The SP 1000 was intended to be an economy version of the Spotmatic. Released in 1973, in fact it was a sort of admission that the SP 500 released two years earlier, would in fact work at 1/1000s, only they did not put it on the dial. (There were a lot of photographers on a low budget who were happily surprised when they discovered that!) The only real difference from the Spotmatic proper, is the removal of the self-timer. (And a self timer could be bought as an acessory for a lot less than the difference in price!)
This example has (like most of the cameras I sell) been fully serviced.
It has been disassembled, and the parts cleaned, reassembled and lubricated.
The shutter speeds have been measured, adjusted, and are accurate.
The light meter switch operates correctly, and switches off when the shutter is fired. (A common problem with Spotmatics.)
Any other problems have been dealt with too.
The cost of this (£55) is accounted for in the price. (It works out less than buying one for 'spares' and having me fix it!)
The film door has some paint missing, but that is typical and does not affect the functioning of the camera. It is caused by chemicals released from the old deteriorating light seals, and while re-painting is possible, it is a job requiring stripping the paint well past the area of visible flaking, to do properly, and is rarley satisfactory. (In any case, I think that it is important to leave as much as possible alone. This is a minor defect, and if anything I think it adds character, and I know some agree with me, and would much rather see a bald patch, than a comb-over!)
Like all my fully serviced cameras it comes with a three month guarantee, which allows you plenty of time to give the camera a proper try. (Please note that this is not any indication of how long the camera might last, but rather to give any post-service bugs which might crop-up time to surface.)
(A note on Spotmatic light meters, and batteries....
The battery that these used is no longer available, but you can get a smaller zinc-air battery which fits in the space, and is pretty well the same voltage. But.... zinc-air batteries run out whether used or not, once installed, and the special one's you can buy for just this job are expensive. But do not worry! In reality the error caused by using standard silver oxide cells is very small, and at most results in 1/4 of a stop or so difference and then only in poor light, so there is no need to use zinc-oxide cells at all.)
Please check the photo's carfully for any minor defects or scratches.
(PS: I apologise in advance to anyone living in France, but unfortunately over the past year I (and other UK sellers) have noted an increase in lost parcels sent to French addresses. For this reason I have had to use a more expensive postal service in order to ensure relaible delivery. I do not know the reason for this, but deliveries to France by less expensive means have become rather unrelaible, and the compensation for lost goods paid to businesses is very limited.)