Originally posted by Mikesul I think there has already been, for some time, a digital equivalent of the K1000. I mean the Sony A6000.
I have just had a look at what that is, and the only thing it has in common with the K1000 is that it is a commercial success.
I think there are people here and elsewhere who think that Pentax producing a digital K1000 would be a commercial success, but what they visualise by that "K1000-D" seems to vary with the individual.
Some see the definition of a K1000-D as anything that is a commercial success - the Sony A6000 above for example. What company does not want to produce a commercially successful camera? But these days no camera is likely to be that success if it looked, felt or acted like an old K1000 in any way whatsoever. But Pentax could just put a "K1000-D" sticker on any lower range camera if that's all it takes to sell it. However, times and people have moved on since 50 years ago* and despite its long production run I'm not sure that "K1000" now means anything to anyone on the right side of 60 unless they are knowledgable about camera history.
Others seem to see a K1000-D as a look-alike replica of an old K1000, with manual focus, manually set cloth shutter, sluggish needle metering, revived K-Series lenses, but having a CMOS sensor and a card slot. That won't happen for all sorts of technical and commercial reasons. In that vein there
have been projects, usually kick-starters, to make digital backs for old film cameras and they have all been commercial and/or technical flops.
Others again seem to expect a K1000-D not to look like an old K1000, but like a modern APS-C digital with all exposure modes except manual blocked off, the LCD removed, and using lenses with their autofocus function disabled. Also with the video, SR, and continuous shooting disabled, and the ability to change ISO only permitted every 36 shots. At least that would be practicable - you could sell a version of eg the K-r with those restrictions done in the software. This would be to force people to learn the technicalities of exposure. Yeah, right.
The only realistic way of "reviving" the K1000 is simply using the name as a badge on something modern. If someone wants the real thing, there are plenty on Ebay, albeit at silly prices, although I suspect that most are only bought speculatively to be sold again at an even higher price, like a pyramid scheme.
* The K1000 was basically a Spotmatic, which were designed in the late 1960s.