[goatsNdonkey]

For nearly 45 years, all of my "Pentax" SLR film cameras have been Ricohs or Sears-labeled Ricohs--my m42 body was a Ricoh, my first K-mount body, acquired in the early '90s, was a Sears (Ricoh) KS1000. From very early on I was shooting a Super-Takumar f1.8 55mm lens, but it was not on a Pentax camera.

Except for that one lens, my photography experience was lived amid Pentax's extensive family of shirt-tail relations, until I got my first of two Pentax DSLRs a few years ago. However, yesterday, I picked out a Pentax K1000 SE body from one of two bins of five-dollar "broken" camera bodies at a camera store that was clearing up their storeroom. Examining it, I found that the shutter cocks and fires at speeds that sound about right for the speed settings. A store clerk noted that the film-advance lever has to be returned by hand, something that I didn't even notice. Also the lever is missing from the film rewind knob, as well as the plastic bezel that goes between that knob and the top of the body. Lifting the knob pops open the film door as it should, but the door can hang a bit whopper-jawed and needs to be closed with care. Even if the meter was broken, it looked like a *working* manual camera to me. SOLD!

I examined it much more closely when I got it home. The exterior is rather beat-up, including areas of total paint loss and even very slight denting of the bottom plate. Hand etched markings indicate that it was camera "#15" presumably for a high school's ("W.C.H.S.") photography class or club, possibly "7" of their stable of K1000 SEs. Despite long and hard use, the inside seems relatively clean and undamaged. The viewfinder is clear. The focusing screen looks good. The mirror is a little dusty, but unscratched. The shutter curtains look great. The film door is starting to close quite normally. I put a battery in it, and the meter works! I must be in the habit of guiding film-advance levers back to their resting place with my thumb, because I still don't notice that problem.

The most serious problem I can find is that, if you change the shutter speed setting without pushing very firmly down on the dial, the ISO setting changes, too, and you have to reset it. There may be a worn-out part in that mechanism.

This SE has "Asahi Opt. Co." on the right rear side of the top plate and has serial number 8208236. If I interpreted some quick research I did last night correctly, that puts it in the Hong Kong production, but well ahead of the shift to China.

I'll probably try some film in it soon.

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Last edited by goatsNdonkey; 12-07-2016 at 07:42 AM.

[Moe49]

Welcome to K1000 World
A working K1000 is a pleasure to shoot with.

[goatsNdonkey]

I thought I should post some pictures of the SE, which is still in rough as-purchased condition. Then there will be something to compare to after I clean it up and possibly do some initial minor tweaks or repairs. As cameras go, this one is a verteran.

[Helios 1984]

I noticed that your rewind is missing its crank. I hope this link will help you

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Last edited by Helios 1984; 12-15-2016 at 07:01 PM.

[kneemeister]

For nearly 45 years, all of my "Pentax" SLR film cameras have been Ricohs or Sears-labeled Ricohs--my m42 body was a Ricoh, my first K-mount body, acquired in the early '90s, was a Sears (Ricoh) KS1000. From very early on I was shooting a Super-Takumar f1.8 55mm lens, but it was not on a Pentax camera.

Except for that one lens, my photography experience was lived amid Pentax's extensive family of shirt-tail relations, until I got my first of two Pentax DSLRs a few years ago. However, yesterday, I picked out a Pentax K1000 SE body from one of two bins of five-dollar "broken" camera bodies at a camera store that was clearing up their storeroom. Examining it, I found that the shutter cocks and fires at speeds that sound about right for the speed settings. A store clerk noted that the film-advance lever has to be returned by hand, something that I didn't even notice. Also the lever is missing from the film rewind knob, as well as the plastic bezel that goes between that knob and the top of the body. Lifting the knob pops open the film door as it should, but the door can hang a bit whopper-jawed and needs to be closed with care. Even if the meter was broken, it looked like a *working* manual camera to me. SOLD!

I examined it much more closely when I got it home. The exterior is rather beat-up, including areas of total paint loss and even very slight denting of the bottom plate. Hand etched markings indicate that it was camera "#15" presumably for a high school's ("W.C.H.S.") photography class or club, possibly "7" of their stable of K1000 SEs. Despite long and hard use, the inside seems relatively clean and undamaged. The viewfinder is clear. The focusing screen looks good. The mirror is a little dusty, but unscratched. The shutter curtains look great. The film door is starting to close quite normally. I put a battery in it, and the meter works! I must be in the habit of guiding film-advance levers back to their resting place with my thumb, because I still don't notice that problem.

The most serious problem I can find is that, if you change the shutter speed setting without pushing very firmly down on the dial, the ISO setting changes, too, and you have to reset it. There may be a worn-out part in that mechanism.

This SE has "Asahi Opt. Co." on the right rear side of the top plate and has serial number 8208236. If I interpreted some quick research I did last night correctly, that puts it in the Hong Kong production, but well ahead of the shift to China.

I'll probably try some film in it soon.

I also got to Pentax thru Sears and Ricoh back in the late 80's, Started with a KS Super, that I got on clearance at the Lansing Sears while a Freshman at MSU. My graduation present to myself 3 years later was a Ricoh KR-30SP. Now thirty years latter, I am working on a collection of almost every Sears, Ricoh, Chinnon and Pentax. I think my favorites k-mounts are my Ricoh A-100 aka KR-10, Sears KSX-P (Chinon CP5) and My ME-F. I just got an very good KX so when the weather gets back above single digits. I plan on taking it and see how it compares to the A-100. I just love camers with the old fasioned analog two arm meters. Ricoh and Chinon had lots of great cameras but they dont seem to have the same build quality as Pentax. For instance; every KR-30SP and XR-P I have ever owned, had the mirror which is just rubber cemented get loose and slide forward causing it to jam. Mine are now held in by double sided tape. I have gone thur three XR-Ps that had wonky electronics. Many old Chinons seem to be plasticy and wear badly and look tattered. My old standby is my Chinon CP-7 its reliable and uses AA batteries, and because its so cheap and plentiful I have a drawer full of them.

[goatsNdonkey]

I noticed that your rewind is missing its crank. I hope this link will help you

Thanks for the link. That looks like a reasonable price a replacement rewind knob. That missing crank on the knob was one of the first things I noticed, as mentioned in my first post, but for my first test roll of film, I'll probably just stick a screw a little longer than the knob's diameter through the side of the knob to help rewind the film.

The issue with the ISO setting shifting seems like the most serious problem. I might need to take the shutter speed/iso dial assembly apart and figure out if something needs to be replaced in there. Maybe the spring is just weak.

[Helios 1984]

Thanks for the link. That looks like a reasonable price a replacement rewind knob. That missing crank on the knob was one of the first things I noticed, as mentioned in my first post, but for my first test roll of film, I'll probably just stick a screw a little longer than the knob's diameter through the side of the knob to help rewind the film.

The issue with the ISO setting shifting seems like the most serious problem. I might need to take the shutter speed/iso dial assembly apart and figure out if something needs to be replaced in there. Maybe the spring is just weak.

Humm maybe someone tinkered this camera and forgot to replace the spring under the speed dial? Here's another link that might help you fix your camera

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Last edited by Helios 1984; 12-16-2016 at 07:54 AM.

[goatsNdonkey]

Humm maybe someone tinkered this camera and forgot the replace the spring under the speed dial? Here's another link that might help you fix your camera

Thanks! Searches have taken me to that fellow's blog before, but I never clicked on the "Camera Repair" tab and explored what he has there.

[pathdoc]

I bought a parts or not working Spotmatic SP500 a while back to see how bad a camera could be and still work (still haven't got around to tearing it down yet) and it was pretty bad, but the shutter fired and the mirror moved and the pics (external metering/sunny 16; I cannot get the battery compartment open even if the meter is still good) turned out half decent.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/8-pentax-film-slr-discussion/320997-dodgy...x-project.html

Sounds like your new K1000 has been through even worse! Can't wait to see scans from the first film you put through it.

[AquaDome]

I have most of a Hong Kong K1000 in a box somewhere. If you need parts, I probably have most of what you need.

[goatsNdonkey]

I also got to Pentax thru Sears and Ricoh back in the late 80's, Started with a KS Super, that I got on clearance at the Lansing Sears while a Freshman at MSU. My graduation present to myself 3 years later was a Ricoh KR-30SP. Now thirty years latter, I am working on a collection of almost every Sears, Ricoh, Chinnon and Pentax. I think my favorites k-mounts are my Ricoh A-100 aka KR-10, Sears KSX-P (Chinon CP5) and My ME-F. I just got an very good KX so when the weather gets back above single digits. I plan on taking it and see how it compares to the A-100. I just love camers with the old fasioned analog two arm meters. Ricoh and Chinon had lots of great cameras but they dont seem to have the same build quality as Pentax. For instance; every KR-30SP and XR-P I have ever owned, had the mirror which is just rubber cemented get loose and slide forward causing it to jam. Mine are now held in by double sided tape. I have gone thur three XR-Ps that had wonky electronics. Many old Chinons seem to be plasticy and wear badly and look tattered. My old standby is my Chinon CP-7 its reliable and uses AA batteries, and because its so cheap and plentiful I have a drawer full of them.

Not intending to, I now have a small collection of the Sears/Ricoh K-mount bodies. I traded in my original m42 Ricoh TLS Singlex on on Sears KS1000 in the 1990s. Now I also have a Sears KSX and a KSX Super, the latter being the same as the Ricoh KR-10. The KS1000 is the heaviest built of the three. I have two m42 bodies a Vivitar, and a very recently acquired Zenit B.

The KSX Super/KR-10 is a neat camera, but it is very hard to read the meter with a dim viewfinder image.

---------- Post added 12-17-16 at 10:37 PM ----------

I have most of a Hong Kong K1000 in a box somewhere. If you need parts, I probably have most of what you need.

Thanks! If I see that something is broken, worn-out, or missing in that shutter speed/ISO dial assembly I'll check with you.

[pathdoc]

I traded in my original m42 Ricoh TLS Singlex on on Sears KS1000 in the 1990s.

That's a long time to wait on an upgrade, LOL.

OTOH, if the TLS had open-aperture metering a la the Spotmatic F... who even needs a trade-up?

[kneemeister]

The KSX is a KR-10 and the KSX super is a KR-10 Super/XR-10. I agree about the viewfinders in the latter Ricoh/Sears cameras, You also have to press the exposure lock on the front to activate the LED needle or you have no meter indication at all on the first shot.

But as i said before, my prefered meter display is the two physical match needle type like the non Super Ricohs and the Pentax K2 and KX Your KS-1000 is a KR-1. I have the XR-2s which was simular with Auto AV. The KR-10/A-100/KSX was basicly the same camera with some of the features such as multi exposure,and DOFpreview removed.

Well the sun is out this morning with a fresh coat of snow, so its time for me to go try out that KX and the YashicaMat I got this week!

[goatsNdonkey]

I've started cleaning up the K1000. While a lot of grime came off, the appearance hasn't transformed enough to warrant a new round of pictures.

I've also had the shutter speed / iso selector knob apart, examined, and put back together (a few times, both incorrectly and correctly). I can't find anything obviously broken. There is a place on the bottom of the main knob housing that looks worn. If it is supposed to be pointed, but is instead rounded off, that could be part of the problem.

I also found a pdf file of the K1000 service manual, downloaded it, and printed out the pages that have to do with that assembly. So far I've only skimmed that part, but it sounded like there should be a small washer were I didn't find one. I need to reread more carefully, but, if that is right, that could also be part of the problem.

I attached a K-mount 50mm lens and found that it does stop down to the set aperture when the shutter fires. So much the better!

Proceeding by baby steps....

[goatsNdonkey]

I glombed some replacement parts and found that only the outer housing of the shutter speed - ISO selector was worn out. I replaced it with a good one, and now I can change shutter speeds and the ISO remains on its setting as it should.

Now, I'm just trying to decide if I want to replace film door light seals or not before loading the camera up with film. Actually, I will probably do a few light meter tests, checking against another camera's readings, before loading film, but I'm getting close to that.