Pentax K1000 problem

Silver.Winged.Demon · Feb 21, 2008

I have a pentax K1000 I have had for five years. I was taking pictures outside and suddenty I hear something in the film advance lever. The lever does not advance further and I cannot continue to the next frame. (basically it is stuck on the same frame).

I had heard rumors that it is a defect that is common in Pentax K1000s. And i have used the camera more than 1000 times.

nealjpage · Feb 21, 2008

Did you rewind the film?

bhop · Feb 21, 2008

Just to make sure.. it's not on the last frame is it? Or has the frame counter been working ok?

The only problem I had with my K1k was the meter would get stuck in the middle...

rdompor · Feb 25, 2008

did you wind the last shot all the way prior to this happening? this happens to me also if i don't push the lever all the way to the right. it just snaps back and i have to push it the rest of the way in order to get to the next frame. you can find out if this is what has happened just by snapping another shot. if the shutter releases then this is exactly what has happened. if not, then i have no idea.

Silver.Winged.Demon · Feb 26, 2008

The film with only rewind but not advanced. The film advanced lever is locked on the same frame.

I spoke to a photographer at my school and he said that it often happens with the pentax and it is a mechanism problem

i looked online and found a website that clearly explains what happens to the camera

"[FONT=arial,verdana]This K1000 is in good cosmetic condition but does not work. The film advance lever would only turn with a grind and then stopped. The shutter will not fire."

http://www.mrmartinweb.com/35mmslr.html
[/FONT]

nealjpage · Feb 26, 2008

Well, I guess that you can't complain about a camera that you used 1000 times, eh? Looks like it's eBay time for you, Silver.

bhop · Feb 26, 2008

Are you near the first few frames? I used to have a similar issue sometimes. Turned out the film wasn't "hooked in" good enough. I would rewind it enough to take my film out and reload it, then it would work ok.

usayit · Feb 26, 2008

Is the mirror locked up?

If you unscrew the bottom plate, do you see anything binding at the bottom?

The mirror, shutter, and advance lever issues are common across many manual cameras with 20 years of age... I've seen it in my collection across Canon, Minolta, Leica and Pentax.