Pentax K1000
Class is in session.
If there was a Family Feud category for best beginner film cameras, the K1000 would no doubt take the top spot. Used globally for decades by film students and enthusiasts, it is the JanSport of analog photography. Turns out I’m neither studious nor enthusiastic, and while I do take my K1000 out on occasion, I find it pretty charmless. Let’s face it, charm is a big part of the film photography experience.
I am an unabashed Pentaxian. I picked up my first ME from Powell Camera in Covina, CA and was blown away by a few things - the big viewfinder, the small frame, the sturdy little lenses, and the most glorious mirror slap I had ever experienced. I can’t stress that last one enough, it is delicious. The K1000 shares exactly one of those traits, the lens mount.
Exposure Simplified
It’s easy to understand why this is a great student camera. It boils photography down to the core elements and offers nothing that would confuse the issue. ISO, shutter speed, aperture, click. In exchange, it feels a lot like taking a test. You make a suitable exposure - great, you passed the test! Sometimes however, dropping the class mid-semester feels more like a win.
While not charming, there’s hardly anything that could really be considered a con with the K1000. Sure, a few more features would be nice, but there are other models for that, and believe me, I’m working my way through them. KX is in the mail!
One thing that has become a con is the price. With film photography back en vogue, the hype train has gone off the rails with a few models, and this is one. I thrifted mine for cheap, the light meter works worked and like my ME, is adorned with the handsome SE (Special Edition) brown leatherette.
Yes, unfortunately the meter on mine has died, and predictably so after 40 years. That brings us to what many will say is the camera’s biggest selling point, it’s fully mechanical. You heard that right, this square-jawed brut will shoot all day long, light meter or no! I’ve tried it, and you know what? It felt a lot like making a B- when you expected to make a C+. With film at $10 a roll and higher, and development/scanning another $15, I’ll save on the tutor and take the C.
Like I’ve alluded to, better cameras with working meters can be had for much less. I’ll get mine serviced one day, forget how boring it was, and put the odd roll through it. However, I don’t see myself pulling it out of the cabinet just to brush up on Sunny 16.
The Curse of Utilitarianism
The K1000 makes beautiful photos and with a working meter, the exposure needle method is really great. I especially love it paired with my crusty old Asahi SMC 55mm f/1.8. Not unlike my first film camera, the Minolta SRT 201, the Pentax does no wrong. This may be perfect for most, but I dig the quirks and unique features of vintage cameras. These two bodies have neither.
Despite how negative this all sounds, I do love the K1000 for it’s place in camera history and as part of my own Pentax collection. He stands tall and proud in his letterman jacket, but look elsewhere for help with the math homework.