Pentax K1000

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Pentax K1000

Without lens, showing the K mount and mirror.

Top view, showing the controls.

The Pentax K1000 (originally marked the Asahi Pentax K1000) is a beginner- or student-level 35-mm-film, single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera that capable of accepting different lenses. It was manufactured by Asahi Optical Co., Ltd., (PENTAX Corporation since 2002) from 1976 to 1997, originally in Japan. It uses a horizontal-travel rubberized-silk-cloth focal-plane shutter with a speed range of 1/1000 second to 1 second, along with Bulb and a flash X-sync of 1/60 second. It is 91.4 milimetres tall, 143 mm wide, and 48 mm deep, and weighs 620 grams. Unlike most SLRs of its generation, the K1000 is not available in a black body; but brown-leather and special-edition versions were made.

The K1000 is the simplest member of Asahi Optical's Pentax K-series SLRs, whose other members are the Pentax K2, KM, and KX, all introduced in 1975, and the K2 DMD (1976). All have the same basic body design, but with differing feature levels, internal electronics, and external controls and cosmetics.

The K1000's extraordinary longevity makes it a historically significant camera, despite its very ordinary design. Although the K1000 was already obsolete when it was first released, its inexpensive simplicity was a great virtue and earned it an unrivaled popularity as a basic but sturdy workhorse, supremely well suited to teaching budding photographers proper photographic skills. Many professional photographers first learned photography using the K1000.

1 Features
2 Design History
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Features

The K1000 was an all metal, mechanically (springs, gears, levers) controlled, manual-focus SLR with manual exposure control. It was completely operable without batteries. It only needed batteries (one A76 or S76, or LR44 or SR44) for the light metering information system. This consisted of a center-the-needle exposure control system using a galvanometer needle pointer moving between vertically arranged +/– over/underexposure markers at the right side of the viewfinder to indicate the readings of the built-in full-scene averaging, cadmium sulfide (CdS) light meter versus the actual camera settings. Note that the meter did not have a true on/off switch and that the lens cap needed to be kept on the lens to prevent draining the battery when the K1000 was not in use.

The viewfinder also had a focusing screen with a microprism spot focusing aid. Note that the Pentax K1000 SE substituted a split image rangefinder plus microprism collar focusing screen. The K1000 SE is otherwise identical to the regular K1000, except that the earliest SEs had brown leather.

The K1000 accepted all lenses with the Pentax K bayonet mount (introduced in 1975 with the Pentax K-series SLRs). The contemporary Asahi Optical made manual focus lenses were the SMC Pentax, SMC Pentax-M and SMC Pentax-A types. The K1000 was often sold with a version of the SMC Pentax 50 mm f/2 lens. Lenses with the various versions of the Pentax KA-F autofocus SLR mount (introduced in 1987) would also work; for manual focus, of course. Asahi Optical used to sell the Mount Adapter K to allow their older Takumar screw mount lenses (see below) to be used on K mount cameras, but it is now a collector's item.

Except for taking the huge variety of lenses with the popular K mount, the K1000 had very few other features compared to higher level SLRs of mid 1970s. It had a slow top flash synchronization speed of 1/60th second, cheaper, sleeve-bushing equipped shutter and film advance mechanisms, no self timer, no depth-of-field preview, no mirror lockup, no interchangeable focusing screens, no motor drive option, and most emphatically, no autoexposure.

The K1000 did accept any nondedicated hot shoe mounted or PC terminal X-sync electronic flash for guide number manual or flash mounted sensor automatic exposure control. The venerable Vivitar 283 (guide number 120, ASA 100/feet; 37, DIN 21/meters), favored by many photographers for the same reasons as the K1000, had an even longer life span of 1974-2004. The K1000 was also old enough to use flash bulbs, with a maximum synchronization speed of 1/30th second.

Overall, the K1000 can be described as the reincarnation of the landmark Asahi (Honeywell in the USA) Pentax Spotmatic SLR of 1964 with open aperture metering in a K-series body.

[edit] Design History

Beginning in 1975, there was a complete overhaul of Asahi Optical's entire Pentax SLR line when the first of the Pentax K-series SLRs were introduced - the Pentax K2, KM and KX. The SMC Pentax K mount lenses were introduced at the same time. The Pentax K1000 and K2 DMD followed in 1976. The K2/K2 DMD was the top-of-the-line model with aperture priority; the KX, the full features manual mechanical model; the KM, the simplified manual mechanical model. The K1000 filled out the very bottom to the K-series line as a KM stripped of depth-of-field preview and self timer. The 1000 in the K1000's name was a direct reference that its top shutter speed was superior to Asahi Optical's previous bottom-of-the-line Pentax Spotmatic SP 500 of 1971.

The 1970s and 1980s were an era of intense competition between the major SLR brands: Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Minolta and Olympus. Between circa 1975 to 1985, there was a dramatic shift away from heavy all-metal manual mechanical camera bodies to much more compact bodies with integrated circuit (IC) electronic automation. In addition, because of rapid advances in electronics, the brands continually leap frogged each other with models having new or more automatic features. The industry was trying to expand out from the saturated high-end professional and advanced amateur market and appeal to the large mass of low-end amateur photographers itching to move up from compact automatic leaf-shutter rangefinder (RF) cameras to the more "glamorous" SLR but were intimidated by the need to learn all the gritty details of operating a traditional SLR.

Against this backdrop, Asahi Optical was hamstrung by its use of the ancient 42 mm diameter, Universal M42 screw lens mount (often called the Pentax screw mount, a misnomer since it was introduced by the German KW Praktica or Zeiss-Dresden Contax S SLRs circa 1948) in its classic Pentax Spotmatic SLR and Takumar lens lineages. In an era of "Can you top this?" convenience improvements in photographic technology, the screw mount forced the distinct inconveniences of stopped down aperture light metering and slow lens interchanging upon Pentax using photographers. Despite technically successful efforts to modify the screw mount for open aperture metering (in the SMC Takumar lenses of 1971 for the Pentax Spotmatic F SLR of 1974), the perceived obsolescence of no quick lens changes continued to turn photographers away from the brand. Asahi Optical engineered the new K bayonet mount SMC Pentax lenses and the K-series cameras to use them to solve this problem.

Unfortunately, the traditionally sized K-series bodies did not solve a third problem: they were too large and heavy compared to the compact SLRs rapidly becoming popular. The Olympus OM-1 had introduced in 1972 an innovative compact body design that captured the camera buying public's imagination. Its impact swept through the industry and compact bodies became the norm for SLRs for a dozen years. Asahi Optical went back to the drawing board.

There was another overhaul of Asahi Optical's Pentax line beginning in 1976 when the M-series SLRs and SMC Pentax-M lenses came out, starting with the beginner level, aperture priority only Pentax ME. The ME introduced an entirely new chassis and was amazingly compact: 82.5 mm height, 131 mm width, 49.5 mm depth and 460 g weight. The M-series remain among the smallest and lightest full frame 35 mm film SLRs ever made. Asahi Optical also redesigned their lenses to be more compact, although the SMC Pentax-M lenses generally kept the optical formulae of the SMC Pentax lenses.

The K1000 was the only K-series SLR to survive the M-series changeover. It also survived the dramatic electronic growth of the M-series in the wake of the 1976 introduction of the landmark Canon AE-1, the autofocus (AF) SLR camera revolution following the landmark Minolta Maxxum 7000 in 1985 and the point-and-shoot (P/S) revolution following the confluence of cheap microchip electronics, high speed film and small aperture zoom lenses circa 1990.

Despite the whims of fashion or advances in technology, there was always a demand for a basic SLR. The K1000 gained a unique popularity and sold well for many years as its lack of features came to be regarded an important feature in and of itself. Its spartan nature, without fripperies like autoexposure or autofocus, meant that there was nothing to interfere with a photographer's contemplation of the classic mount lens/load film/compose/focus/meter/f-stop/shutter speed/shoot/wind sequence of SLR operation. Its simple design also meant a sturdy and reliable camera for a low price. The K1000 became highly recommended for student photographers.

Asahi Optical attempted to discontinue the K1000 several times over the years, but its continued good sales sustained it. Production was not ended until 1997 when manufacturing costs of its ancient design and supply of its ancient mechanical and electronic parts finally became untenable. It was replaced by the highly electronic and far less successful Pentax ZX-M (in the USA, called MZ-M in the rest of the world) in 1998.

Several changes that did not affect the functionality of the K1000 were made over its life. Production of the largely hand assembled camera was moved from Japan, first to Hong Kong and then to China, to keep labor costs down. The "Asahi" name and "AOCo" logo was removed from the pentaprism cover to de-emphasize the company name in keeping with the rest of the "Pentax" line. The metal in the wind shaft was downgraded from steel. Cheaper plastic was substituted for the originally aluminum top and bottom plates and aluminum and steel film rewind assembly.

Time has proven the Pentax K1000 to be a unique camera, immune to any normal criticisms of such things as undistinguished fit, finish and feel, a shutter button with mediocre ergonomics, a slow response CdS light meter cell and lack of viewfinder information, depth-of-field preview or really fast shutter speeds. It was not of professional level features, durability or quality, but it still enjoys a nostalgic respect among many traditionalist photographers. The K1000 is still readily available on the second hand market, and can usually be found for US$100-150.

[edit] References

Anonymous. "Pentax Miniatures KX In MX, Makes It Better?" pp 99-101. Modern Photography's Photo Buying Guide '85. reprint from Modern Photography, May 1977.
Anonymous. "Pentax K1000: Basic Body Still Endures" pp 92-93. Modern Photography's Photo Buying Guide '85. reprint from Modern Photography, April 1983.
Anonymous. "Modern Photography's Annual Guide '84: 48 Top Cameras: Pentax MX" p 94. Modern Photography, Volume 47, Number 12; December 1983.
Anonymous. “Top Cameras for ‘89: Modern picks 40 of the finest.: Pentax K1000” p 43. Modern Photography, Volume 52, Number 12; December 1988.
Comen, Paul. Magic Lantern Guides: Pentax Classic Cameras; K2, KM, KX, LX, M series, Spotmatic series. Magic Lantern Guides. Rochester, NY: Silver Pixel Press, 1999. ISBN 1-883403-53-7
Hansen, William P. Hansen’s Complete Guide Illustrated Guide to Cameras; Volume 1. Kennesaw, GA: Rochdale Publishing Company, 2003. ISBN 0-9707710-2-9
Keppler, Herbert. "Keppler's SLR Notebook: Are You Buying What's [sic] You Need Or Do You Purchase 'Fashionable' Equipment?" pp 30-31. Modern Photography, Volume 50, Number 8; August 1986.
Keppler, Herbert. "SLR notebook: Byzantine puzzle: When is a discontinued camera a discontinued camera?" pp 22, 26. Popular Photography, Volume 96, Number 10; October 1989.
Keppler, Herbert. "SLR notebook: The ubiquitous 283: an amateur flash that pros have made into a cult" pp 24- 26, 28. Popular Photography, Volume 97, Number 2; February 1990.
Keppler, Herbert. "SLR: Why did SLR owners desert and buy point-and-shoots? Can we get them back? Do we really want them?" pp 14-15, 62-63. Popular Photography, Volume 57 Number 9; September 1993.
Keppler, Herbert. "SLR: Why the camera makers built a lens mount Tower of Babel." pp 15-16. Popular Photography, Volume 60, Number 3; March 1996.
Keppler, Herbert. "First Look: Is The Pentax ZX-M A Real Successor To The K1000???" pp 26, 118. Popular Photography, Volume 62, Number 1; January 1998.
Keppler, Herbert. "SLR: Did Pentax really turn the K1000 into a cheap plastic has been?" pp 11-12, 90. Popular Photography, Volume 62, Number 2; February 1998.
Massey, David and Bill Hansen. KEH.com catalogue Volume 5, 2006. Atlanta, GA: KEH.com, 2006.
Matanle, Ivor. Collecting and Using Classic SLRs. First Paperback Edition. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 1997. ISBN 0-500-27901-2
Meehan, Joseph. Magic Lantern Guides: Manual SLRs; Nikon FM2N, Pentax K1000, Ricoh KR-5 Super, Vivitar V4000. First Edition. Magic Lantern Guides. Rochester, NY: Silver Pixel Press, 1994. ISBN 1-883403-10-3
Schneider, Jason. "The Camera Collector: Schneider’s screw-mount SLR saga, part 1: Where did Praktica get its Pentax mount and was it such a Zeiss idea?" pp 20, 23, 26. Modern Photography, Volume 51, Number 6; June 1987.
Schneider, Jason. "A Half Century of The World’s Greatest Cameras!" pp 56-59, 76, 124. Modern Photography, Volume 51, Number 9; September 1987.
Schneider, Jason. "SLR Notebook: Recent Casualties: Vanishing Breed of SLR?" pp 17-18. Modern Photography, Volume 52, Number 1; January 1988.