Analog Review: Pentax K1000
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- It's famous for winning every 'which film camera should I buy?' question ever but there's more to the Pentax than just a convenient entry to the film world. In this video I take it out to Central London and shoot some colour film, talk about my experience shooting the camera and even have a run in with JC.
I was given one of these by a neighbor when I first started in photography at about 10 in about 2012. He was disgusted by my early 2000's digital point-and-shoot, went into his house, and brought out a giant camera bag which he presented to me as "a real man's camera". I've gotten other cameras since, but I've shot more rolls and gotten more good pictures through my K1000 than any others, and if I'm gonna go out and just take photos, the K1000's always the one I grab on my way out the door. Great camera, perfect to learn the basics, with a lot of great glass, and capable of beautiful shots.
Wholesome
Any glass recommendations for the k1000?With my kit i have the pentax 50mm f2, a focal 70-200 f4.5 and a beck 135mm f2.8
Ooh, the f2 50mm would pretty well top my list, that's pretty much top of the line for primes of that era. However, my personal favorite lens to use is actually the kit lens, the f2.8 28mm lens. I tend to do a lot of landscape photography, so I find it to be wide enough angle to take excellent pictures, and fast enough for action shots and less-than-perfect light. If you don't have one, I'd highly recommend getting one, especially as they are very common and quite inexpensive
@@thekornwulf thank you perfect ill definitely look into that one! Happy to hear about the 50. Im going to the camera store in a couple days to pick up some film. Cant wait!
Nice video. Not really sure what people mean when they say a Nikon or Canon has better build quality than the K1000. My K1000 was bought in my late 20s and still works perfectly. I am now in my late 50s.
Maybe you can look at the K1000 this way : It's like your first serious girlfriend/boyfriend, maybe you'll stay together, maybe you'll grow apart. But you'll treasure memories nevertheless.
As for your suggestion of Nikon FM2 or FM3, they are hardly in the same price bracket as the K1000. Any FM3s i have seen for sale are many times the price of the K1000 and Nikon lenses tend to be quite a bot more as well. Yes the FM2 and FM3 are incredible cameras they really cannot be compared to a K1000. And as for the Canon A series, especially the AE-1. In their day they were excellent. Great optics , great bodies. however today they are pretty much unreliable. the electronics in them fail much too often, and the cost to repair can be crazy high, IF you can find someone to do the work and they a=can find the parts. Bearing in mind these are 30+ year old cameras, they owe us nothing at this point. There are many mechanical SLRs still around other than the K1000, the Pentax MX, one fo the Yashica FX-3 series (FX-3, FX-3 Super, or FX-3 Super 2000 or even the FX-7), Ricoh KR-5 Supers. for example. i have examples of each and paid less than $40 (Canadian) each, all in working order with standard lens (except the FX-3 Super 3000 which came with a 35-70mm Yashica lens, If I were going to recommend a more modern film SLR with auto capabilities i would for for the Nikon F80, Canon Rebel series, Pentax MZ series, etc., all can be found for great prices and are usually new enough to give several trouble free years of service.
I bought one in 1978 and it is still going strong. I love it. Basic but nothing much to go wrong. Still works if the battery is flat, though you then have to estimate the exposure settings (meter stops working) not a problem if you know what you are doing.
I used to have a K1000. Loved it.. I was a photojournalist and used it as my backup camera because it was fully mechanical and only needed the battery for the light meter.
Minolta was so under appreciated
I have a Minolta XE-7 that is an awesome camera. My dad is also sending me his Pentax K1000 that he bought while he was in the Navy back in the day.
I have a SRT201, and it's my go to camera. The ROKKOR-X 50-135MM lenses is great.
the k1000 isn't $50 anymore... more like $125-$175.
with that 50mm f1.7 it is about $225-$250 if it's in decent condition.
To be fair in the UK you can still pick up a tidy K1000 with the 50mm lens for around £75. 48 years ago I bought a Ricoh KR10 in preference, still have it today and love it, and it has the Pentax K lens mount too. But my dear old camera wouldn't fetch £20 today!
Funny thing, $250 (in US dollars) is what I paid for my first-ever 35mm SLR, a Canon AT-1 with a 50mm f1.8 lens, in September 1979. Notwithstanding the effect of inflation, what you're saying indicates that the K1000 has held its value rather well for such an old camera.
I got mine locally for $50 with the 50mm 1.7 about 6 months ago. Still use it every day. Just gotta be patient for deals.
i just bought mine for 200$cad(negociated to 160$), i love it but whoever wants to buy it be carefull, the prism inside tend to get mold and it leaves a dark spot in the viewfinder, it doesnt affect the quality of the picture just the viewfinder, changing it is expensive sometime even the same price of a new camera
it's like 250 bucks now lol
Good to see a new video from you, man!
I have the K1000 SE. It was my first real film camera and still my favorite.
When I was in high school in the late 1970s, I was a member of the school's camera club. I couldn't afford a 35mm SLR at the time, but the club had a Pentax K1000 with a 50mm lens as a loaner that I could use. So the K1000 was the first 35mm SLR I had ever used.
One reason why the K1000 was made for so long was that the pace of technological change in the 1970s and 1980s was relatively slow and there was only a relatively limited amount of technology that could be put into any film camera. The aperture-priority and programme modes that found their way into 35mm SLRs in the later 1970s and early 1980s were actually state of the art and advanced for their time. A further advance came in the form of autofocus starting in the very late 1980s and early 1990s, but even then, there wasn't much more that could be done to improve a 35mm SLR.
In addition, back in the 1970s, 1980s and much of the 1990s, people tended to have a 'if it's not broken, why fix it?' mentality and didn't obsessively need the absolute latest and greatest. Because of that and the slower pace of technological change, many products tended to be built to last. The K1000 is an excellent example of a product that was built to last.
Bought one back in the 80's, have had 2 .. One thing, it's a full frame camera, what you see is what you get.. With an adapter many kinds of screw mount lens can be used with it, even telescope's. Pentax made it in brown also.. The K-1000 is a great 1st film camera..
Always a good day when Jonathan Notley posts.
Thanks Miles!
I always look forward to your videos. Excellent exposition about a classic film camera. Thank you.
Thanks Diane!
These are amongst David Hancock's favourite cameras, if I’m not mistaken he has one of those with the error in the K1000. It says something like K10000 or something daft like that. He has a video on his channel about it, but he has several Pentax videos. His digital setup is Pentax as well though.
Minolta were a massive company in their day, it’s hard to believe now but they were well up there. I have an OM10 with the shutter speed adapter. I bought it for the lenses that came with it intending to bu an OM1. However, there’s something about the idiosyncrasies of that camera I really took to. It’s now my 'colour' set up, but I doubt I shoot more than 3 rolls of colour 35mm nowadays.
I really like the image you said was underexposed, it had a story of London.
What’s this Brexit thing you mentioned? Has it been on the news?
Another great video.
Really enjoyed this one! Your explanations are so clear and succinct. Plus, having a mate to film your trips is a real plus!
You are back!
My personal thoughts and opinions on recommending the Pentax K-1000 to the first time user.
My needs are obviously not your needs, we all know that, and I do not claim to have the only real solution. Today, there are so many excellent SLR cameras for sale, for almost no money, which is why there is virtually free choice on all shelves. First a little info about my photographic background, followed by my considerations regarding Pentax. The Pentax K-1000 is a sensible choice as the first SLR camera, and provides a good understanding of one of photography's fundamental cornerstones; the exposure triangle.
My first camera I inherited from my big brother, it was a Kodak Instamatic, for the 110 format. It was as early as 1976. This was my camera, up until 1987, when I bought a used K-1000, where I traded the included Pentax-M´50mm f / 1.7 with a Petri 35-70mm zoom. Later supplemented with a Pentax ME and the family got bigger when a wide range of Pentax-M from 24mm to 135mm was added, as well as a single Tamron B-Bar 200mm f / 2.0. All of these glorious glasses have since been used on several of my digital Pentax cameras.
Today, after much deliberation, I switched to Nikon. Their lenses are significantly sharper and are today to be found used at affordable prices. Seriously considering selling all of my Pentax gear as I can no longer find arguments for using poor quality lenses when far better lenses are in a bag next to it and are available.
To make a long story short, I have studied your excellent video and made a few thoughts about what back in '87 could have helped me, or I wish, had gotten a different starting point. Thinking others could avoid my biggest mistake.
Looking back, with the knowledge I possess today, I would have benefited from starting my life as a user of SLR, with a Nikon EM or FG. These are intro-level cameras that also give the beginner the classic understanding of the connection between shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Nikon's models that come closest to the Pentax K-1000 are, in my personal opinion, the Nikon FG-20. With more experience in the bag, I would definitely recommend two other legendary cameras: Nikon FA and Nikon F3. Thus, one avoids having to change lenses for a fortune later, with system change for better equipment.
Great video Jonathan, although I do disagree with your summary. The argument for buying this camera over an auto exposure model is that it forces you to learn the exposure triangle, and that's a good thing. You can choose to alter either your shutter speed or your aperture to get a correct exposure and hopefully you'll notice after a while that there are many combinations of these that will result in a correct exposure. It's such a simple camera that in no time at all you'll have the controls committed to "muscle memory" and can just make some photos. That's my two cents worth anyway, but then I'm biased as this was my first ever camera too.
Some people just want to shoot film for the look and don’t want to have to meter-chase each shot - just look at the popularity of point and shoots. It’s great to learn on but not everyone wants to
The dust and scratches on your vinyl record were a nice touch!
Hay good job with this video . I subscribed just because your video was well put together and the information was clear . Great shots with k1.
De las cámaras 35mm económicas, me atrevo a decir que la Pentax K1000 es le mejor y la más segura para estudiantes de fotografía. En la actualidad comienza ser una de las cámaras más deseadas por coleccionistas. Gracias por tu vídeo Jonathan.
Been wanting one to see if its worth it as a first! Glad to see this on your channel.
You can't go wrong with a K1000. 👍🏾
My first 35mm camera back in 1982...Love it...Thanks for posting :)
Nice explain, nice photoes...
Very nice. Lovely photos as usual!
That system is a favourite of mine, I have the ME Super. So many great lenses to choose from.
Well done! I currently shoot a Minolta XD, X-570 and Nikon F3. I’ve been looking at adding a clean K1000 to the shelf soon as well.
Good pics here. Always enjoy other peoples work & slide shows. Carried a set of K's for years. Still have them. Still work. Yes often referred to as a "Student Camera" here in the States but I never understood why they weren't considered much more than that. When I moved to FM's, yeah nicer cam with higher shutter speeds but rarely used 2000 of a sec let alone 4000 if sec on the Fm2n.
I love this video. Very good presentation. Thank you!
I got a Pentax K1000, I can't unscrew the battery cover off.
Otherwise it's perfect. It has the 1.7 50mm on it.
I have a Pentax Spotmatic with a 1.8 and Pentax Auto 110 with a 24 and 50mm, I have the flash for it too. I put a colour negative film from analogue wonderland through it and it works fine.
My favourite camera is my Nikon FE. So many little known functions
Have you tried using a screwdriver? I couldn’t get it off with a coin so that’s what I used
Such a cool and simple camera! Gotta get mine out!
Just picked up one of these so this video was rather helpful! Thanks!
Stunning camera work
it great that the old film lenses fit the dslr. so i was able to buy a used dslr and have a bunch of glass to start with
The on off is the cap!
Great shots man ! could you give more tips on the camera?
The meters on these cameras can be off by a lot but if you get a good one it's a nice piece of kit. It's worth checking the meter against an external meter if you get to try before you buy. Pentax lenses can be hit and miss so make sure you are buying the good stuff.
That gives me an extra excuse for the fluffed exposure at 9:30 I guess - obviously as a person posting videos about cameras on CZcams I’m totally infallible.
I’ve given the camera back now but I think maybe it leant towards underexposure. Joking aside I had to boost several shots in post despite rating the superia at 160 and the Portra at 320. Good to know!
@@JonathanNotley as much as the fact they can be off is true, it is also true what you said about the meter being 'tricked' by the situations you discussed, which is why we ended up with centre weighted average meters which allowed the user to check different parts of their composition.
I rem hearing that the last models were made much cheaper than the earlier models. No idea if that is true or not.
Thankfully K1000 is so simple internally. Its effectively a Spotmatic with a PK-Mount. Any halfway competent technician can service them without issue and get everything in tiptop shape. Usually the meter cells on these bodies don't go bad but they do need their sensitivity and linearity tweaked every few decades.
@@dereksauer8108 yeah & my old spotmatic works too. Great tecnology back in the day.
I have a Pentax k1000 that belongs to my father. Unfortunately the light meter is not accurate anymore. Good thing is it's a fully mechanical camera so you can use Sunny 16 an external light meter.
OOOOOOOOOOHHHH JEREMY CORBYN
To all other cameras you mentioned there are Pentax alternatives. For example, look at Pentax LX. Some say it's the best pre-autofocus 35mm camera ever produced.
yes, but....
it s not a manual camera. There are 4 versions, each with a different circuit board. Parts are no longer available so 500+ of-your-chosen-currency is a bit steep for what will eventually turn into an unfixable paperweight
get an mx and a decent modern meter for same price
@@plasticpaddy5278 You write in manner as though spare parts are still manufactured for orher film cameras except LX.
As for "manual cameras", LX is a partly electronic, partly manual camera. Even without batteries LX can work on a lot of shutter speeds. It's a rather unique feature.
@@plasticpaddy5278 I don't believe the LX has any more problems than an MX. They are both old cameras, and the LX has good mechanical back-up. The LX was the best ever manual focus 35mm film camera ever IMHO, _possibly_ challenged by rhe Nikon F3. The Canon F1n (the third possible contender in this class) was just too quirky.
The mirror is quite loud on this camera and makes a vibration that you easily feel when taking a photo, two things that I miss on this camera, the timer and the mirror lock-up. Compare to my other 35mm SLR, the Minolta SRT-101, I prefer my Minolta which have both ..... still the K1000 is a good camera
K1000 did have A mirror Lock-up. You loaded the Shutter and Quickly tapped the Shutter release this locked-up the mirror
Nice video
NICE REVIEW
THANKS!
Nice video, mate! Was wondering if you know any good/cheap places in London to develop film and how do you get your shots to digital? New to film photography lol
I take my film to Bayeux when I’m not developing myself
Great camera the Pentax k1000
I have, a Pentax K1000, & it gave ,me justice but, I want more. It seems that I can't open the door to put the film in. Is there a shop where to make the repairs myself? I live in Astoria, NY.
I have a Pentax K1000 and love it. I also have a Minolta X-700...what's your views of that one?
MINOLTA SRT101! Also, didn't one of the Beatles use a Pentax 1000, Ringo?
woh interesting room you're in
With all the hype around the K1000 these days (along with other cameras like the Canon AE-1/AE-1P, and Contax T series), they are selling for much more than they're worth. To make people believe that you can find a K1000 for $50 is disingenuous at best, when the only K1000 you can find at that price are likely not working. A quick search on Ebay sold listings shows most K1000 selling for between $100-200, sometimes with 50mm k-mount lens.
Just found one for £65 with a lens and a 3 month warranty within 30 seconds of opening google so I think my pricing is accurate
@@JonathanNotley Touche' salesman...
You _can_ be lucky, but most good K1000s are much more than $50. The average asking is currently (Feb 2020) running between £125-£150 ($150-$200). It is a collector's camera, not a beginners camera.
Will bulb mode turn off the meter?
Your process, how long did it take you from shooting to editing the film? Also, what scanner did you use?
Probably 48 hours. I gave these rolls to the lab
What has happened to London?
London was swinging in 1965.
Does it have an adjustable diopter for people who were glasses?
No, it does not unfortunately.
Why do you look & sound like Collins firth the actor . PS Pentax k1000 is a dam good camera I used to one my self.
Your end cards are not working friend
Ah. Can’t fix that till I’m at a computer. Thanks for letting me know!
Jonathan Notley of course! Thanks for another awesome video!
Most of your pictures are over-exposed - at least that's how they appear here. It may be the fault of the K1000, or perhaps it is your personal taste, as you do talk glowingly about "pastel" colours at one point. It does not do the camera much technical justice though.
Duke Nukem turn your screen brightness down 🙃
This is the camera from the Netflix show stranger things
Over-hyping and the hipster cult around this very basic camera has driven the price up to silly levels. There are far less expensive similar options for a beginner - Minolta SRT, Nikon FM, Chinons, OM10. Even the superior Pentax KX and MX can be got for less. At least this guy gives some others a mention. Leave the K1000 for collectors and speculators.