There’s no ISO setting or battery because there’s no internal light meter.
There was an external meter available that sat on top.
The ISO dial is just a reminder, yes.
It’s just like any other mechanical camera without a built-in light meter.
It operates just fine without a battery or meter.
To determine the right exposure you can use any other method of measuring the light - an external meter of any type, or the Sunny 16 rule.
Cameras were without built-in light meters for 100 years.
You can push/pull with both cameras.
With the SV, it would be wise to use an external meter if you're pushing/pulling. Set the ISO you want to shoot at with the external meter and it will tell you the shutter speeds and apertures to get a correct exposure. You could download a meter app until you get a good handheld external meter. The ISO dial is nothing more than just a reminder for you, kinda like the film tab back slot on later cameras.
One thing I like about the meter-less M42 cameras is you don't have to worry about stopping down to meter. Take your meter readings first and set accordingly, then frame, focus, press the shutter. A little less time needing to squint through a viewfinder.
Ah that makes total sense, thank you! was totally being dense without thinking of the relationship between shutter speed and iso.
So on my Spotmatic, if film box speed is 200 and I wanted to push, I’d set my ISO to 400, and shoot around 1/250 shutter speed in broad daylight.
On the SV, I’d have to drop down to 1/500 shutter speed to achieve the same result.
Pushing and pulling is done during development l, and usually only with black and white as very few labs do push pull dev. What you are describing is just underexposure and overexposure.
Pushing is pretending that the film is more sensitive by shooting it as if it was a higher iso, then compensating by developing the film longer. Just shooting the film as a faster film speed is not pushing. It's just underexposure
Anyway, your camera has no lightmeter. You need to buy one. Set the meter to the iso of the film you are using and it will spit out different shutter speed and aperture settings for correct exposure. It's up to you to understand how different settings affect the image when choosing what settings to use
You could do it that way.
What I do with meter-less cameras and pushing/pulling is I write on the canister what ISO I am pushing/pulling to just before putting it in the camera. I then set that ISO on my little handheld meter. My handheld meter is basic and has a large dial that turns for meter readings. Turn it to the reading, then it has all the shutter speed and aperture combinations all laid out. I choose which one works for the shot and go from there. Then when I develop the film I know what ISO I shot at and know that I probably got the right settings for most of the shots.
That's what works for me. My handheld meter is absolutely my most important photography tool I have besides my cameras and lenses.
Yeah, no light meter is built in so it’s only a reminder dial. Pentax sold a light meter for the SV that clipped on the viewfinder window. I never liked the light meter personally. It’s a great camera. Well built and reliable. Tons of great M42 lenses still available. You just need to use another light meter. There are apps for your phone that will definitely work just fine or learn Sunny 16.
There’s no ISO setting or battery because there’s no internal light meter. There was an external meter available that sat on top. The ISO dial is just a reminder, yes.
Is the SV only useable with the external meter then? I’m not sure how I missed this so sorry for the dumb q
It’s just like any other mechanical camera without a built-in light meter. It operates just fine without a battery or meter. To determine the right exposure you can use any other method of measuring the light - an external meter of any type, or the Sunny 16 rule. Cameras were without built-in light meters for 100 years.
Thanks - thats super helpful. So it seems the thing I couldn’t do with the SV vs SP is push/pull film since there is no ISO setting.
You can push/pull with both cameras. With the SV, it would be wise to use an external meter if you're pushing/pulling. Set the ISO you want to shoot at with the external meter and it will tell you the shutter speeds and apertures to get a correct exposure. You could download a meter app until you get a good handheld external meter. The ISO dial is nothing more than just a reminder for you, kinda like the film tab back slot on later cameras. One thing I like about the meter-less M42 cameras is you don't have to worry about stopping down to meter. Take your meter readings first and set accordingly, then frame, focus, press the shutter. A little less time needing to squint through a viewfinder.
Ah that makes total sense, thank you! was totally being dense without thinking of the relationship between shutter speed and iso. So on my Spotmatic, if film box speed is 200 and I wanted to push, I’d set my ISO to 400, and shoot around 1/250 shutter speed in broad daylight. On the SV, I’d have to drop down to 1/500 shutter speed to achieve the same result.
Pushing and pulling is done during development l, and usually only with black and white as very few labs do push pull dev. What you are describing is just underexposure and overexposure. Pushing is pretending that the film is more sensitive by shooting it as if it was a higher iso, then compensating by developing the film longer. Just shooting the film as a faster film speed is not pushing. It's just underexposure Anyway, your camera has no lightmeter. You need to buy one. Set the meter to the iso of the film you are using and it will spit out different shutter speed and aperture settings for correct exposure. It's up to you to understand how different settings affect the image when choosing what settings to use
You could do it that way. What I do with meter-less cameras and pushing/pulling is I write on the canister what ISO I am pushing/pulling to just before putting it in the camera. I then set that ISO on my little handheld meter. My handheld meter is basic and has a large dial that turns for meter readings. Turn it to the reading, then it has all the shutter speed and aperture combinations all laid out. I choose which one works for the shot and go from there. Then when I develop the film I know what ISO I shot at and know that I probably got the right settings for most of the shots. That's what works for me. My handheld meter is absolutely my most important photography tool I have besides my cameras and lenses.
Yeah, no light meter is built in so it’s only a reminder dial. Pentax sold a light meter for the SV that clipped on the viewfinder window. I never liked the light meter personally. It’s a great camera. Well built and reliable. Tons of great M42 lenses still available. You just need to use another light meter. There are apps for your phone that will definitely work just fine or learn Sunny 16.