no longer available, modern "equivalents" have a different voltage). If this is done your camera can give many more years of service, but the costs will far outweigh the value of the camera. Millions of Spotmatics were made, and the only ones of value to collectors must be immaculate and fully complete and functional. If your camera needs spare parts then they simply aren't available except by cannibalising parts from others. Given that there are plenty of more recent, fully functional 35mm SLR camera outfits available for free on FreeCycle and Freegle you really need to appraise whether to sell your near-worthless camera for spares or to make an investment in repairing it. One benefit of your model is that it accepts the older M42 screw mount lenses and there are millions of them going for between zilch and peanuts.

oh dear,, the internal mirror is stuck in the up posishion blanking out the vuew finder, take the lens off and very gently pull it back down with your finger,,, warning be gently with it and dont tuch the mirror at all if you can help it they can stick up but i gess its time it was serviced, if this happens with a film in it so long as the shutter is closed you can still pull it back down without messing up the photo

Could someone please tell me what battery is used for the Pentax ESPIO 738S shoot and point camera. I picked it up second hand and it has no manual or accessories. As far as i can tell it needs a lithium battery but i don't know which one or what size. Also if you know of anywhere i can get an electronic copy of the user manual that would be handy aswell.
Thanks for helping with my dilemma.
Jennifer

Hi rlopez117,

Congratulations on the aquisition of such a great vintage camera!

Pentax cameras use a mount known as M42. This means it is a 42 millimeter diamater. You may also find this referred to as the Pentax mount, as Pentax (Asahi Optical) made this popular in the United States. With any camera, any lens you purchase should match the mount of the camera in order to be used together.

Thank you,
Jason,
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