Pentax K1000 Cleaning

Hi everyone. For my 20th birthday, my father gave me his old Pentax K1000. I

haven't really done much with it yet, but I think it may need a cleaning. There

are speckles and things of that nature on the lenses and I think maybe on the

internal mirrors. I live in the US, so how much is a proper cleaning at a

professional camera store of the camera itself, it's basic lens, a zoom lens,

wide angle, and doubler going to cost me. Ballpark estimates are fine. Also,

are modern lenses able to fit this camera. The lenses I have are from the early

1980's, but I want to make sure that this camera isn't too out of date to where

I can't find things that fit it. Thanks a lot.

I used one, then two, then three of the K1000s until a week ago when I went digital. I had each of mine cleaned for about $100, I do not know about the lenses though. The M series lenses are built very well in my experience and ones from the 80s are probably fine; newer lenses will fit, but you won't have any of the special functions (auto-focus,etc.) And if you go digital some day, Pentax mount lenses will fit on their digital cameras, so it is a great system to buy into. I haven't used non-Pentax lenses, but you can get M series ones pretty cheap from Adorama, and really cheap from eBay if you don't mind an occasional dud.

 

If you are just starting taking pictures, this is a GREAT camera, as it will force you to learn about exposure but within a few rolls of film will have you taking pictures that blow any point and shoot out of the water. Put on the standard lens, shoot with the meter needle in the middle, see what happens and have fun!

 

Nick<div></div>

Just to answer the last part of your question, the camera can use all FILM K mount lenses, screw mount lenses (with a screw to K adaptor), and some medium format lenses you are unlikely to use. Do not get any digital K mount lenses (DA or FAJ lenses). In general you are going to find that you prefer manual lenses with a manual body. The focus rings are wider and have better 'feel' generally on the older lenses

Don't touch the mirror, not even a little! Too easy to damage. Same with the shutter curtains. This is a good solid, basic SLR camera, and really does not go out of date. It may indeed need some professional maintenance. It is a very good learning tool because it has only manual control, so forces the user to learn the ropes. If later handling a camera with automatic features, your eye will be trained to monitor what is going on, and will know when switching back to manual is best. Most of us here still shoot in manual mode much of the time.

 

If the lenses do not have fungus problems, you should be able to clean those just fine. Do not use regular tissue paper as the chemicals in regular paper can be harmful to the lens coatings. Use lens cleaning tissue moistened with lens cleaning fluid, which can be purchased at any camera store. Cleaning is done gently, and I'm sure the store will be glad to show you the proper way to do it. Would like to know just which lenses you have.

 

One great thing about Pentax is yes, many current lenses are usable on your camera, except some have no aperture ring and/or are designed for digital use only, and those are not.

Yup, any K-Mount lens with an aperture ring will work fine. Funny thing about your desire to

use 'modern' lenses with an older body is that many prefer to use 'older' lenses (A series, M

series, and even screw mount) on their new DSRLS. The 'solid' build of the old school lenses

is quite desirable for many. If you put your system to much use, you may find yourself

reaching for some of those 'oldie but goodie' lenses for use on a DSLR when the time to

upgrade comes.

If the spots are on the internal mirrors/viewfinder system and you're not picky, don't bother. They won't show up in you're images. You can test this by either looking through the camera w/o the lens, changing lenses and looking at the difference, or looking through the lenses to check if there's anything inside.

 

Lenses are DIRT CHEAP, I got a 28mm for about $20, a 70-210 telephoto for $30, a standard lens for $20 as well (ebay of course). Lenses are simply NOT WORTH CLEANING (zoom lenses especially), you might want to get a fixed lens, they're faster.

 

You could probably get a used K1000 with standard lens and odd filters/flashbulbs the previous owner gave up for $30-$40 on ebay, so cleaning may not be the best option. Film equipment is especially cheap these days with all the old amateurs going digital.

It's good advice to not touch the mirror. Though, I touched my mirror on the K1000 with a cotton swab to grab some dust off it without any scratching. I was very gentle and it worked well.

It's good advice to not touch the mirror. Though, I touched my mirror on the K1000 with a cotton swab to grab some dust off it without any scratching. I was very gentle and it worked well.

You can clean the mirror with "dust off" or similiar if you are careful. If you don't like the idea of using canned air, try the Rocket blower. Always point the body down when doing this so particles fall out not back into the body.

 

I don't remember if the K 1000 has a user removable screen or not, I'm at work so I cannot look, but you can tell by looking for a little tab on the screen. If so, you can remove and clean that as well.

 

Clean around the lens mount as well as this is an area where dirt accumulates and will get into the camera when changing lens.

 

As far as re-lubing of the shutter and mechanism is concerned, I'd leave that to a professional but the K-1000 is pretty rugged in that regard.

 

And yes, except for the digital lens, any "K" mount lens will work ok.

 

LGH