Pentax K1000 35mm SLR Film Camera Body Only

I have cameras. A bunch of cameras. I like them, especially ones I've used extensively, everything from Sinars and Hasselblads through Mamiya and Yashica. My collection wouldn't have been complete without a K1000. Decades ago I sold them by the hundreds. A worthy successor to the venerable Spotmatic the operation is virtually identical with the exception of the bayonet mount lens in place of the screw mount. If you've ever used ANY other manual 35mm SLR, you can pick up a K1000 and be comfortable and taking pictures in seconds. The most often used adjectives describing them are: workhorse, tank, and reliable. Simple to operate, fully functional even without a battery, they are no frills picture taking machines.

Match needle center weighted exposure meter, K mount bayonet lens system. Self timer. No frills, no auto anything. The pictures you take are things you can take pride in because YOU did it yourself, the camera did not do it for you. There's no 'pray and spray' rapid fire operation, you learn to track your subject, pan correctly, pick the appropriate shutter speed and capture that one critical instant. No battery? No problem. The camera still works and the f16 rule is as true today as it was 50 years ago.

If there was one thing I could change it would be the addition of a depth of field preview lever to stop down the lens. This is much faster than reading a scale on the lens.

Is it heavy? Compared to more modern cameras, certainly. But then it will still be working decades after the all plastic junk has long since met its doom. Do I use one all the time? Heavens no! But if I'm walking around just taking pictures for fun using a K1000 just ADDS to the fun in ways my fancy Canons and Nikons can't. I never feel 'out gunned' when using one, either.

There's one other part of these cameras that is often overlooked and that is the excellent series of lenses available from the manufacturer. Let the Nikon and Canon owners snicker and make comments under their breath, you have the benefit of knowing that not only are your lenses generally less expensive but they are as sharp if not sharper, have better color, contrast and flare control, better light transmission, are smoother, smaller and generally lighter than their counterparts. I've shot the pictures side by side and compared them. I own or have owned full systems from the top 35mm SLR makers, Nikon and Canon. The most balanced color, the best contrast is consistently delivered by the Pentax Super Multi Coating's seven layer technology. Proof is in the pudding, the others use up to 5 layers, sometimes less. The efficiency in light transmission and resolution of chromatic aberration is simply unmatched by the others. Focus and zoom controls are silky smooth. Petite 49mm filter sizes are the norm, not the bulkier 52 or 55mm. Call it a bonus.

For price/performance ratio the K1000 is hard to beat. Factor in the durability and superb build quality and they're a bargain that just keeps on giving.

The Pentax K1000 originally came out in 1976. I bought my first one in 1978. It was the basic "plain Jane" 35MM SLR that was manufactured by Asahi Pentax. The camer would accept ank K Mount, Baynet type lens that was produced by Pentax. It did not have the capability of accepting a auto winder or a motor drive. It is a totally manual camera. You had to set the film speed, shutter speed and apeture manually. In the view finder on the left side was a needle that pointed to a '+' or a '-' symbol to let you know if your shot was going to be correctly exposed. The camera had an internal light meter which accomplished this function.

I used my K1000 when I worked for a small newspaper in the late '80's and it never failed me. The camera body was metal and it was extremely rugged.

I still have that camera and have picked up another K1000 recently. While digital cameras have taken over the photography market, it is still hard to beat 35MM photography for basic photography. As most photo processing centers still develop 35MM film and they can put your pics on a disc, the 35MM camera is still as viable today as it ever was.

Considering that you can purchase a K1000 on Ebay for just a few bucks, you could not go wrong getting a K1000 and learning just how much fun photography can be. Also everything you learn using a film camera is easily translated to digital photography.

Pentax K1000 Film SINGLE LENS REFLEX CAMERA

This camera is fantatstic for beginners in photography, i would say before you own a digital camera buy a single lens reflex: Pentax K1000 Film SINGLE LENS REFLEX CAMERA.

Some background information.

The Pentax K1000 (originally marked the Asahi Pentax K1000) was a beginner or student level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. (PENTAX Corporation since 2002) from 1976 to 1997, originally in Japan. It used a horizontal travel rubberized silk cloth focal plane shutter with a speed range of 1 to 1/1000th second plus Bulb and flash X-sync of 1/60th second. It had dimensions of 91.4 mm height, 143 mm width, 48 mm depth and 620 g weight. Unlike most SLRs of the time, the K1000 was not available in a black body however brown leather and special edition versions were sold.

The K1000 was the simplest member of Asahi Optical's Pentax K-series SLRs. The other members were the Pentax K2, KM, KX (all introduced in 1975) and K2 DMD (1976). They all used the same basic body design, but with differing feature levels, internal electronics, and external controls and cosmetics.

The K1000's extraordinary longevity makes it a historically significant camera, despite its very ordinary design. In truth, it was already obsolete when it was first released. The K1000's inexpensive simplicity turned out to be a great virtue and earned it an unrivaled popularity as a basic but sturdy workhorse; supremely well suited to teaching budding photographers proper photographic skills. Many professional photographers first learned photography using the K1000.


REVIEW: BUY IT! THE QUALITY IS SUPERB MANUAL OVERIDE, DEPTH OF FIELD, EASY FILM LOADING, QUALITY LENSES, BUY ON EBAY FOR CHEAP QUALITY LENSES! THIS CAMERA WILL SHINE, ALSO CONSIDER COSINA.

Asahi Pentax K!000 - Outstanding SLR from the Japanese Good Guys Company

Asahi Optical Company was established in 1919. The Asahiflex 35mm Single Lens Relex was introduced in 1952, and in 1957 Asahi Optical introduced the Pentax 35mm SLR, with a Pentaprisim mounted on top of the camera giving a straight through viewfinder with an erected unreversed image. Pentax is also a lens manufacturer, who started crafting 35mm SLR lenses in 1952.

In 1957 Asahi Pentax put together in one superbly designed Single Lens Reflex Camera, the instant-return mirror, the pentaprism, the rapid film wind lever, along with the universal screw mount for the interchangeable lenses, the system (the Spotmatic camera, and Takumar lenses) was an instant sucess.

It went without saying that the Pentax Spotmatic SLR camera, with the Takumar lenses was perfect for professional, amateur, and beginner photographers alike, truly the best of the best in the world of SLR cameras.

The Pentax K1000 inherited the rich deep tradition of the Pentax Spotmatic, like the Spotmatic the K1000 has all the features you need, yet is perfectly simple in operation, and elegantly designed. The K1000 is well sized, so well you won't think about it, because it handles extremely well, and is so incredibly convenient to use. Remove the lens cap, and the Through-The-Lens (TTL) meter turns on, look through the viewfinder, center the exposure needle by turning the aperture dial, and the large knurled shutter speed dial, and press the perfectly positioned, and sized shutter release, and you have your photo, that is what makes the K1000 a highly satisfying camera-photo experience. The K1000 helped introduce the Pentax K bayonet mount, which like the Pentax screwmount became a universal mount used by other camera and lens manufacturers, making the K1000 even more versatile. The K bayonet mount is simple to use, and highly ergonomic, simply press the well situated lens release button, twist the lens about a quarter of a turn, and its that easy. You can mount any Pentax K bayonet from 17mm fisheye to 1000mm super-telephoto on the K1000.

The K1000 has long been a favorite of both the photography student and teacher for its simplicity, ruggedness, and versatile design. You will not find a more basic SLR camera that is as reliable and versatile as the K1000. Rather than spending time learning how to operate it you will instead learn how to compose good photographs, understand exposure and shutter speeds.

As others have noted, this camera offers nothing in the way of automation. There is no auto-focus, aperture or shutter automation, auto film advance, and it doesn't even offer a self-timer. What it does offer is a tremendously reliable body that, with a minimum of upkeep, will never let you down.

The K1000 only needs a battery to run the light meter, should the battery fail you can still use it as the shutter does not rely on it for operation. Simple controls, excellent weight and balance, as well as a bright viewfinder make this camera a real treat to operate.

This is also a fantastic platform for those of you considering a future upgrade to digital as the Pentax K-Mount lens that works on the K1000 will also work on the new *ist D and K100D line of dSLR's offered by Pentax. There is full backward compatability with all the K-Mount lenses made by Pentax along with other aftermarket vendors. So, what you buy today for your K1000 will work with the new technology being rolled out by Pentax in the future (Canon and Nikon owners can claim a lot, but they can't claim that).

This is also a wonderful backup body for your bag since it will always be ready to shoot. This camera is very well supported by the aftermarket and there are a number of vendors here on eBay that offer servicing (cleaning, lubrication, and adjustment = CLA) for around $60 that will keep this camera working well.

Some of the later models of the K1000 were manufactured in China and Vietnam in the later 80's early 90's and were manufactured with some plastic body components (notably the prism and baseplate). While this does save some weight it lessens the overall "quality" feel of the camera. It should be noted that it doesn't hinder the cameras reliability, just feel.

This camera is a great platform to learn from and also a reliable shooter that can take travel well. Highly recommended.