You can put a roll of film in ( It's a good idea before shooting ) And forget about everything else You don't have to worry about change in the weather and have to compensate by fiddling with apperture rings Just follow the needle Great camera
I’ve never gotten the whole “beginner” camera thing... if it takes photos, it takes photos. Almost 100% of a photo is the photographer. You could give me the most expensive camera in the world and I can take a horrible picture while you could give me a cheap camera and I can take a great photo.
Exactly! Then we see people breaking the bank from buying these Mamiya’s, Leica’s,Pentax’s, Haddelblads, and so forth only to shoot subpar images , People just need to learn photography? You know what, this motivates me to do an entire series on the pentax K1000
@@maxhernie8053 K1000s are not about being cheap. Cheap compared with a modern new camera but expensive compared with similar cameras of its time, or most used ones since, partly thanks to RU-vid videos like this. I just checked UK Ebay and the median sold price (with lens) is £100 and median asking price is £250. You will need to go a long way to find a $6 one. The K1000 was not special for its time (1970s), only typical. Most cameras then were mechanical/manual and all the quality brands (Pentax, Nikon, Fuji & co) were assumed to last a lifetime or two. The K1000 only came to the attention of a later generation of users because it was still being manufactured in the 1990s, and it was sold to young people because art and photography schools continued to recommended it - by default because the schools never got round to updating their course handout material. That is the [valid] reason for its "student" or "college" reputation he mentions [8:23]; whether you think that is an issue is your call. In time, Pentax took advantage of this by outsourcing to cheaper manufacturers [8:16] yet raising the price. As for beginner anxiety, being faced with deciding shutter speed and F number is the way to make a Generation Z anxious. So most modern electronic cameras have a "green mode" where you leave everything technical to the camera. Arguably that is the way to concentrate on the picture itself, the opposite of what he says @3:00. Setting speed and aperture manually are now regarded as advanced techniques that beginners do not need to learn unless they are really keen on the tech or want to become pros. FWIW I have a top-of the range DSLR with about a million different modes, yet I use it set to manual all the time, and I have old manual cameras too.
@@dukenukem5768 Everyone can use a top end DSLR on a fully Program and Tv/Av Mode. Thats not entirely the point i was making about the camera in my comment. The Pentax K1000 arguably upholds its reputation as a beginner *photographer* camera. Everything you need to know about the basics of a camera is right in front of your face. You cannot argue with that. It's purpose, in my opinion, was not about being the best in its class in the day. Nikon and Canon and whatever else on the market on the Pro/prosumer end would surely outmatch it with various gizmos like the speed winder time stamp etc etc. Its limited to what it is, but the application the market/advertisers and what its legacy set it up for it has excelled. Analog is so much easier to work with in an academic setting. It teaches failure and intimate knowledge about photography more than digital can. The dark room makes or breaks you as a photographer and its still the reason why top photography schools use analog with the students. You can also just get an F-1 or some expensive Nikon/Lecia or Bessa but without basics you're really wasting your time and money and the more expensive DSLR or camera doesnt make up for the lack of fundamentals. Settings is just one part of a grander picture in image making, you know that. Cheap: schools probably got it in bulk and on the discount. Today, the only reason why it is so expensive is because film is "trending" and that particular camera along with the AE-1 and whatever Nikon equivalent are on blog posts and articles increasing the value. Those are about 250 USD easy. An AT-1 from canon, virtually the same camera as the K1000, is expensive! Analog is making a trendy return and prices reflect that.Thats simple capitalism right there. There are hundreds of thousands of the pre-Chinese K1000s so you can find them anywhere, especially the higher quality made ones, which reflects the popularity. I picked one up for 80$ USD, dirty, but it works.
I started film photography 15 years ago with Pentax KM so I can related to this video a lot. The simplicity in the viewfinder is the exact reason I'm getting myself KM (K1000 brother) again. I'm just more attached to KM because I started with it :) Thanks for an amazing video!
While it wasn't my first, I feel like this was the first 35mm camera I owned where things kinda 'clicked' for me. Best of luck, enjoy it if you find one! :)
Just bought my first Pentax K1000 for 70 dollars, but it included the leather strap and case, the original lens and lens cap and a flash! I'm so excited! 😁
Just started shooting a K-1000 as a secondary thing to my brand new K-70 digital. So-far I've only shot one roll with it, and atm haven't gotten it back from development yet, so idk how I did. But so far it's been a joy to shoot. Very much makes you stop and "think" about photography more. I just kinda "found" it laying around the house. My dad n I buy old film Pentaxs just for the lenses, so between us we have a couple K-1000's, KS Supers, and KS Super II's laying around, along w a decent number of 3rd party film era lenses. (I don't have any Pentax brand ones yet tho) Definitely love it with a good Auto Sears 50mm lens, sometimes my Tokina 28mm, but I'm having focus issues w it on my digital, so I kinda doubt it will work right on it either.
I’m new to your channel and I love the way you bring things like the WASTED from GTA lol and you always find a way to touch up on other camera related things that help with overall film photos, I love it man
My dad just gave me a k1000 that he got from cleaning out an old garage. He said he's never used it and it looks like the original owner had barely used it. Battery still works.
hopefully we will see a review of it :) be on the look out for a "pentacon" written on the base of the camera. those seem to be of better quality and are a little more scarce.
Lol you were right about the beating my Photography teacher dropped his K1000 down a cliff in the Superstition Mountains and he hiked down and it still worked
Very nice vídeo! My father just gave me one Pentax 1000 that was forgotten for over 30 years... I will have to clean it up and fix few things before start to use. Your video just made me realize how much I want to shoot with her... ;) Thank you!
my dad gave this camera 3 years back, its been around since I was a kid, the camera is literally as old as I am. I took it out after buying a battery, and trying to get it going. I thought I broke it. the shutter button stuck, so it sat there as I moved on some digital cameras. I pulled it out today to check the lenses as I got a pentax k10d I wanna use them on which is in the mail. I was gonna try t o fix it. I looked at a you tube video on how fix the K1000. just realized it has a shutter lock, thing worked this whole time :)
Congratulations! I hope it works well and you enjoy it. It takes 35mm film. Any kind will do! Read up on film photography and see what sounds like the most fun to you.
I dropped an arm and a leg....and a nut...on a fuji x100f...sold it, my main digital camera is now a small censor Pentax Q. My film camera is a Pentax ME, blasted a roll and the exposures are all over the place...electronic shutter....no thanks....looks like Im getting a k1000
I will say, I have a ton of love for the x100f. Nut dropping is an issue though hahahah. Good luck if you grab a K1000. I really dig the camera a whole lot.
They must be very old, medium format, or point-and-shoot. Pentax have used the K mount for the last 46 years. The K1000 was one of the first to use it.
"Wanna know my philosophy? Just go shoot" I hope more people realize this: you don't need a specific camera or lens or anything to take good pictures. I started taking pictures on my smartphone. My first camera was a thirty-year-old Zenit 122 with no functioning light meter. If you like your setup, you like your setup, it doesn't matter if it isn't "cool" or "professional"
Both my grandmother and my mom had K1000, and I ended up with both of them. My mom even had magazine clippings in her camera bag where she was comparing it to the Olympus before she purchased it. Love those cameras!
I bought my K-1000 in 84, still use it today. Best investment ever. Got it new with a 50mm lens. My only gripe is the lens cap falls off, easy to loose.
Not worth it in my opinion unless you can get it for reeeeally cheap, not that it's a bad camera (it isn't)but just because the prices have inflated because of demand - it doesn't even have a self-timer. Plenty of other great Pentax SLRs with more features that can usually be bought for way cheaper like the KX, KM, MX etc. saw a KM and K1000 side by side in the shop the other day and the KM was literally half the price of the K1000.
Exactly. The hipsters have picked on this particular camera (there were many others similar in the 1970's) and inflated the price with hype. You could get a PhD in social psychology doing a study of how this happened. Nothing wrong with the camera itself, but nothing special either.
Great video! I've had my K1000 since I bought it new in, like, 1989 or something. It's very sturdy, as you've observed, and it is, in fact, the only 35mm camera I still own (in fact i own 2, since I also got a "backup" body a few years ago.) I use this camera when I want good pictures with no screwing around. For instance, this is the camera I had in the delivery room for both of my boys, over ten years ago now. I have boxes and boxes of family photos from my teenage and college years shot on this camera, and binders of b&w negatives since I started shooting mostly b&w film. One thing you did not mention, which is kind of a negative about the K1000, is the really loud shutter. Of course, that's also part of the charm of it. Again, great review of a really solid camera. Thanks!
Once you slap a good lens on this camera, it'll be just as good as the next guy's M6. I have my mom's Minolta SRT 303 here that feels pretty similar to this. Gotta love these all-mechanical beasts.
I recently bought a Mamiya 1000 DTL with a neat lens for pretty cheap, in regard to which I share a lot of feelings you have towards the K1000. I haven't developed my first two rolls yet, so I hope the light meter does a good job. The needle seems to be a bit lazy sometimes. But it has a quirky way to safe battery life!
Great video, thanks so much! I grew up in the 70's using a K-1000 as my sole camera. Learned it well and took so many memorable photos. The kids sometimes go up into the attic and shuffle through the shoe boxes and say stuff like "wow, who wears socks up to their knees with stripes going around the calf?". Now I'm 54 and using my Iphone instead. Maybe there are 12 step programs for people like me. I had it so good. Changing from a Pentax K-1000 to an Iphone for your camera is like going from your moms best homecooked meals to moving out on your own and having nothing but golden corral to eat for breakfast/lunch/and dinner...for thirty years! So my 16 yr old son asked me a month ago what kind of camera I thought he should get prior to going to NYC with his brother for some fun time. I told him without a doubt, try to find a clean Pentax K-1000. He picked one up in great condition and he's really enjoying it. This video showed him much better than I could why the K-1000 is not only a good starter camera, but likely the camera that he might one day return to when he realizes that modernity left the imagination on the sideline. Thanks!
Hello, I had to, earn my Pentax K 1000 camera Though I.C.S., School in the 1990's, and now It, is out of service.And I know, what's wrong with It, needs a new, rewind crank and open the door.
I've ordered this camera from Amazon (not arrived yet). Looking forward to using it. I haven't shot on film since I was a kid, and that was Just disposable cameras.
I suppose great editing on your video, but too much pandering, like me, click me, love me, subscribe me, touch me, feel me, and so little content. Sorry not sorry.
Good but _very_ basic. Many others of that era that were similar or better (manual, mechanical, eg Minolta SRT) and better value today. The K1000 is over-hyped and so now over-priced unless you're lucky. Be aware it has no self-timer, so no selfies. The lack of viewfinder shutter speed means that after setting exposure with the meter, you need to take it down from your eye to check it is a hand-holdable speed.
I love this camera. I learned how to shoot film on the K1000 at American River College in the early 2000s. It was my roommates and he let me borrow it. What I like about the K1000 is it is all about taking photos and not about the slick new just shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.
I just inherited a K1000 from my grandfather along with four lenses to go with it. I've been in photography for several years, but never film, but I've always wanted to. Well, not film in a manual configuration. I'm incredibly excited to get out and see what I can capture.
yes, the Asahi logo indicates which factory the camera came from, you can read more about it here: www.pentaxforums.com/forums/8-pentax-film-slr-discussion/82649-k1000-how-tell-japan-made-version.html
Its a solid manual camera and college students are lucky to start on it because you can learn photography concepts while using it. Any manual 35mm camera you start on you can keep using...always.
For a couple weeks I've been trying to decide on which film 35mm SLR camera to buy. Since I own a digital Nikon, I looked into the famous classic Nikon F3. After watching RU-vid videos showing the F3 many features I decided that it was overwhelming, because of too many features. I like simplicity so I decided it was not for me. After watching videos like this about the Pentax K-1000, i saw it was so mechanical and simple, not even needing the battery to function. It was perfect to fit me. Ordered one off eBay today! Thanks for the added history links, and even the PDF manual link. Liked and subscribed to your channel immediately!
I have a k 1000 I belong to my father. It's in fairly decent condition. Unfortunately the light meter no is no longer accurate but I just use the sunny 16 rule. Never really thought of it as a beginner camera. I just see it as a simple SLR that can take good pictures.
People call it a beginners camera because for many years it was recommended [obligatory] to college photography students. The theory was it forced them to learn about F-stops etc. Also for years it was the cheapest "big name" (Pentax was big then) SLR in the shop so beginners tended to buy it. It is just a stark utilitarian camera, but reliable. I find nothing appealing about it, but YMMV.
You should start a podcast! I’ve been wanting to get into film for so long but I have no clue where to start. I love how you explain this stuff! It’s like a ‘For Dummies” book but I don’t feel *as* dumb😌
Ooooo you're in luck, I actually have one haha. It's called Sweet Talk. Just haven't made an episode in a while. But there are four episodes on the channel, they are also on spotify and stuff like that. Best way to get into film is just do it. Just get a cheap camera from a thrift shop and experiment!! Best of luck :)
Great video! I shoot digitally with a Pentax K1 but I'm looking into getting back into film. Question, do you know if the Asiah k1000 is a better build than the non Asiah k1000? Cheers
Yes, the Asahi one is better. Later in the production, Pentax took advantage of the fact that they had built an uncritical K1000 fan base, including art schools who still recommended it for their pupils because they had always done so. So Pentax cut costs by outsourcing production to a low bidder(s) who replaced some metal components with plastic, and dropped the Asahi name.
the k1000 uses 35mm film, you can send your film to a lab to be developed (like the darkroom in cali) or you can develop and scan it yourself-- I made a video about that too if you're interested: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XSMoZQL8w3A.html
I got lucky and found it at a Good Will for cheap-- ebay you'll see this for like 50 - 100$ in my experience. But because this was a mass produced camera for years, you will see them in thrift shops. I've seen a bunch! Good luck with your creative journey, and happy hunting
Averaging ~£125 (=$150?) sold on Ebay in the UK now (April 2021), add another £25 if really good condition. Price has come down a bit lately (Covid effect?). You can be lucky and find them cheap from house clearance sales etc or from people who don't know what they are selling. They are very common, biggest selling SLR of all time, because they were cheap when new.
All the skateboarding/punk rock/hip-hop album art photography that Glen Friedman did in the 1980s was on a Pentax K1000. Minor Threat on the steps of the Dischord House? K1000. Cover of Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back"? K1000. Every Beastie Boys promo shot up to and including "Ill Communication" era? K1000. Take away the gadgetry and hi-tech shenanigans and you're left with a photographer, their ability to think, their ability to see a shot in their head and make that shot a reality with the bare minimum of equipment. That's the mark of a great photographer.
No. The purpose of vertical rather than horizontal is to increase the flash sync speed - typically under 1/100 for horizontal but up to 1/250 vertical. That may or may not matter to you. The professional cameras of the 1980s (eg Nikon F3, Pentax LX. Canon F1) used horizontal because it was more reliable.
Yay! that's the camera that iniciated me in analog photography, actually picked it up for 27 Euros in a thrift place, i bought it for adapting the lens but i tried it and fell in love with the analog photography
Amazing review. You killed it. I will be posting video of me shooting the K1000 on expired film. But love learning more and more about the film cameras I own!
I like the K1000. Owning my second. Also my second MX, so I humbly disagree, with that choice for me. But.... If it works for you, Love my ME Super, too.
I don't get the _"nothing between you and your photos"_ line. Only viewfinder info is the meter needle so after composing and metering you have to take it down from your eye to check the speed and aperture are sensible. That action is _"between you and your photos"_ unless you only take sunny snapshots. The Minolta SRT 101 at least has shutter speed in the finder.
WHAT A SUPRISE . I was in the garage and just located my Pentax I bought in about 1978 and shot it maybe 200 times.,maybe more but not much. I came right in to search the web and found this site. .It was a good camera for my needs. It good today that you can know if your pic is good immediately after taking it. I dont know why anyone would go back to film. I had been used to the instamatic 135. It was great for my interest level until I wanted sports action and I had just bought a 1969 GT350 conv. and needed a camera for race track day for club members with SAAC 3 at sears point and leguna Seca. Back then It was a rapidly growing national club that morphed from ShelbyOwners Assn . I took many pics of the race day events and my wife got some of me in the car ,and burnin rubber in all 4 gears....not really,more like burnin rubber in all the corners. It was a great camera for that and shots for cars at speed or while hiking in the sierra Nev mtns around Mt Whitney,Calif. Heres a list of some basic and useful lenses etc I had I had a 2x multiplier lense with a Pentax 80-200 for $300 .(Vivitars were $200-$230) Guess I will see what they are going for onebay. Does anyone know a better place to look for these old cameras on line?
Ahh... my first SLR .... still have it .... I had to learn about exposure and sunny 16 from the start because my meter never worked .... so glad it worked out that way ... now I have 4 of them .... not the highest quality SLR ... but definitely my favorite
Depends what you mean by high quality. They were well made, but a bit clunky to use, lacked features, and were very basic and old-tech even when introduced in 1976. They were mainly a late 1960's design at a time when tech was improving rapidly. But once you set the focus and exposure correctly they took as good a picture as any 35mm film camera ever did.
Yo! Brother Sweet Lou! Thanks for the video. It brought back fond memories. My very first camera more than 2 decades ago in college in was a Pentax k1000. It served me well, in photography 101. I got an A that semester. PEACE
You're amazing, haha. Love your style. Also, sweet photos. And I agree about the K1000. I keep moving through different cameras, but at the end of the day if I want consistent results, I go back to my K1000. Maybe just cuz I know it best.
I shoot with the K1000 during the 80-ties till 2008 together with a Pentax ME. I must say that during difficult conditions the K1000 is the winner. A tank of a camera and great to handle. Manual. No electronics and never let me down. I still have it and will never let it go.
got one of these for 20 bucks today with a 50mm lense on it, didnt even intend on getting it lmao. was at a mechanic workshop that was closing and selling all their tools real cheap, but found it sitting in a box.
@@SweetLouPhotography there's some awesome 3rd party lenses out there for diiiiirt cheap! I ended up with a box of KS Super and Super II bodies, and the K-1000 that I just started shooting with on the side because my dad n I shoot Pentax digitals, and scavenge marketplace and garage sales for lenses. I personally love my Sears 50mm f2 and 135mm lenses for my digital work, (tho the 135mm def needs some post processing love tbh due to fairly poor saturation, but the 50mm is just awesome, I need more of that lens lol) but there's some pretty good Vivitar Series 1, and even Focal lenses cheap. Just started messing w my Focal 85-210 using the macro mode bc it's my only true macro lens (oof) and ngl it's not half bad at that. Now, if you're feeling lucky, Moler's Camera in Wichita (iirc anyway) has an online deal, $8+shipping, you get a random PK 3rd party lens from a bin. Might be a fungus fest, might be a 28mm Sigma, (tho it was an FD mount so that's going to a friend that shoots Canon EOS) probably a generic 70-200 or thereabouts, but if you get 4 or 5 at a clip you're bound to get at least one that's useful for a pretty not bad price!
Fun video! This was the camera my parents used throughout my childhood. I've just pulled it out of the case to start using it again and needed a refresher.
I found this camera for $60 on a buy sell and trade site for my small town and bought it!!! I’m super excited to try out film photography for the first time, I know I’m going to make a LOT of mistakes but I’m ready to try I think, glad this little camera can be there for me and help me through it
I've been debating to buy one for a long time and I think you video was a good push to buy one. As my first film camera. Thanks! Any film you recommend for it and places to get photos developed ?
Glad you dig it-- I love the K1000 so much. I normally send my photos to the Darkroom (in Cali) They do pretty good work, though sometimes their scans aren't the best. Before big 'rona, since I'm in NYC I tired to bring them to local labs as much as possible. So if you are local, Sammy's Photo Lab, and Eliz Digital are two that I've used a bunch as well.
