I have an SP500, along with two SP bodies, and the SP500 is by far the
smoothest operator of the three. Meter never sticks, and the film
advance is like butter. Mind you, all were bought used in the past 3 or
4 years, and I have no idea of their histories, so take that for what
it's worth.
AFAIK, the SP500 and 1000's used the same shutter mechanism as SP's, and
my guess is that the rest of the innards are the same, except that they
didn't have a timer.
FWIW, the SP500 does have a "phantom" 1/1000th shutter speed. There is
a detent after the 1/500 on the shutter speed dial. Seems that the
marketing department didn't want to put 1/1000th in the body, as an
incentive to ante up the extra bucks for an SP. However, the
engineering department found that it would be too expensive to design
and manufacture a whole new shutter mechanism without 1/1000, so they
just popped in the SP shutter, and erased 1/1000 from the dial. In
addition, the 1/1000 speed wasn't calibrated at the factory.
Apparently, most fire about 1/2 stop slow, but I use mine with some
regularity with good results. Presumably, when your body is in for a
CLA, the 1/1000 speed can be calibrated by your repair shop.
Unless you need the self-timer, I would highly recommend an SP500 as
equivalent to the SP in virtually all ways.
regards,
frank
David J Brooks wrote:
> Speaking as a long time SP500 owner i can say that mechanicaly
> they are great.Mine has been dropped into the Pacific Ocean
> off the Queen Charlotte Islands and out of a helicopter in Oman.
> So far in 30 years,1 CLA and shutter adjustment.Plus if
> the battery dies,i can still shoot.My Dad owns the 500 as well
> as the 1000 so it kind of runs in the family so if you are looking
> to buy this camera it is a wize investment.
> IMHO
>
> Dave
>
--
"The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The
pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert
Oppenheimer
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