Upgrading from K1000

**ChrisPlatt** · 10-11-2017, 11:27 AM

Interestingly the Ricoh XR-7 uses an LCD readout to simulate the analog "needle" on scale display for the exposure meter.
More shockproof than a jeweled meter movement but more likely to suffer LCD bleed as it ages...

Chris

**TwoUptons** · 10-13-2017, 05:17 PM

I originally upgraded my K1000 to a Super Program in the mid-80s. TTL flash, program and aperture priority exposure... it did everything but focus and wind... or it could be totally manual...

I used the daylights out of that camera. It was a really good feature set in a great form factor.

But now I’d probably get a ZX-L or something with AF... because now I’m old 😛

And I still have the K1000...

-Eric

**Photos-by-Chas** · 10-16-2017, 03:20 PM

Originally posted by TwoUptons

I originally upgraded my K1000 to a Super Program in the mid-80s. TTL flash, program and aperture priority exposure... it did everything but focus and wind... or it could be totally manual...

I used the daylights out of that camera. It was a really good feature set in a great form factor.

But now I’d probably get a ZX-L or something with AF... because now I’m old 😛

And I still have the K1000...

-Eric

When I upgraded my K1000 SE (me being pretentious) I bought a DSLR istDL. Since then I moved to the K-x which I'm still using.

LesDMess · 10-16-2017, 05:11 PM

Originally posted by ChrisPlatt

Interestingly the Ricoh XR-7 uses an LCD readout to simulate the analog "needle" on scale display for the exposure meter.
More shockproof than a jeweled meter movement but more likely to suffer LCD bleed as it ages...

Chris

When Nikon introduced the F3, they even said that the LCD was going to fail in a relatively short time and made it easy to replace in anticipation of it. Here we are >30 years later and mine is still perfect and so is the XR-7. So, I am not really sure how the failure happens but so far so good.

**ChrisPlatt** · 10-17-2017, 01:22 PM

Some models I check on the used market are notorious for their LCD bleed problems, e.g. Nikon F4 and Ricoh GR1 models.
So common is it that LCD display is faulty experienced sellers often include this information as part of the description on eBay.

Chris

sonygoup · 11-13-2017, 04:29 PM

Thanks for all the advise friends but I'm going to buy a range finder and keep the k1000

**TwoUptons** · 11-17-2017, 03:07 PM

Oh, we can give you lots of advice about those, too 😜

I have a Fed2 I think is swell, and a Petri Color 35 that has a superb lens...

-Eric

**Photos-by-Chas** · 11-19-2017, 08:04 PM

Originally posted by TwoUptons

I have a ... Petri Color 35 that has a superb lens...

-Eric

I started my SLR photography with a Petri FT and found is an excellent camera, used it on two Med Cruises and for several years after. Tried taking some partial eclipse photos with it through a 400 mm lens and I think that burned a couple small holes in the primary shutter curtain so quit using it until I could replace it with another FT. In the interim I purchased a Pentax K1000 SE. I managed to obtain another Petri and through a little bartering got a CLA on it and a couple lenses. Still have that camera with a good collection of lenses for it. What a workhorse it is.

**ChrisPlatt** · 11-20-2017, 08:57 AM

The Petri Color 35 is an all-around terrific camera.
The viewfinder is exceptional for such a small camera.
Almost pocketable, but with little plastic it's no lightweight.

A small fixed-lens 35 is great for when you don't want to lug around an SLR.

Chris

**cpk** · 11-22-2017, 07:01 PM

Originally posted by Lord Lucan

By having tried to challenge Nikon's and Canon's dominance in the professional market?

Although Pentax has been very innovative in many areas of SLR/DSLR photography (including the LX, especially including the LX), it has always been my feeling that they have lagged behind Nikon and Canon in going after the professional market. From what I read back then a good number of professionals were using the MX until the LX appeared, which was around the time of the Nikon F3 (the third generation of the F series). You can see the same delay in the field of digital models. The K10D was a long time coming in respect to what Nikon and Canon offered at that time. So too the K1. The Pentax products have always been good but it's been a bit of a catchup game.

Added: Sorry. I had to address the comment I quoted. It's something I have thought for over 30 years.

In respect to the issue of upgrading from the K1000, I forget which of my cameras, the LX or the MX, came first (the LX I think); but I replaced the K1000 (my first Pentax) with one of the other two because of the ability to change the viewfinder screen to the one showing a squared pattern. I was doing copy work of an artist friend's paintings at the time and beginning to do architectural photography.

Lord Lucan · 11-23-2017, 07:25 AM

Originally posted by cpk

Although Pentax has been very innovative in many areas of SLR/DSLR photography ... it has always been my feeling that they have lagged behind Nikon and Canon in going after the professional market.

It is not a feeling, it is a fact. When digital came along, Pentax like everyone else had a fresh start in the competitive sales race. Sony for example, combining with Minolta, seized the opportunity and produced a FF in 2008, and came from nowhere to being Number 3. Canon of course had produced a FF DSLR in 2001, and Nikon in 2007. Pentax however waited agonisingly until the middle of the next decade before following suit, by which time any hope of becoming a mainsteam professional system had long gone.

While the professional market is tiny, the use of a system by professionals adds credibility to it and helps sales to serious amateurs. It seems that Pentax consequently now lacks that kudos, as in the thread on "Are we really THAT rare?" thread here.

I had given up hope of ever seeing a FF pentax DSLR, and one theory about Pentax's attitude I heard about 5 years ago was that if you wanted a bigger format than APS-C you should buy a 645.

**gofour3** · 11-24-2017, 09:37 AM

Originally posted by cpk

Although Pentax has been very innovative in many areas of SLR/DSLR photography (including the LX, especially including the LX), it has always been my feeling that they have lagged behind Nikon and Canon in going after the professional market. From what I read back then a good number of professionals were using the MX until the LX appeared, which was around the time of the Nikon F3 (the third generation of the F series). You can see the same delay in the field of digital models. The K10D was a long time coming in respect to what Nikon and Canon offered at that time. So too the K1. The Pentax products have always been good but it's been a bit of a catchup game.

Pentax had the 645 and 6x7 series alongside the LX, so they really had three professional "systems" on the market at once.

Probably too much to concentrate on at once when Nikon/Cannon did not do Medium Format and just had profession models in 35mm.

Phil..

**cpk** · 11-25-2017, 12:15 PM

Originally posted by gofour3

Pentax had the 645 and 6x7 series alongside the LX, so they really had three professional "systems" on the market at once.

Probably too much to concentrate on at once when Nikon/Cannon did not do Medium Format and just had profession models in 35mm.

Good points, Phil. I was thinking only 35mm when I wrote my comments. At that time, however, Hasselblad was considered the professional choice, at least by most professionals, for medium format. In fact, I bought my Mamiya 645 and lenses after the original owner traded them in for, guess what, a Hasselblad. I got a very good deal.

leekil · 11-25-2017, 11:11 PM

I don't know, the LX came out in 1980, the 645 didn't come out until 1984. I'm not sure that's a lot of overlap that would affect the production of lenses & accessories for either. The 67 had been out for 15 years when the 645 was introduced, that system was pretty mature and maybe didn't require a lot of development in the 80's.

**gofour3** · 11-26-2017, 11:41 AM

Originally posted by leekil

the 645 didn't come out until 1984

The A Series also came out in 1983/84, so that was a few more new 35mm bodies and a slew of new A series lenses. On top of the new 645 gear, Pentax was also releasing new 6x7 lenses and redesigning existing ones.

That's a lot of new gear for a camera company, compared to the trickle Pentax releases yearly these days.

Phil.

11-22-2017, 07:01 PM	#25
cpk Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Montreal Posts: 638	Originally posted by Lord Lucan By having tried to challenge Nikon's and Canon's dominance in the professional market? Although Pentax has been very innovative in many areas of SLR/DSLR photography (including the LX, especially including the LX), it has always been my feeling that they have lagged behind Nikon and Canon in going after the professional market. From what I read back then a good number of professionals were using the MX until the LX appeared, which was around the time of the Nikon F3 (the third generation of the F series). You can see the same delay in the field of digital models. The K10D was a long time coming in respect to what Nikon and Canon offered at that time. So too the K1. The Pentax products have always been good but it's been a bit of a catchup game. Added: Sorry. I had to address the comment I quoted. It's something I have thought for over 30 years. In respect to the issue of upgrading from the K1000, I forget which of my cameras, the LX or the MX, came first (the LX I think); but I replaced the K1000 (my first Pentax) with one of the other two because of the ability to change the viewfinder screen to the one showing a squared pattern. I was doing copy work of an artist friend's paintings at the time and beginning to do architectural photography. Last edited by cpk; 11-22-2017 at 07:20 PM. Reason: Added comments.

11-23-2017, 07:25 AM	#26
Lord Lucan Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: South Wales Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,960	Originally posted by cpk Although Pentax has been very innovative in many areas of SLR/DSLR photography ... it has always been my feeling that they have lagged behind Nikon and Canon in going after the professional market. It is not a feeling, it is a fact. When digital came along, Pentax like everyone else had a fresh start in the competitive sales race. Sony for example, combining with Minolta, seized the opportunity and produced a FF in 2008, and came from nowhere to being Number 3. Canon of course had produced a FF DSLR in 2001, and Nikon in 2007. Pentax however waited agonisingly until the middle of the next decade before following suit, by which time any hope of becoming a mainsteam professional system had long gone. While the professional market is tiny, the use of a system by professionals adds credibility to it and helps sales to serious amateurs. It seems that Pentax consequently now lacks that kudos, as in the thread on "Are we really THAT rare?" thread here. I had given up hope of ever seeing a FF pentax DSLR, and one theory about Pentax's attitude I heard about 5 years ago was that if you wanted a bigger format than APS-C you should buy a 645. Last edited by Lord Lucan; 11-23-2017 at 07:32 AM. Reason: Clarity

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10-11-2017, 11:27 AM	#16
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,692	Interestingly the Ricoh XR-7 uses an LCD readout to simulate the analog "needle" on scale display for the exposure meter. More shockproof than a jeweled meter movement but more likely to suffer LCD bleed as it ages... Chris

10-13-2017, 05:17 PM	#17
TwoUptons Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,210	I originally upgraded my K1000 to a Super Program in the mid-80s. TTL flash, program and aperture priority exposure... it did everything but focus and wind... or it could be totally manual... I used the daylights out of that camera. It was a really good feature set in a great form factor. But now I’d probably get a ZX-L or something with AF... because now I’m old 😛 And I still have the K1000... -Eric

10-16-2017, 03:20 PM	#18
Photos-by-Chas Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Northwest Pennsylvania, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,318	Originally posted by TwoUptons I originally upgraded my K1000 to a Super Program in the mid-80s. TTL flash, program and aperture priority exposure... it did everything but focus and wind... or it could be totally manual... I used the daylights out of that camera. It was a really good feature set in a great form factor. But now I’d probably get a ZX-L or something with AF... because now I’m old 😛 And I still have the K1000... -Eric When I upgraded my K1000 SE (me being pretentious) I bought a DSLR istDL. Since then I moved to the K-x which I'm still using.

10-16-2017, 05:11 PM	#19
LesDMess Pentaxian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,235	Originally posted by ChrisPlatt Interestingly the Ricoh XR-7 uses an LCD readout to simulate the analog "needle" on scale display for the exposure meter. More shockproof than a jeweled meter movement but more likely to suffer LCD bleed as it ages... Chris When Nikon introduced the F3, they even said that the LCD was going to fail in a relatively short time and made it easy to replace in anticipation of it. Here we are >30 years later and mine is still perfect and so is the XR-7. So, I am not really sure how the failure happens but so far so good.

10-17-2017, 01:22 PM	#20
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,692	Some models I check on the used market are notorious for their LCD bleed problems, e.g. Nikon F4 and Ricoh GR1 models. So common is it that LCD display is faulty experienced sellers often include this information as part of the description on eBay. Chris

11-13-2017, 04:29 PM	#21
sonygoup New Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Caribbean Sea Posts: 19 Original Poster	Thanks for all the advise friends but I'm going to buy a range finder and keep the k1000

11-17-2017, 03:07 PM	#22
TwoUptons Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,210	Oh, we can give you lots of advice about those, too 😜 I have a Fed2 I think is swell, and a Petri Color 35 that has a superb lens... -Eric

11-19-2017, 08:04 PM	#23
Photos-by-Chas Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Northwest Pennsylvania, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,318	Originally posted by TwoUptons I have a ... Petri Color 35 that has a superb lens... -Eric I started my SLR photography with a Petri FT and found is an excellent camera, used it on two Med Cruises and for several years after. Tried taking some partial eclipse photos with it through a 400 mm lens and I think that burned a couple small holes in the primary shutter curtain so quit using it until I could replace it with another FT. In the interim I purchased a Pentax K1000 SE. I managed to obtain another Petri and through a little bartering got a CLA on it and a couple lenses. Still have that camera with a good collection of lenses for it. What a workhorse it is.

11-20-2017, 08:57 AM	#24
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,692	The Petri Color 35 is an all-around terrific camera. The viewfinder is exceptional for such a small camera. Almost pocketable, but with little plastic it's no lightweight. A small fixed-lens 35 is great for when you don't want to lug around an SLR. Chris

11-24-2017, 09:37 AM	#27
gofour3 Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,089	Originally posted by cpk Although Pentax has been very innovative in many areas of SLR/DSLR photography (including the LX, especially including the LX), it has always been my feeling that they have lagged behind Nikon and Canon in going after the professional market. From what I read back then a good number of professionals were using the MX until the LX appeared, which was around the time of the Nikon F3 (the third generation of the F series). You can see the same delay in the field of digital models. The K10D was a long time coming in respect to what Nikon and Canon offered at that time. So too the K1. The Pentax products have always been good but it's been a bit of a catchup game. Pentax had the 645 and 6x7 series alongside the LX, so they really had three professional "systems" on the market at once. Probably too much to concentrate on at once when Nikon/Cannon did not do Medium Format and just had profession models in 35mm. Phil..

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11-25-2017, 12:15 PM	#28
cpk Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Montreal Posts: 638	Originally posted by gofour3 Pentax had the 645 and 6x7 series alongside the LX, so they really had three professional "systems" on the market at once. Probably too much to concentrate on at once when Nikon/Cannon did not do Medium Format and just had profession models in 35mm. Good points, Phil. I was thinking only 35mm when I wrote my comments. At that time, however, Hasselblad was considered the professional choice, at least by most professionals, for medium format. In fact, I bought my Mamiya 645 and lenses after the original owner traded them in for, guess what, a Hasselblad. I got a very good deal.

11-25-2017, 11:11 PM	#29
leekil Pentaxian Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Albums Posts: 2,003	I don't know, the LX came out in 1980, the 645 didn't come out until 1984. I'm not sure that's a lot of overlap that would affect the production of lenses & accessories for either. The 67 had been out for 15 years when the 645 was introduced, that system was pretty mature and maybe didn't require a lot of development in the 80's.

11-26-2017, 11:41 AM	#30
gofour3 Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,089	Originally posted by leekil the 645 didn't come out until 1984 The A Series also came out in 1983/84, so that was a few more new 35mm bodies and a slew of new A series lenses. On top of the new 645 gear, Pentax was also releasing new 6x7 lenses and redesigning existing ones. That's a lot of new gear for a camera company, compared to the trickle Pentax releases yearly these days. Phil.