Solid, reliable, the cost. great lens selection as well.

not in production anymore.

This is a GREAT camera! I can''''t beleive they replaced it with the mz-m. I was using this as my back up but as the mz-m has failed me too many times this is now my main camera. Don''''t get me wrong, the mz-m is alright I guess, but this camera is just built so much better. Its a Brick Sh*thouse!Indestructable, and at under half the cost of Nikons FM2, what a deal.Those older takamur lenses are great as well.

Customer Service

excellent.

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pentax spotomatics ( another great deal, if find one in good condition )

durability steel construction

it gets heavy

I have been using my K1000 with multiple lenses for over 20 years I highly recommend this model for the begginer who wants to truly do more than just point and shoot. This camera is extremely reliable. This camera has been working fine for over 20 years and has never been in the shop.

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Solid (no crappy plastic here), one cheap battery for the meter, GREAT photos, and the ability to purchase accessories that won''t break your budget.

Only one, no self timer. That''s what kept my overall rating down to 4

I just bought my K1000 with the Pentax 50mm and 28-80mm Tamurak lenses and a Vivitar 2000 flash for $150.00 from a coworker. What a fine camera, I have been without an SLR for 10 years. My last was a Pentax P30T. I ran wto rolls through it just practicing with different aperatures and lighting with awesome results. How I survived this long with a point and shoot I''ll never know. I bought a cheap used Joy of Photography book to help me regain my lost knowledge which is very helpful. If you want a camera with no frills and excellent pictures....this is the one!

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Pentax P30T, good, but not as well built.

incredibly cheap, available anywhere used 35mm cameras are sold (hit eBay, get a whole outfit for nearly nothing), and beautiful pictures... the pentax glass is way underrated -- I developed a roll of FP4+ tonight, and was looking at it afterwards, practically hopping up & down doing the pee-pee dance with delight, the images were so great -- even in the negatives, I could see incredible tonal range, wonderful contrast, and super sharpness -- I was thinking about how psyched I was about this nifty new (jewelry) camera I got (Contax G2) and how great its results were, when at the end of the roll were a couple of shots I used just to end the roll -- my wife''s holding the G2 in one of them, so these negs came from the old K1000! The standard SMC 50/2 lens on these bad boys is wonderful, it''s really top-notch. Don''t degrade yourself by getting crappy third-party lenses; pick up the 28mm & 135mm Pentax glass in addition to the 50. It''s an incredible outfit. Further, once you get used to the metering, you can predict your result based on what the meter says with remarkable precision (that is, it''s terribly consistent, whether that means over/under/accurate exposure to your eye). In

none, really -- it does what it does better than anything else I''ve used -- don''t confuse what it does, though -- no auto anything...

This is a great camera if you can work at its speed -- you''re not getting 8 frames per second advance, no 45-point autofocus, and no autoexposure, but you are getting an incredible picture-making tool (and probably a darn good value, unless you''re an idiot).

Customer Service

never used

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quite a few of the other manual oldies -- canon, nikon, chinon, zeiss

Strong build. The weight feels just right, and is not hard to carry for hours. The controls are very simple. Needs only one 1.55 volt silver oxide battery(SR-44),for it''s meter, which are cheap and easy to find.

None that I know of. Lack of features, and automation IS NOT a credible weakness, in my view, considering that the K-1000 is a very low-priced MANUAL camera.

I''ve had this camera for a little more than a month, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. I put a roll of film through a couple hours after I got it, and got perfect pics with no battery(no meter). I''ve seen the comments on film-loading difficulty, but it took me about 10 seconds to load a roll with no problem at all. My advice would be to make sure the film does''nt have any give before taking pics. The Pentax SMC 50mm lens that came with it is very sharp. My K-1000 is the metal version, which was a definite prerequisite. A quick way to tell the difference is to open the back, if the finish on the inside is a little shiny than you have a plastic model, if it''s dull you have the earlier metal model. The meter does seem to underexpose slightly. You can compensate easily by opening your app by half a stop after you get what looks to be a good reading.

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Nikon Nikomat FT, Nikon EM, Nikon N80, Nikon F3HP

Heavy, indestructible all-metal construction. About as simple to use as you can get, as long as you know how to shoot manually. Bodies and lenses are dirt cheap and very plentiful. Includes PC connector and standard cable release capability.

Heavy. No DOF preview. No split-image rangefinder in my example (other K1000''s apparently did include this). Finder gets rather grainy and dim with a smaller aperture lens. No exposure info in finder. No auto anything. Beware of inferior aftermarket lenses, there were a lot of these in K-mount. Ergonomics could be better.

One of the classic workhorse cameras, a solid, reliable, all-mechanical manual camera that will probably outlast your grandkids. Provided you equip it with good lenses, it can take pictures with the best of them--and SMC Pentax lenses are famous for their optical quality. A K1000 system would make an excellent addition to a Pentax AF system, as the manual K-mount lenses will still mount to the latest Pentax cameras and vice versa. This camera is not perfect but very far from being a dud--it delivers the essentials in a rock-solid package but skimps on some important features that would have made it even closer to perfect. Perhaps I''m just spoiled by my beloved old Nikkormat. :-)

Customer Service

Never used...

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Nikkormat FT2, Mamiya C330.

Mechanical camera, needs battery only for lightmeter. Solid full metal body. Reliable.

The viewfinder is quite dark. That makes focussing not so easy.

I bought the K-1000 because I wanted a cheap and reliable second body for my PK-lenses. My main photographic tool was a Ricoh KR-10 Super then. Meanwhile, I use the K-1000 regularly and the KR-10 as second body. It''s nice, heavy, purely manual and purely mechanical. You need the battery only for the light meter, which is certainly great when battery fails because of low temperatures (or because of age).

Customer Service

never needed

Similar Products Used:

Ricoh KR-10 Super, Exakta HS-10

build like a brick, can anything destroy this camera?

putting the film in, it can be tricky at first, but you can get the hang of it

It is a very simple basic camera, which is a great second body, nice and heavy so you can use slow shutter speeds

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pentax me-super, ricoh kr5-super, pentax z-20

Simple to use. Very rugged and reasonably priced when new. Has held it''s value over the years. Lot''s of 28 mm and 50 mm lenses available at very low prices.

No motor-drive capability. Difficult to focus in low light.

I recieved my K1000 in 1977 as a graduation gift. It came with a 55 mm f2 lens and some other accessories. For 15 years it and a ME Super were my 2 photographic companions. I took a lot of vacation and concert photos with them. I made some good photos, and I made some bad ones. I was the student and they were my teacher. In time I succumbed to the Nikon legend-hype. My K1000 sat idle on the shelf and I traded in my ME. 5 or 6 years passed and after my daugeter was born I decided to run a few rolls of B&W through the K1000. An infant doesn''t require much in the way of automatic functions, just wait for them to smile. Well I was so surprised when I scanned the negs. Sharp with nice contrast. B&W the way it''s supposed to look. My fatihful K1000 after years of little use just needed a new battery and she was ready to go. The 55 mm it turns out, is an excellent portrait lens. Buy one of you can find it. This is a simple dependable camera. I wouldn''t use it for news and certainly not for sports, but for babies, the beach or vacations it can be a valuable photographic tool. Who should use this camera? Just about anyone who wants total control over the image they create and doesn''t need to motor through a roll of film in 6 secods.

Customer Service

Never needed in 24 years.

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Pentax MX Nikon FM2 Leica M6

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Can some one help Me? My Fiancee''s ex stole and pawned her Pentax K1000 and I want to buy her another. I have 200.00 including shipping to spend some one please e-mail Me at hamilt3@chartermi.net

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