Selected Articles

• From K to J: the end of legendary Pentax compatibility

  Examination of Pentax K-mount variations and current compatibility problems
  (This article, authored by Dario Bonazza, was published in Spotmatic No.36, April 2003)
  

• A genuine AOCo item from WWII

  Examination of a trench periscope made by Asahi Opt. Co. in 1944
  (This article, authored by Peter Jonkman, was published in Spotmatic No.35, January 2003)

   
• A brief history of the Asahi Optical Corporation

Eighty years of Pentax history in six pages
(This article, authored by Derek White, was published in Spotmatic No.32, April 2002)

• Test: Pentax Optio 330

How good is that jewel that happened to be a digital camera?
(This article, authored by Dario Bonazza, was published in Spotmatic No.31, January 2002. Now it is also published online in Dario Bonazza's own website)

• API  seals

Several types of seals made Pentax cameras in Italy a bit different from others worldwide.
(This article, authored by Dario Bonazza, was published in Spotmatic No.31, January 2002)

• Test: Pentax MZ-S
  Is the new flagship worth its price?
  (This article, authored by Dario Bonazza, was published in Spotmatic No.29, July 2001. Now it is also published online in Dario Bonazza's own website)

• Spotmatics with two switches

Did you know the Spotmatic series cameras could be modified by Honeywell for having mirror lock-up?
(This article, authored by Preston Cook, was published in Spotmatic No.29, July 2001)

• A new vision on the history of the Asahiflex

Men and facts behind the development of the first Japanese 35mm SLR.
(This article, authored by Peter Jonkman, was published in Spotmatic No.27, January 2001)

• Some notes on Spotmatic, ESII, KX and KM Motor Drive cameras

Motor Drive variations and possible matching between different bodies, motor drives and battery grips.
(This article, authored by Preston Cook, was published in Spotmatic No.26, October 2000)

• Special Pentax LX variations

In year 2000 the Pentax LX celebrates 20 years since its introduction in 1980. Here we discuss a prototype and some special variations of this famous professional camera.
(This article, authored by Dario Bonazza, was published in Spotmatic No.25, July 2000)

• Heiland H2 "Store Demonstrator"

A rare variation of the first camera made by Pentax for Honeywell in 1959.
(This article, authored by Preston Cook, was published in Spotmatic No.24, April 2000)

• The Asahiflex prototype

Saburo Matsumoto had a dream... to produce one of the world's most popular cameras for the common people.
(This article, authored by Ian D.C. Shephard, was published in Spotmatic No.23, January 2000)

• Flare control in multi-coated lenses of the Seventies

The introduction of the first multi-layer anti-reflective coating by Asahi Pentax, back in 1971, hit the market. Competitors reacted in many different ways. Were they effective?
(This article, authored by Dario Bonazza, was published in Spotmatic No.22, October 1999)

• The discovery of a complete Asahiflex camera set

A complete set of this camera of the pre-Pentax era was bought in Okinawa in 1955. Camera and accessories are discussed here.
(This article, authored by Peter Jonkman, was published in Spotmatic No.21, July 1999)

• The Memorica prototype

Did you know that in early Sixties Asahi pioneered not only aperture priority, but also shutter priority auto exposure? Here is some info on an almost unknown prototype shown on occasion of Photokina 1966.
(This article, authored by Dario Bonazza, was published in Spotmatic No.19, January 1999)

• Asahi Pentax K

The Asahi Pentax K, introduced in May 1958, was the final development of the first generation pentaprism SLRs from Asahi Opt. Co. Ltd.
(This article, authored by Dario Bonazza, was published in Spotmatic No.16, April 1998)

• SAFOX

The Pentax autofocus system: patents and development. The Safox III myth.
(This article, authored by Ralf Engelmann, was published in Spotmatic No.15, January 1998)

• Asahi Pentax Original and Asahi Pentax S

The Asahi Pentax Original (AP) was the first pentaprism SLR model from Asahi Opt. Co. It was introduced in 1957. The Asahi Pentax S was the improvement of the AP, introduced in April 1958. These two sister models were the first steps of the very successful Asahi Pentax dynast.
(This article, authored by Dario Bonazza, was published in Spotmatic No.14, October 1997)

• Terence Donovan 1936-1996

Life and death of a famous professional photographer.
(This article, authored by Dario Bonazza, was published in Spotmatic No.13, July 1997)