Originally posted by Tool_Horder There is no plot to thicken, no conspiracy theory and no distributor modifying Pentax cameras. If it was Honeywell that did the modification why were the same cameras available internationally?
Yes all the Pentax K1000's have the same sensitivity range and yes the only difference is the focusing screen, covering and 2 year warranty. They were not modified by a distributor and were an actual Pentax product assembled on their Hong Kong assembly line. Why would a distributor go to all the trouble of disassembling a camera to change the focus screen? You talk of using left over parts - where do you think 70% on the internals of a KM, KX and K1000 come from. They are exactly the same parts as used in the Spotmatics. Even the K1000 light meter is only a very slightly modified Spotmatic meter. It's a simple question of economics of manufacturing. They had a mechanism that they had ironed all the bugs out of and had stood the test of time as well as having all the tooling set up. If you think about it it is quite obvious why Pentax did it the way they did. By using the sticker none of their manufacturing process had to change, use a standard top plate pressing. The K1000 is just a stripped down version of a KM and KX (different in prism area but main mechanism the same) which was produced for a budget. If a manufacturer was manufacturing a product based on budget would they introduce another change in the production process and make a special part? Even a minor variation on the standard production run that only added a few minutes to the production process per item adds up to quite a large expense when taken over thousands of bodies. Where do you think the bump on top of the early K1000 bodies come from? - it is a small brass cover soldered on to cover the hole in the top plate where the light meter switch protrudes on the KX and the same press was used for all 3 cameras. After the KX was discontinued is when the K1000 bodies lost the bump on top as no doubt Pentax changed the dies to save a little more time in the production process of the remaining bodies as the hole was no longer needed. You will also notice that the late variants of KM's also lost their little bump. This is why K1000SE serial numbers work in batches within the standard serial number range of K1000's rather than having their own range of numbers. If you look at all of Pentax's manufacturing from the pre-spotmatic days it is exactly the same. Each new model is identical to the last variation of the previous model as far as the major components go with extra new features added or changed. All through the years the main changes in the Pentax's camera's design were relating primarily to aperture mechanism and metering.
A couple extra points:
- Honeywell stopped being the Pentax US distributor just after the K Series came out so it would then be Pentax USA that did the mods.
- I have been using and collecting Pentax gear, brochures, manuals & price lists for the last 40 years and a K1000SE is never listed. (I did see a K1000SE ad printed by Pentax USA, but not a worldwide brochure) I'm also quite ware of the differences between the K Series camera models as I own all of them. I just find it very strange you can't see a K1000SE listed anywhere "official".
The whole SE thing is too mickey mouse to come from Japan and reeks of a local modification. There is nothing extra to assembly in HK as they were already making a regular K1000.
Any distributor could have a batch of K1000's in a s/n range, add a screen then engrave a SE on it and sell it as an advanced model with an extra year warranty. Recovering the leatherette is also no big deal.
Anyways that's my take on the K1000SE, if you have proof that a SE was listed in a Pentax Japan produced brochure then I will change my opinion at that time.
Phil.