Pentax K1000 issues help?

I have a number of 35mm cameras but I got a K1000 a

few days ago so that I could just grab and go with it. But

I have noticed that with the 50mm lens there might be oil

on the blades of the aperture, Sometimes the aperture

doesn't open after you press the shutter release. I can

just replace the lens so I'm not too worried about that,

but aside from that when I press the shutter release the

mirror seems to react slow going up and sometimes only

goes about half way down. It never gets stuck all the way

up though. I was going to put some work into this

camera like painting some things and replacing the worn

leather but if it isn't functioning properly obviously I'd

rather not.<div></div>

<p>Sometimes you can find old school camera repair businesses locally that do decent CLAs for not too much on fully mechanical bodies.<br>

Deciding if a K1000 is worth one is a bit tough. - Don't get me wrong; it is a reliable essential 35mm SLR when it is working. Current used prices for it seem overhyped in my eyes and I am just stating: I probably paid less for my used one in 1990 than I'd end paying for a CLA (in most places) now. <br>

I am not the watchmaker type who is confident about trying camera repairs at home. Literature about them seems out and maybe doing them is the way to go for you? </p>

I have been thinking about that as well, I think it'd only be

worth it to fix myself if I could, I'm hoping there is a

simple answer. I paI'd $15 for it and it came with the

50mm lens a vivitar 85-205mm and a 500mm both of

those have T-2 mounts so adapters could be used with

my other cameras. I don't think it'd make much sense for

those specific camera to pay so much to repair it. Just

MHO. Might just wait for a k100 body to pop up on

Craigslist or something if all else fails.

<p>I've bought about 4 K1000s in the last 5 years and never paid more than $25 with a lens. I get them at "antique" stores by talking down the price. They really are ubiquitous, and not worth the $100 they get on the big auction site.</p>

<p>The F/2.0 50mm should be around $20 max for a nice copy. If the aperture blades on yours are not snappy (I wouldn't mind "oil" if the blades operate correctly and the glass is clean-ish), then buy another!</p>

<p>Nonetheless, they are tanks. I always keep my original one from 1976. So what's the risk of a home-spun CLA? $25 for another body that will probably come with a lens!</p>

<p>As you go about your own CLA, you'll have to learn how to clean off all the old foam that turned to goo. Do that first. Lots of rubbing alcohol, bamboo skewers, small screwdrivers paper towels and qtips do it for me.</p>

<p>Then, when all the old junk is cleaned out, see how the mirror functions. It may still hang up. Ok. </p>

<p>Next, the magic happens: Lighter fluid, baby! Using as little as possible, and probably with an eye-dropper, hit the areas where the hinges might be. They probably have the goo inside the hinges, and you're not going to get directly at them. But the lighter fluid solvent "solves" that issue by infiltrating the smallest nooks and crannies, and washing out the goo. Sometimes, the goo shows up elsewhere in the camera and you can mop it out. Otherwise, it stays in there somewhere less tragic.</p>

<p>Try to keep the lighter fluid away from the optics, like the mirror or prism. But otherwise, have a party in there. Heck, I've even accidentally doused mirrors and prisms, and had them come out okay. </p>

<p>Indeed, I once completely spilled a jigger (ounce) of lighter fluid into the body of a non-functioning Pentax Spotmatic, the K1000's predecessor. Every single part of the camera was swimming in lighter fluid. I took it outside and shook out the liquid. I mopped up the fluid from every angle I could find. Put it in the sun to dry. Then fired it, and found it worked better than before!</p>

<p>Now, this technique may trash your camera forever. If you have a family heirloom, you should definitely have it serviced by a highly trained professional for more than a replacement camera costs.</p>

<p>But I've "fixed" about 18 out of 20 cameras I've treated this way. I trashed about two. Lighter fluid is my last resort before I throw out a camera. And it usually works. :-)</p>

<p>Others will come along to advance alternate ideas, or refute me. Fair enough. I'm just saying what has worked for me. </p>

<p>Once you have a functioning body, you can re-light-seal it, for which there are many tutorials and materials out on the web. I'll let you go find those. The job is reasonably accomplishable if you have patience. It's fun, too. I'm at the point where a complete cleaning and re-foaming takes me about 2 hours to do a great job.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>To add to what has been said, it's easy to remove the baseplate, and use very light machine oil to sparingly lubricate any pivots, gears, sliders, linkages etc. thus revealed</p>

<p>If the camera can't be revived, look for a KM or KX to replace it. Much better cameras, and often cheaper than the K1000 due to its cult status.</p>

I took the base plate off and noticed it was just slightly

dented in and an arm in the mechanism was rubbing

against the base plate and had actually worn a groove

into it. A got it straitened out and it seems to move

better. But I've noticed mine also doesn't have the foam

around the front that is normally under the base plate,

it's possible that it wore away. Is this some sort of just in

case light seal as light can come through the base into

the camera? Should I replace it? And also I've noticed

that the mirror sticks when you tilt the camera back but

not when upside down and not every time when right

side up. Seems odd.

I have cleaned and very lightly lubricated all the

mechanical parts and removed the foam and I have not

had any issues since that. But before I did I noticed that

sometimes pusing the shutter release it wouldn't release

the shutter and had to be pressed again which I thought

was odd. But everything functions great now! I even

disassembled the lens which I wasn't to worried about

as I was going to replace it anyay so if it didn't work it

was no problem. I cleaned all the junk out of it and

gently removed the oil from the aperture blades and

cleaned the lenses (making sure nothing was left

behind) and it works smooth and is extremely clear. After all that I think I have a great functioning camera with a clear clean lens. Of course I need to replace the foam still, but that's an other story.

<p>Well done that's great. Now I will send you my K1000 to fix up ;).</p>

Thanks! Now the true test comes with my srt101

someone was messing with it yesterday (without my

knowledge) and the rewind knob was unscrewed and the

shafts pushed out. Which in itself isn't as easy to get

back in as you'd expect... the best part in the shaft is in

the spot for the film roll and the door is shut! But that's a discussion for the Minolta section haha

<p>Hi Jake! You think you can clean the viewfinder of my K1000? I think there is a bit of the foam which sit above the focusing screen and below the prism.</p>

I'm not sure I would risk messing with someone else's camera as clearly I'm still new to messing with

them and wouldn't want to damage anyone else's cameras. I imagine that wouldn't be that hard. The

hard part would be unscrewing all the small screws in the dials which require a small screwdriver or

I've even used a razor blade when I took apart my Yashica J3 which had the same screws. I

personally set mine to Bulb when I take off the shutter speed dial and make sure you hold onto it so

it doesn't shoot off... then you unscrew the rewind knob making sure the shaft wont fall through and

then the film advance lever and I'm guessing the outside of the shutter release unscrews or it might

not. I'm not sure as I haven't taken the top off mine. But then once you get that off there will be

something holding the prism on and you lift and flip it over gently and with a very soft brush wipe off

whatever is in there and then do it all in reverse... I'd have to mess with mine before I'd trust myself

with anyone else's though.

Light seals have now been replaced. Just need to have

the leatherette replaced and maybe have the body

painted and it's pretty much a brand new camera

Bebu Lemar, I have done what you are wanting on your

camera to my own and yes there is foam around the

prism. It also turned to a goey crumbly mess and getting

it on the prism is a pain in the butt...

 

I found this video but mine is just slightly different than

this one, but it can be easily understood from this video.

The foam as mentioned in the video can be removed in

need be and doesn't need to be replaced, just watch out

for the springs which are tricky and you should be fine.

Here's that video... forgot to add it

 

<p>HI Jake! If you don't mind I think I would send you my K1000. If you ruin it you keep it! Of course you don't owe me anything.</p>

It would seem the parts camera I purchased has the

same problem, as I mentioned before easy fix. Here's

some image showing through the viewfinder, the foam

on the prism and the focusing screen. DON'T SCRATCH

THAT SCREEN<div></div>

Continued...<div></div>

Continued... you can see a bit of the foam on the screen

which is the culprit.<div></div>