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 an interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. (renamed PENTAX Corporation in 2002; acquired by Hoya Corporation in 2008) 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. It was finished in black leather with chrome trim only. (Unlike most SLRs of its generation, there was no all black version.) However, the early production Pentax K1000 SE (see below) bodies had brown leather with chrome trim.

The introductory US list price for the K1000 body with SMC Pentax 55 mm f/2 lens was $299.50. In 1983, a K1000 with SMC Pentax-M 50 mm f/2 lens listed for $220; in 1988, the body only was $210, but $290 with SMC Pentax-A 50 mm f/2; in 1993, the body only was $263. The body plateaued at $315 in 1994 and remained there until discontinued. Note that SLRs usually sold for 30 to 40 percent below list price.

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, particularly suited to educating inexperienced photographers. The Pentax K1000 eventually sold over three million units.

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[edit] Features

The K1000 was an almost 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. The meter did not have a true on/off switch and 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. 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 SE's from the first few years of production used brown leather instead of black.

A Pentax K1000 SE

The K1000 was often sold with a version of the SMC Pentax 50 mm f/2 lens. The K1000 accepted all manual focus lenses with the Pentax K bayonet mount, introduced in 1975 with the Pentax K-series SLRs. This included the K-A mount lenses introduced in 1983. Manual focus lenses made by Asahi Optical were the SMC Pentax, SMC Pentax-M and SMC Pentax-A types.

In addition, almost all lenses with the Pentax K-AF and K-AF2 autofocus lens mounts (introduced 1987 and 1991, respectively) would also work in manual focus mode. The exceptions are Pentax's newest SMC-Pentax FA J (1997) and SMC-Pentax DA (2004) types, which lack an aperture control ring. They will mount on the K1000, but have restricted functionality. Asahi Optical sold the Mount Adapter K to allow their older Takumar screw mount lenses (see below) to be used on K mount cameras (with limitations), but it is now a collector's item. In 2006, Pentax said that it had manufactured more than 24 million lenses over fifty years that could provide at least some functionality on the K1000. The number of independently manufactured Pentax-compatible lenses is also huge, but indeterminate.

Except for having an enormous variety of lenses with the popular K mount to choose from, the K1000 had fewer features compared to higher level SLRs of the mid 1970s. It had a slower flash synchronization speed of 1/60th second, a lower-quality sleeve-bushing equipped shutter and film advance mechanism, no self timer, no depth-of-field preview, no mirror lockup, no interchangeable focusing screens, no motor drive option, and no autoexposure.

The K1000 did accept any non-dedicated hot shoe mounted or PC terminal X-sync electronic flash for guide number manual or flash mounted sensor automatic exposure control. The 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 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-featured manual mechanical model; the KM, the basic 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 1975 and 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 from the saturated high-end professional and advanced amateur market and appeal to the large mass of amateur photographers itching to move up from compact automatic leaf-shutter rangefinder (RF) cameras to more versatile and glamorous SLRs, but were intimidated by the need to learn all the 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 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 the slow, screw-mount lenses 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 many 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 very 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 the "extras" like autoexposure or autofocus, ensured that there was nothing to interfere with a photographer's contemplation of the subject, settings and 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 older design and supply of its mechanical and electronic parts (especially precision analogue microgalvanometers for the light meter) finally became untenable. It was replaced by the highly computerized 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 in 1978 and then to China in 1990, 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 meter components changed as Asahi Optical searched for suitable supplies. 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. Note that the use of lighter plastic lowered the weight of the Chinese-assembled K1000s to 525 g.

Time has proven the Pentax K1000 to be a unique camera, resistant to criticisms of such things as undistinguished fit, finish and feel, a shutter button with mediocre ergonomics, a slow response CdS light meter cell, a viewfinder with poor 91% coverage and no information, and lack of depth-of-field preview or really fast shutter speeds. It did not have 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 $50-100 USD.

[edit] References

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  • 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.
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  • Lea, Rudolph. The Register of 35mm Single Lens Reflex Cameras: From 1936 to the Present. Second Edition. Hückelhoven, Germany: Rita Wittig Fachbuchverlag, 1993. ISBN 3-88984-130-9. $299.50 w/55 f/2 SMC Pentax
  • Massey, David and Bill Hansen. KEH.com catalogue Volume 5, 2006. Atlanta, GA: KEH.com, 2006.
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[edit] External links

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