After I left the British Army in 1958 i wanted to get into 'Medical Photography' but no jobs so did 'Microbiological Research' with May & Baker Company, then after getting the first of my Photography Qualifications managed to get a job with 'Breda Studios' in Barking, Essex England - they had a contract to do all the Press Photos for the 'Barking Advertiser' newspaper - I was put saving all their dreadful negs in the Darkroom but occasionally got a Press Photo assignment -- however, using the pre-war Zeiss CONTAX III with it's very small viewfinder was often cutting of top of heads of VIP's such as The Mayor ! One of the Partners had been in the RAF in Singapore - CHEEEP Cameras ! He had a couple of weird cameras called 'Asahi Pentax' thsn nobody had ever heard of with weird lenses called 'Takumars' when all we knew were Leitz Elmars, Zeiss Tessars and Sonnars - but the RESULTS !!! one day I spotted a small crowd of Camera-Starved Brits pressing their noses to the window of the Local Camera Dealers -- I rushed over -- inside was ONE ONLY 'Japanese Camera -- an Asahi Pentax S3' priced £87 ( a FORTUNE !! ) in Pride of Place ! I rushed in, offered my CONTAX in part exchange and rushed out , the Proud Owner of an Asahi Pentax ! Several years and many Photo awards later I sold it for £20 to a Bloke. About 40 years later he contacted me - " Peter -- that camera you sold me doesn't work -- do you want it back?" -- well he delivered a Dusty Box -- inside was my ORIGINAL 1961 Asahi Pentax S3 all filthy ! I cleaned body , took off base-plate , lubricated the Cogs and Levers and tried it -- it 'Creaked Into ACTION once again !'
That's a fun story getting back your old camera. He must have really took terrible care of the old Pentax, 60/70s Pentax cameras are known as being built like a tank. I remember back in the early 90's when i got my K1000SE hearing stories that you could hammer nails in with them if you needed. Still have it, still works like a champ if I want to use it. Even the meter appears to be pretty accurate given how many years its been.
I volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul, a charity organization and handling and pricing all their camera gear that is donated. The only issues with the majority of these cameras is the light seals and the meter. The light seals are easy to replace and the meter is fixed by a thorougher cleaning of the battery compartment, its battery cover and a new battery.
Fascinating to read about your Pentax S3 Peter. I bought my first SLR, a Pentax SV, in Singapore in 1965 and it served me well for many years. A couple of years ago I spotted an SV for sale at a good price so I snapped it up and had it serviced by Robin Gower. It came back with the film wind-on so buttery smooth and quiet it was hard to believe it was working, whilst the shutter fired with just a faint click. It was magical and took me right back to that heady day in Singapore. Here's the camera today complete with it's original case and the clip-on lightmeter I purchased later.
i was given an SV + Other lenses etc by an Old Gent years ago but now the shutter curtain sticks partly open -- shame !
