[ChrisPlatt]

Given the K1000 length of manufacture it's quite possible that someone made a half-frame version.
Conversion would require a mask over the film gate and modification to the film transport mechanism.

Chris

[leekil]

This is not to say, however, that Pentax was entirely separate from the half-frame 35mm format, since they did make a limited production half-frame K-mount SLR body intended for medical, scientific, and other research purposes. Most commonly these were connected, via an adapter, to an endoscopic lens to take 1/4 second, artificially lit, portraits of someone's colon polyps. Were one of us to find one of these camras in a retired gastroenterologist's yard sale, we would not easily find technical information about it or much detailed guidance about how to most easily adapt it to more general photography.

I have one of these, it is called the Pentax MF. It is based on the ME, but has the limitations as described above (and more!).

See here:

Pentax MF - PentaxForums.com

---------- Post added 03-19-20 at 06:38 PM ----------

A rare pair! MF and MF-1 - PentaxForums.com

[aslyfox]

very interesting

as far as I can tell, that isn't listed in the descriptions of the Pentax SLR camera bodies

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/8-pentax-film-slr-discussion/176864-pent...resources.html

perhaps you should send a PM to Adam and see if you can list it.

[gaweidert]

Olympus made a camera called the PEN-F that was available in half frame format. In half frame cameras the images were vertical so you had to rotate the camera 90 degrees to get a landscape shot. The person may have been referring to this camera.

[TomB_tx]

Many camera manufacturers made special half-frame adapted bodies, usually for commercial “recording” purposes where image quality wasn’t primary, but also to save film and avoid changing rolls so often. Often these were not sold through regular photo markets and so weren’t in the common catalogs. Besides masking the film frame aperture, the shutter and winding mechanisms were modified to shorten the amount advanced. Even Leica made some that (of course) are collectors items, and I’m sure Canon also. It wouldn’t surprise me if Asahi made special half frames in the same way, and from the OP this might be one of those. A picture of the back when open would say for sure.
Olympus was rather unique with an extensive Pen line that were half frame and intended for general mass market. They were popular when I was in college, and pre-dated their full-frame OM series.

[Ontarian50]

There is one other possibility.

Ilford tried to make a go of a special load of HP5 black and white film in the early 1980s. Using a special thin base, they fit 72 exposures worth of film into a regular cassette, and promoted it as "motor winder film" or "motor drive film" or something like that.

There were a few reasons why it didn't catch on. Firstly, the thinner film base supposedly led to film flatness issues and less sharpness. Secondly, developing tanks only held 36 exposure lengths of film, so Ilford had a special 72 exposure length stainless reel and matching tank for a short while. Pretty rare, but I have one here.

Thirdly, regular cameras only had counters that went up to 36 or so. I heard of some manufacturers experimenting with cameras that went up to 72 (before LCD displays made that redundant). Maybe this K1000 is one of those oddballs that got out there.

[goatsNdonkey]

I have some Pentax slr or another with a tiny "ME" button or slider on it that permits taking Multiple Exposures on the same full-sized 35mm (24mm X 36mm) frame. I don't use the feature, which is why I don't remember what camera it is. I am sorry, but I only take accidental double-exposures with cameras without film-advance levers or multiple exposure avoidance mechanisms.

Very few of the half-frame 35mm cameras were SLRs. The vast majority were viewfinder cameras or, in some cases, rangefinder cameras. For a non-Pentax half-frame camera to get confused with a K1000, it would have to be one of those few half-frame 35mm SLRs made by other companies. Since the Konica Autoreflex full-frame/half-frame SLR could switch between these two formats (even mid-roll to the frustration of film processors no doubt) it was the most ground-breaking. I'm not aware of any other half-frame 35mm camera that could also take full-frame 35mm, let alone switch between them.

Yes, half-frame 35mm cameras take what is now called a portrait-orientation picture. Full-frame images are approximately 36mm wide by 24mm tall, and, when you divide them in half for half-frame 35mm, you get 18mm wide by 24mm tall. This bothers some people who complain about having to turn the camera sideways to take "landscape orientation" shots. I say it relieves me of having to turn my camera sideways every time I want to take a "portrait orientation" shot, like I have to do with all of my other cameras. I want to point out that the classic Kodak Brownie box camera, which almost single-handedly created widespread amateur photography in the United States, took a portrait-orientation picture (on size 120-film).

For folks who don't do their own developing and who would have to rely on others for half-frame 35mm developing and scanning, I know of two places who do this. There may be many more, but these are the ones I know:

--Dwaynes Photo--the last time I sent them half-frame 35mm film for development and scanning there was an additional $5 charge over their regular per roll developing and scanning charges. It IS NOT listed in their pricing or order form. Email them to verify the charge and add the charge onto your order form clearly labeling what it is for.

--Old School Photo Lab--I forget whether I've sent them a half-frame 35mm job, though I have sent them other rolls, but when I inquired, they told me they have no additional charge, but they scan half-frame shots two-up, meaning you have to separate the paired frames when you get the scan files--unless your what to display them as pairs, of course, as some people like to do. Be sure to add a note to your order telling them ahead of time that a roll you are sending in is half-frame 35mm.

[aslyfox]

this is an intriguing thread

I hope that the OP posts a photo of the camera that is referred to so it might be possible to determine if it is indeed a Pentax and what type

[goatsNdonkey]

Let me add something about the feature of switching between full-frame and half-frame 35mm:

I suspect that besides the Konica Autoreflex Full-frame/Half-frame 35mm SLR, other cameras that might have been able to shoot both formats, probably had a mask that had to be inserted before the roll was loaded in the camera, the way some 120 format cameras did to switch between frame formats. Since 120 roll film has backing paper with frame numbers that work for different formats, they just need to add a frame mask and be able to open a different window in the film door for reading the numbers for that format. Since modern 35mm film as no backing paper with numbers, the complicated film advance mechanism needs to have two different advance modes! That would add a lot to the expense to the mostly viewfinder half-frame camera world, that came into existence to help people save money on film. It might have been feasible for a few more expensive half-frame rangefinder to have two advance modes however.

[Lord Lucan]

The simplest theory is that the old man does not know what he is talking about.

It is not clear whether whether he is claiming this particular K1000 can take 72 frames, or there were other K1000s which could (but not this one), or there were optional accessories for the K1000 to convert it to 72 frames (a smaller film gate would be needed for a start), or that there is/was a workshop that could convert it to a 72 frame camera. None of which I have ever heard of. OTOH if he is talking about multiple exposures, why 72? There is no limit.

Perhaps the OP would post a picture(s) of his K1000, particularly looking into the open back, so we can see if there is anything unusual about it?

PS: I have just noticed how old this thread is! It popped up on my radar because someone else posted to it today. Looks like the OP never came back.

[noblepa]

Welcome to the forum!

The Spotmatic, MX & LX had bulk film magazines that enabled you to hold 250 pictures, but not for the K1000.

So I'm guessing the seller did not mean this and as previously mentioned he was referring to multiple exposures?

Phil.

As someone else mentioned, Pentax did make some half-frame versions of their regular cameras. These were for specialty purposes and were not sold for general use. I vaguely remember hearing about them, back in the day, when the Spotmatic and K1000 were still in production. It would be a relatively simple change. Add a half-frame mask, change the gears so the film only advances 18mm instead of 36mm, and similar modifications to the frame counter.

As for the motor drive and bulk film magazine, the K1000 was basically a Spotmatic F with a K-mount. I remember that you could buy a Spotmatic motor drive camera from the factory, or, for a fee, they would convert you regular Spotmatic into a motor drive unit. Basically, it involved replacing the bottom plate and a couple gears to connect the motor to the film advance.

I don't know if Pentax ever offered such a service for the K-1000, but someone with enough pull within the Pentax organization could probably have gotten them to do it. A good camera repair tech could probably do it easily. Back when the K-1000 first appeared, spare parts for the Spotmatic were probably still readily available, so a technician who knew how to convert a Spottie could easily use those parts to convert a K-1000.

Its too bad that Eric Hendrickson doesn't frequent this forum. He could probably answer these questions. He probably did a few Spotmatic motor drive conversions, himself.
The bulk magazine from a Spotmatic probably fits a K-1000 for the same reasons.

[Lowell Goudge]

The simplest theory is that the old man does not know what he is talking about.

It is not clear whether whether he is claiming this particular K1000 can take 72 frames, or there were other K1000s which could (but not this one), or there were optional accessories for the K1000 to convert it to 72 frames (a smaller film gate would be needed for a start), or that there is/was a workshop that could convert it to a 72 frame camera. None of which I have ever heard of. OTOH if he is talking about multiple exposures, why 72? There is no limit.

Perhaps the OP would post a picture(s) of his K1000, particularly looking into the open back, so we can see if there is anything unusual about it?

PS: I have just noticed how old this thread is! It popped up on my radar because someone else posted to it today. Looks like the OP never came back.

When I read the OPs post it is pretty clear, not double exposures, but I half frame, given the cameras did exist in some limited form, I believe it is what it is.

It would be nice to see an image.