Hi all,
I recently acquired a Program Plus and SMC Pentax-A 50/1.7 in outstanding
cosmetic condition. Maybe the physical condition should have been an alert
as to why the camera was hardly used.
After installing fresh silver oxide batteries and a roll of film I noted
the following problems:
The aperture ring, when rotating from 1.7 to 22 stops exactly half way
between 8 & 11. When I press the program exposure button I'm able to
continue rotating to the rest of the settings. At 22 I have to press the
button again to put it into program exposure mode--as I should. Rotating
from 22 to 1.7 works just fine. Any ideas what the problem is and what it
might take to correct it?
The camera's exposure readouts are another story. In program mode with the
aperture set on the green A, the display alternates between P 1000 F22 and
ooo oo, the o's being the weak battery indicator. In shutter priority mode
the display alternates between 1000 [blank-no f stop] and ooo
ooo. Changing f stops does not change the display. In manual mode shutter
speed is displayed, either +3 or +2 shows in the aperture display
window-never an actual aperture value and still the alternating with ooo oo.
I've mounted the above referenced 50mm lens, a Sigma 35-70 zoom with the
"A" setting capability and a 50mm SMC Pentax-M without the "A" setting
capability. Same readouts for with each.
Not only did I use fresh silver oxide batteries, I tried a second pair and,
for good measure, a pair of fresh alkalines. Same results.
The shutter fired on all the various settings I tried. The roll of prints
appears to be exposed correctly for each of the three modes.
Is what I described a known issue with the Program Plus? Is it expensive
to fix? Can anyone think of any potential problems that might crop up if I
just ignore the faulty readouts?
Thanks,
Gary
