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10-13-2010, 06:59 PM   #1
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Comparison to old K1000

I have an old K1000 with several telephoto lens. I am looking for recomendations for a comparable digital slr and to see if I can still use these lenses on it???

10-13-2010, 08:29 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by sonshine Quote
I have an old K1000 with several telephoto lens. I am looking for recomendations for a comparable digital slr and to see if I can still use these lenses on it???
You can use all your old lenses on the DSLR. As you are used to manual metering, you will feel right at home. There is a sticky at the top of the Beginners Corner that can walk you through it.
10-13-2010, 10:00 PM   #3
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How much you are willing to spend will help you narrow down which bodies might fit your needs. On the used market some of the older Pentax DSLRs (*ist series, K10d, K100d, K200d, K-m) are pretty inexpensive. Several of those bodies offer shake reduction, which can be helpful with longer lenses.

Since two new bodies (K-5 and K-r) are about to hit the market you should be able to find either of those arriving at Pentax dealers in the next month or two. The previous generation K-7 and K-x should also be available new for at least the next several months.
10-14-2010, 08:59 AM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by sonshine Quote
I have an old K1000 with several telephoto lens. I am looking for recomendations for a comparable digital slr and to see if I can still use these lenses on it???
As others have said, all your lenses will work on any Pentax dslr. However, the K1000 offered open-aperture metering. Unless your lenses have an "A" setting on the aperture ring, you will have to use stop-down metering, which you may not be used to. Now, if you were coming from a Spotmatic, this would be no great shock, but then your lenses would require an adapter.

I'm not sure what you mean by "comparable". Even when it was new, the K1000 was not considered a full-featured camera. It lacks a self-timer, removeable backs, interchangeable viewfinders, DOF preview and mirror-lockup, all of which were available on other cameras, even within the Pentax line, at that time. By comparison, even the most basic dslr has a lot more features than the K-1000 did.

At the moment, the K-x and the new K-r are Pentax's entry-level dslrs. In inflation adjusted dollars, they are cheaper than the K-1000 was. The $300 or so that a K-1000 cost in 1975 is probably the equivalent of about $1,500 in today's dollars. That makes the dslrs fantastic bargains. Plus they have features that will make your head swim, compared to almost any film SLR.

10-14-2010, 09:06 AM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by noblepa Quote
I'm not sure what you mean by "comparable". Even when it was new, the K1000 was not considered a full-featured camera. It lacks a self-timer, removeable backs, interchangeable viewfinders, DOF preview and mirror-lockup, all of which were available on other cameras, even within the Pentax line, at that time. By comparison, even the most basic dslr has a lot more features than the K-1000 did.
Its main feature is simplicity. There's really no dSLR like that -- and really can't be, for market reasons.

I love the meter, though. I'd pay an extra hundred bucks to have an (almost) full-frame-metering needle like that in my K-7 (in addition to its modern metering). Unlike matrix metering or even center-weighted, you know exactly what it's going to do no matter how tricky the lighting situation.
10-14-2010, 11:09 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by mattdm Quote
Its main feature is simplicity. There's really no dSLR like that -- and really can't be, for market reasons.

I love the meter, though. I'd pay an extra hundred bucks to have an (almost) full-frame-metering needle like that in my K-7 (in addition to its modern metering). Unlike matrix metering or even center-weighted, you know exactly what it's going to do no matter how tricky the lighting situation.
I agree on the needle, Matt. The best one I have ever owned is the KX (not K-X) which moved a transparent blue needle with the shutter dial. The meter's black needle indicated correct exposure when it was within the blue needle. A little viewfinder periscope showed the aperture dial above the focusing screen for Pentax lenses or any other brand that had the aperture ring in the same physical position.
10-16-2010, 05:50 PM   #7
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The K1000 was not a particularly well-liked or well-featured camera in its day - its advantages pretty much ended with "economical." However you do have to determine which features that you want in a new camera - such as open-aperture metering - and the degree to which you can, or will want to, use your lenses will depend partly on that.

Realistically you would probably be very happy with a K100 or similar digital camera.

Paul

10-16-2010, 07:29 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by tibbitts Quote
The K1000 was not a particularly well-liked or well-featured camera in its day - its advantages pretty much ended with "economical." However you do have to determine which features that you want in a new camera - such as open-aperture metering - and the degree to which you can, or will want to, use your lenses will depend partly on that.

Realistically you would probably be very happy with a K100 or similar digital camera.

Paul
Its true that the K1000 was hardly a full-featured camera in its day, but, if it was not liked, why did it stay in production for 21 years? The only other camera I know of that remained in production that long was the Argus C-3 (The Brick), which was made from 1939 until 1966.

I think I understand the desire for a bare-bones dslr, just as the K-1000 was a bare-bones film slr. However, there is no economic reason for it. A modern dslr is as much computer as camera. Software is expensive to develop, but the production cost for each camera is essentially zero, so you save no manufacturing costs by removing functions that are purely software in nature. Since the software is already developed for other cameras, there's little to be saved there. In fact, there would probably be additional development costs to remove the features and test the software to make sure it still works as it should. I've been in IT for more than 30 years, and I've done commercial software development, so I have some idea what I'm talking about.

You can save production costs by eliminating hardware. Probably the biggest cost savings would come from eliminating SR. That's been done. Remember the K110D? Pentax could hardly give them away. Once SR was available on the K100D, no one wanted the K110D, which was otherwise identical and cost $100 less. That was a significant cost saving, but it was not enough to attract buyers.

They could eliminate autofocus. That would save the cost of the drive motor and the power contacts for the SDM lenses. But then they have no manual focus k-mount lenses in production. I don't think there would be much market for a manual focus dslr in today's market.

Liveview and video both probably have some electronics on the motherboard, so leaving them out might save a few cents there. Both are largely software driven, so, again, there's no great savings.

I can't think of any other major hardware components that could be left out. They already leave off the top LCD on entry level cameras, such as the K-m, K-x and K-r. What other HARDWARE could be left out?

Like I said, I understand the desire for a digital K-1000, but I think that people are under the mistaken impression that Pentax could build a $300 dslr by leaving out all the features. Even if they DID leave out SR and AF, I don't think that the price could be brought that low. The fact that the market for such a camera would be extremely small means that economies of scale would work in reverse, and probably drive the price UP, rather than down.
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