[ismaelg]

Hello,

Another conversation with myself:

-Concentrate on the camera. Finish it first before even looking at the lens.

-OK! Just keep swimming, just keep swimming... HEY LOOK! A lens!



Insert facepalm here...


Thanks,

[ismaelg]

Hello,

As you can see, the lens was taken apart. Unfortunately, some of the spanner nuts are really stuck so I couldn't get to all individual groups/elements. Everything was cleaned as best as possible. However, there is still some minor traces of fungus inside the groups. If I could get some of the spanner nuts to cooperate I can probably reach it if in fact it is between groups or elements. The focusing feels a tiny bit loose but nothing major. I won't touch it. The aperture works fine. It seems this camera and lens were working properly but they were inadequately stored and eventually forgotten. The lens body is quite dirty.

Thanks,

[ismaelg]

Hello

The lens went back together! My flimsy home made spanner could not take it all apart, but I am planning on getting a real spanner wrench at some point. Will try again then. In the meantime, everything was cleaned and went back together.
By the way, these pictures were taken with my A 70-210 f4. Another favorite.











Under all that grime and dirt was a pristine lens. My theory is now stronger: This was a pristine working camera that was just abandoned. The focus ring feels a bit loose compared to other samples I have but no big deal.

Yes, it is the same lens.



Thanks,

[Aaron28]

nice work....looks really good

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Look who's getting dressed!



Thanks,

[Lhorn]

Great job on the lens! Looks like new.
Wish you well on the K1000. I bought a "untested" ME Super for cheap at an online auction and it wouldn't fire. I'm pretty handy but couldn't get it working. They're astoudningly complicated little buggers despite being 30 years old. I learned a little bit so I've give it a try again but I think I draw the line at removing the shutter box. That's above my pay grade.

[ismaelg]

Thanks!
I know what you mean. I'm still basically at the cosmetic and very light duty repairs stage. I don't dare getting too deep into disassembly. Just getting close to the point of no return.
However, friends and family think I'm an "expert". Some local pro photographers have come to me for basic maintenance of lenses and bodies, especially sensor cleaning. A while ago I cleaned the sensor of a pro Sony video rig. That was a bit intimidating, especially when he told me it was over $8,000
I've been lucky with this one as it seems than other than the stuck mirror issue everything else is working.

Thanks,

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Well folks,

IT IS DONE!

Well, it is never done but it is time for the reveal. The more I worked on this camera the stronger my theory that it was just abandoned while in pristine condition.
The K1000 has a place in my heart as it was my first real camera bought new in 1989. Still have it and use it. I ended up with 2 others over the years, so this is now #4.






My self inflicted damage on the top bothers me a bit but that was a lesson painfully learned.




Still need to paint the sanded down areas.



Put a fresh battery and the meter works! The stuck battery door did not allow previous testing.
The light seals look like they are still holding on.
While it is never "done", it is ready for a test.

By the way I tested the lens in a DSLR:

The contrast is not the best but it is sharp


As expected, a little post process can make it pop.


Still pending a few more bits like painting the sanded down rust areas, cleaning the original strap, check for the light seals performance, etc.
This was a fun exercise and a good learning experience. It looks good but still has some patina showing its age.

I will now be on the lookout for "left for dead" K1000s

What do you think?
Thanks,

[Aaron28]

nice work!

[arnold]

A good effort and another Pentax saved.

[Grippy]

Top effort mate. Def a worthwhile project. How long till you run some film through the old girl?
I rescued my long lost SP500 a couple of years back, I bought it late 80's for school, I thought it was long gone and found it at my brothers house, it needed a little maintenance (not as much as yours) and is good as gold.

[Xmas]

Hello!

I turned my attention towards the top cover. It was quite ugly and looked like it was pitted. So I started cleaning it and noticed it was really bad in the rewind knob side. In the search for perfection I may have gotten a little way too overly excited with the metal polish and got down to the brass. DUH! We are all allowed a stupid moment every once in a while.


You can see at the lower front I stopped before getting down to the brass but there is still some minor pitting.


However, the other side, the prism housing and the hot shoe cleaned up beautifully!










While it looks way better now, I'm a little sad I inflicted some damage, although only cosmetic.

Thanks,

6B graphite pencil and qtips works well!

[ismaelg]

Hello!

Took it out for some dry testing (no film in it yet).

Good news:
-All shutter speeds work and "sound" ok. (it may need calibration)
-Meter works and seems accurate
-Lens works properly. It feels a bit loose compared to other copies I have of the same lens, but definitely usable.
-No extra parts when put together or missing parts for that matter
-Viewfinder is usable despite not been perfectly clean and some de-silvering of the prism.

Not so good news:
-Every once in a while, (maybe one in 12 or something) the mirror gets stuck up but the next frame completes the cycle.
-The biggest issue is that the hot shoe is not working. The flash sync port is not working either. I disassembled it again and made sure the hot shoe area was ok. Actually took the hot shoe apart and cleaned it further, hoping it was a poor connection but did not work.
Looking into the manuals to see if there is anything I can try to fix it.

So at this stage, while far from perfect, it is usable enough to run a roll thru it and see what happens.

Thanks,

[ZombieArmy]

I love this thread. I hold the belief that people throw away far too many things that can be fixed, it's always worth a try.

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Finally ran a roll of film thru it. Mailing it now to Dwayne's for processing. I should have the results in a little over a week.

Thanks,