Any K-1000 lovers out there?

[antonroland]

Hello Folks

So I am quite sentimental about the K-1000 since it was my first serious camera I bought myself early in my working life a good few years ago.

Any other K-1000 lovers out there?

[kmac]

Not the K 1000, but the KM, which has a self timer, much the same camera. Nice shutter button action and feel, never got camera shake.

[Jochen_S]

While I am grateful that mine hasn't let me down, I have no excessive feelings about it, it was my 4th Pentax and I am not much of a 35mm SLR lover anymore; i.e. the odd roll is more likely to end in an RF. 

Lens hoods, which I consider quite handy, keep me from becoming a great K1000 fan, since there seem to be no hood caps in SLR land, to switch the meter off. 

[AJG]

The K 1000 was a decent value for money 30 years ago, but I much preferred my Pentax MX and LX cameras to the K 1000.  Both cameras were much quieter, had much better light meters and view finders with interchangeable screens,  and were hand holdable at slower speeds (especially the LX) due to better mirror dampening .  As for Jochen's lens hood problem, I used collapsible rubber hoods that had a threaded front that accepted lens caps as well as filters, although both the MX and LX had meter switches and auto shut off for their light meters.

[Jochen_S]

@AJG I had some of those rubber hoods too but ended with longer metal hoods on my 90 & 135 and square hoods on 50 & 28 not to mention the plastic ones, that came with zooms and made lens cap removal a bit inconvenient. 

While my LX seemed a bit over the local service's head, I liked KX and MX more, with the K1000 still doing fine as a 3rd body, behind something I had no hood for, like my 20mm.

[AJG]

7 hours ago, Jochen1664876637 said:

@AJG I had some of those rubber hoods too but ended with longer metal hoods on my 90 & 135 and square hoods on 50 & 28 not to mention the plastic ones, that came with zooms and made lens cap removal a bit inconvenient. 

While my LX seemed a bit over the local service's head, I liked KX and MX more, with the K1000 still doing fine as a 3rd body, behind something I had no hood for, like my 20mm.

My Pentax 135 and 200 mm lenses had built in sliding hoods that were adequate for the job; on my wide angles I use rubber hoods made for those lenses.  All of them still allow for lens caps to be used. My LX bodies have held up well and haven't required repairs but I know that they can be challenging to get fixed.

[mountainvisions]

The K1000 was literally a box that captured light. No bells or whistles, not even a DOF preview. I'm much more a fan of the MX or even Kx. Honestly even the spotmatic was more of a useful camera.

FWIW, the K1000 was my first SLR and I used it for a long time off and on. Nothing wrong with it, just not anything special about it even from a minimalist standpoint.

 

[Niels - NHSN]

I think everyone has sentimental feelings towards their first real camera. Mine was a Ricoh 500G.

I didn't want a 500G, I wanted a Nikon F2 if I had the choice, but the 500G was affordable and served me well, and I still have it.

In reality most of these "first cameras" were merely the most affordable serious camera on the market at a given time. Other than good value, they were rarely anything spectacular.

[mountainvisions]

The first camera I bought with my own money was what I wanted. A PZ-1P, even though I don't shoot 35mm anymore (I have a 645 system for film), I still have it and probably wont ever part with it. So I understand your point about sentiment. That borrowed K1000 definiely was a gateway camera for me though, and I used it off and on for years after getting a PZ-1P.

12 hours ago, NHSN said:

I think everyone has sentimental feelings towards their first real camera. Mine was a Ricoh 500G.

I didn't want a 500G, I wanted a Nikon F2 if I had the choice, but the 500G was affordable and served me well, and I still have it.

In reality most of these "first cameras" were merely the most affordable serious camera on the market at a given time. Other than good value, they were rarely anything spectacular.

[JDMvW]

For me it is the Heiland Pentax H2.

my first SLR.

[BeBu Lamar]

I guess of all the manual focus Pentax the only one I don't like is the K1000. 

[hjoseph7]

I keep it as a sentimental item. This is the camera I used on my first paid-job in photography. It definitely is sturdy and can take a liking, but it does not compete with the likes of the Nikon FM2, Olympus OM2, or Nikon FE2 as far as enjoyment. 

[Mike Gammill]

I never owned a K1000, but when I was in college I dated a girl that had one so I did learn about it.  Someone asked me later why we quit dating and I would say, things just didn't work out: I have a Minolta and she has a Pentax. 

If my family's camera shop had been a Pentax dealer I probably would have gone for the MX instead of the K1000. 

 

[John Seaman]

15 minutes ago, Mike Gammill said:

things just didn't work out: I have a Minolta and she has a Pentax. 

LOL

[Mike Gammill]

There was also an SE edition of the K1000.  Notable difference is that it had a split image focusing aid.  The pictures I've seen of it had brown leather covering.  No significant advantages over the basic K1000.

[John Seaman]

I recently sold (for not very much) a Luxon Super 1000. It's a Chinese made successor to the K1000, with LED exposure read out rather than match needle, and with a self timer. Otherwise it's a pretty close copy, I believe they bought the Pentax tooling and the various fittings, rewind knob, advance lever etc are exactly the same as those on the Pentax. It has a solid feel and seems more robust than the later slightly plasticky K1000 versions made in various countries.