Pentax K1000

With cameras of the classic status like the Pentax K-1000, it is always difficult to write a review. There are loads and loads of websites that host reviews of this excellent machine as there are also thousands of K-1000 users that have done their first steps in photography with theses cameras. The psychological factor of having used these cameras for years and years makes every review of them seem fragmented, inaccurate or sometimes unfair.

With the introduction of the iconic Olympus OM-1 back in the early 70's, Pentax seemed to be caught up in a dilemma. Apparently the M42 mount was starting to become outdated so there was a genuine need for an introduction of a new mount but what Pentax was trying to figure out was whether they should continue the production based on the long tried and tested spotmatic design (i.e. well build, decent sized cameras) or go down the OM-1 route of small durable cameras for the professionals. Their gut reaction was with the spotmatic, so in the early 1975 Pentax produced the first K-mount cameras, the flagship K2, the semi pro KX and the KM being the gateway model. A year later they introduced the K-100 as their entry level SLR but it was becoming obvious for Pentax that the future was with light weight designs such as the OM-1 which could be part of a big system that would allow photographers to customise their cameras according to their needs. A brave decision was taken and within the next couple of years Pentax seized the production of all K2, KX and KM models keeping only the K-1000 in line as an entry level SLR together with the newly introduced M-series (MX, ME super, MV etc...). 

But what was the point in keeping in production a K-mount spotmatic like the K-1000? Was there a potential buyer group for an obsolete late-1960's design. Well surprisingly enough there was, and the K-1000 sold thousand and thousand of these making it Pentax's biggest commercial success. I think that it is fair to say that Pentax based all the research and design for their future cameras on funds capitalised by the K-1000's popularity. The K-1000 became the de facto student's camera basically for two reasons.

a) It was simple enough to teach you the basics

b) It was reliable enough to withstand all the abuse that students subject their cameras to.

In fact, even today, my local county college provides their photography students with K-1000's and chances are that your local college does the same too.  It was such a big success for Pentax that it kept it in production for 21 years making it the most long lived camera in production ever. In the late 80's it became very expensive for Pentax to keep the K-1000 in line, so their production and assembly was transferred to China. Later K-1000's have plastic top and bottom plates and a quick way to distinguish them is the fact that there is no "Asahi" written on top of Pentax. Mine says "Asahi Pentax" so it is the model produced in Japan.

When you pick up this camera, you are pleasantly surprised by it's size. I always thought that K-1000's are big cameras but they aren't really. They are smaller and lighter than, say, the Zenit's or the Practica LTL-3. Fit and finish is beautiful and the viewfinder is quite big although not as bright as some other contemporary cameras. (Remember, with a 21 years in production, this camera can be as contemporary as the Nikkormats or the Nikon F100 or Canon EOS 50E). Shutter and mirror shock are not the lowest in the market, the camera makes a quite loud noise when taking pictures but it is not worst (or better) than any other mechanical SLR of the early 1970's. In the viewfinder there is a needle that shows the correct exposure, just change the aperture/speed combination so that it falls between a (+ o -) range. Now, the light meter proved to be the Achilles heel for these cameras. There is no way to switch off the light meter, you just had to remember to put the lens cup on otherwise the camera will drain the batteries just by metering your cupboard's wall. Drained batteries are very prone to leaking too so you easily get a camera with the battery compartment completely corroded by battery acids. In my case, it took me some time to clean it off but i realised that the battery's acids had corroded the battery chamber's cable so i had to re-solder it,When you buy one, make also sure that you shoot a test film before you hand in you hot cash - there are increasing reports of overlapping frames - i haven't experienced that with mine but people report it as a problem.

Summary

As I have already said, writing a review for such a classic camera is a kind of pointless exercise. This camera has such a cult following that there will always be something that is not mentioned or mentioned in a way that people disagree. The bottom line is that this is an excellent camera to learn photography with and an excellent mechanical back up camera for your collection. In my case, it satisfies neither of those requirements so I will probably have to pass it on to someone else who needs it more than i do.

Shooting a film with this camera was a real joy though but it did bring up a regret. I wish i had learned photography on a Pentax K1000....

Lasting Impressions

Another one that had to go while i was experiencing a "downsize crisis". The light meter became erratic again - it is really difficult to solder the cable on stainless steel. Eventually i sold it quite cheap to someone who did not seem to mind the meter. I wouldn't really recommend buying this camera unless you find it anywhere in the region of £30-£50. Anything above that and you are going to get many cameras that outperform the K-1000.