Buying Pentax K1000

Lanna.O · Dec 20, 2015

Hello,

i've decided to buy my first film camera Pentax K1000. Pentax K1000 35mm SLR Film Camera with 50mm Lens is this a good choice? How to choose film for this camera?

PLEASE HELP

Thanks

beachrat · Dec 20, 2015

It's a fine camera.
The lenses are way more important than the body,and that body works.
Think of the body as a lens holder and shoot whatever film that you feel will work.
And with a little experience,they ALL work.

desertrattm2r12 · Dec 20, 2015

I just placed an order with Freestyle for the cheapest b&w film they had on hand. I've got 8 or 9 vintage film cameras I want to test to see if they work. No Pentaxes, but Nikon SLRs, and Canon, Minolta, and Yashica rangefinders. Plus a Kodak 35 (a candidate for the ugliest camera out there). When I find out which ones work I will then look for some high quality, low ISO film to take a whack at some art photos. Panatomic-X where are thou?

limr · Dec 20, 2015

desertrattm2r12 said:
I just placed an order with Freestyle for the cheapest b&w film they had on hand. I've got 8 or 9 vintage film cameras I want to test to see if they work. No Pentaxes, but Nikon SLRs, and Canon, Minolta, and Yashica rangefinders. Plus a Kodak 35 (a candidate for the ugliest camera out there). When I find out which ones work I will then look for some high quality, low ISO film to take a whack at some art photos. Panatomic-X where are thou?

I think you posted in the wrong thread.

OP, that looks like a decent deal. With older cameras, light seals may be degraded, so when you run your first roll of film through it, don't take pictures that you are too emotionally invested in because there might be light leaks or shutter speeds might be off. That first roll should be purely test shots.

480sparky · Dec 20, 2015

If it's like most film cameras of that vintage, don't expect the shutter speeds to be accurate.

I've found that most will underexpose at speeds up to 1/8th, and from 1/15th to around 1/60 to be fairly accurate. At 1/125 and faster, it tends to slow down. 1/1000 may actually be 1/300.

Lacking a shutter timer, your only way to determine this is to take several test shots at each shutter speed, making note of each image. Examine the negatives and see if a given speed is consistently over- or under-exposing.

tirediron · Dec 20, 2015

480sparky said:
...Lacking a shutter timer, your only way to determine this is to take several test shots at each shutter speed, making note of each image. Examine the negatives and see if a given speed is consistently over- or under-exposing.

Or... stump the $100-150 for a full CLA, which is an excellent idea on an almost all-mechanical unit of this age regardless. I should come back with the shutter speeds pretty close to spot on.

480sparky · Dec 20, 2015

tirediron said:
Or... stump the $100-150 for a full CLA, which is an excellent idea on an almost all-mechanical unit of this age regardless. I should come back with the shutter speeds pretty close to spot on.

If you can find some place that does it.

tirediron · Dec 20, 2015

480sparky said:
tirediron said:

Or... stump the $100-150 for a full CLA, which is an excellent idea on an almost all-mechanical unit of this age regardless. I should come back with the shutter speeds pretty close to spot on.

Click to expand...

If you can find some place that does it.

True - we're lucky, we still have one, old-style independent repair place in town. Just got my 645 AFD out of hock a little while ago; $175 for a full overhaul, new light seals and a complete internal scrubbing-out. I would think that most larger centers would still have a place like this.

480sparky · Dec 20, 2015

tirediron said:
True - we're lucky, we still have one, old-style independent repair place in town. Just got my 645 AFD out of hock a little while ago; $175 for a full overhaul, new light seals and a complete internal scrubbing-out. I would think that most larger centers would still have a place like this.

Those old fix-anything centers are dropping like flies (Just like brick-n-mortar cameras stores). There was one near me, but it closed up over 15 years ago. Some stuff, like a K1000, are so common that you have a healthy choice of where to have it fixed. Some stuff you essentially don't, as there's only one or two places on the planet that will touch it.

And, sometimes you're just stuck with it as is.