[commissioneranthony]

@Pioneer,
Nicely said, Love the anaphora . To elaborate on the battery, I had to replace the battery in my father's Film cameras. An canon AE-1 and Pentax K1000. The AE-1 used a 123A battery (or something like that). It was a $12 battery. what a waste of money. I looked everywhere in my house for one, even something that ran a battery of similar side. NOTHING. When it came time for the K1000, I found several button cell batteries inside a pocket mini flashlight. I was like SWEET. one battery alone is $8. No aluminum foil or any other spacers was needed, it just plain worked.
I bet you can even use the batteries from Berger King toys.
Gotta love the K1000.

[weg613]

I used a K-1000 for about 15 years and loved it. About 15 years ago, I was ambushed while hiking in Honduras and it was stolen from me. I replaced it with a ZX-M, which I have loved almost as much, except for the cost of battery replacement. I do not think that I ever replaced the battery in my K-1000.

[streetjeans]

Beautiful shot Pioneer, Thanks for all the info, as I am a new owner of the K1000 a gift from my grandson...

[Yehoyaqim]

Wonderful poetry about a camera. I also love my K1000. I still shoot with it. As I said elsewhere, It taught me how to shoot.

[njpentax]

Amen! I just purchased K1000 and K1000 SE bodies to get back into the manual thing. It is somewhat refreshing to focus and expose the shot by myself. I had at one time a full Nikon D100 system. I sold everything a few years back to pay for my patio. I'm now deciding if I eventually want to stay with Pentax or go to Nikon or Canon if I go back to digital. So far I like the Nikon D7000 and the Pentax D5 or D7. I'm not crazy about the Canon 60D, but the 7D is too pricey.

[Alliecat]

... I have lots of other cameras but I don't really need them, just like I don't really need another hammer. They are both tools, one drives nails, the other takes pictures. To take good pictures one must learn to use the tool, the camera. Like the hammer the K1000 is simple to learn and doesn't get in the way of learning to take pictures. ...

Time to bump this great thread... I just came back & read it again, prompted by a post elsewhere.
This bit reminds me of a comment by someone I've met since I read this the first time. He said, "It's the best camera ever made. You could hammer nails with it."
I would like to print this out & hand a copy to each of the 2 doofuses who rag me every year at the summer craft market with "have you switched to digital yet? are you still out of date?"
This is really a beautiful ode to a beautiful camera.

[monochrome]

If the doofus has a pen in his pocket ask if he has switched to digital yet.

[DaveHolmes]

I keep thinking about getting a K1000 but they're seriously over-priced here in the UK... Recently picked a Honeywell-Spotmatic (via Israel...) and a 50-1.4 to go with it and love that...
Gonna sell my ME with the M40 as it's just not seeing any use...

MZ-7... K-x(dslr)... and Spottie in my bag right now!

[monochrome]

Price the KM and KX - sometimes they are significantly less expensive than the more famous K1000 and, while still fully manual, they have more features and flexibility.

[builttospill]

I keep thinking about getting a K1000 but they're seriously over-priced here in the UK...
Gonna sell my ME with the M40 as it's just not seeing any use...

I keep thinking about getting a M 40 but they're seriously overpriced everywhere...
Sometimes deals can be found on the K1000 and the K1000 SE, but you've got to be in the right place at the right time.

[shutter1862]

W.C. If you get that k1000, you'll be hooked and won't let go! You can explain the feeling later want you? You'll be proud of yourself and your captures. I know!

[Pioneer]

My K1000 seems a lot like the VW Bug. It was never intended to be a K2, an LX or a Nikon F, just as the VW was never intended to be a Porsche or a Ferrari. The K1000 was designed to be a low priced way to get people using Pentax cameras at the beginning of the K-Mount era, even as the VW was intended to be a very inexpensive way to get the masses into a basic motor car when cars were a rich man's toy. And it worked beyond Pentax's wildest dreams. Neither the K1000 nor the VW should ever have stayed in production as long as it did, but they did. They became an integral part of our culture. The Volkswagen is a great car even though it was not a fancy car, and it is still popular. It was the “people's car.” Ditto the K1000. It was such a simple and beautiful photographic tool that it became a cultural icon for many, many people. For many hundreds of thousands of people it was their first camera, and for many it probably remained their only camera. Not everyone wants one. Heck, not everyone even understands the attraction, but enough people do that there is a thriving aftermarket for these cameras. Because of this, if for no other reason (and there are many), it qualifies as a great camera.

I still use a K1000!

Obviously a lot of people enjoy this wonderful camera. Thanks.

[TomB_tx]

My K1000 seems a lot like the VW Bug.

I still use a K1000!

Well, I still drive a VW aircooled Beetle, and have an unused factory engine as a spare. (In the US we don't realize the original Beetle was produced through 2003 in Mexico - and they were still great cars.)

[fuent104]

Are there no recent K1000 images in this thread? 'Tis a shame!

[Pioneer]

Great idea and some very nice shots Fuent104. Not quite as dramatic as your own but I will add a few of my samples to the collection.