[Ranchu]

I don't think I've ever used a stop down lever, and I avoid the self timer on vintage cameras in case it stops in the middle. I'll stick with what I said, the mx has a goofy and prone to failure meter readout, and a soda can thin top plate. The KX has a bunch of junk where my fingers should be and match needle metering is lousy in use compared to the K1000's meter, with which you can almost meter using your peripheral vision. The rest need batteries to fire the shutterand/or now have a bunch of dirty contacts and pots in them. K1000 is the best, and worth what people pay for them. Just don't buy one without the AOCO logo on the front of the prism, alan84.

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Last edited by Ranchu; 03-18-2018 at 07:17 PM.

[Eyewanders]

I don't think I've ever used a stop down lever, and I avoid the self timer on vintage cameras in case it stops in the middle. I'll stick with what I said, the mx has a goofy and prone to failure meter readout, and a soda can thin top plate. The KX has a bunch of junk where my fingers should be and match needle metering is lousy in use compared to the K1000's meter, with which you can almost meter using your peripheral vision. The rest need batteries to fire the shutterand/or now have a bunch of dirty contacts and pots in them. K1000 is the best, and worth what people pay for them. Just don't buy one without the AOCO logo on the front of the prism, alan84.

Never used a dof preview? Sounds like zen shooting. Well, we can certainly disagree, though don't misunderstand me - I love the K1000, but I'd keep an MX any decade of the century first. When getting down to just the basics you're describing, I tend away from 135 format entirely and if longevity and build is at stake, even that meter isn't necessary and will fail before everything else. But now I'm really digressing. Cheers.

[Ranchu]

Cheers, happy shooting! I do wish the K1000 had easily removed focus screens like the MX, and the magnification is great too..

[redbirdpete]

I miss the DOF preview on my K1000. I used to have a KX but it disappeared during a move, and it was (for me) a considerably better camera. I was offered the K1000 for free - friend had kept it in their kitche drawer for years (!)

it's very worn externally, but all seems to work and I have run a couple of rolls of film through it. I may use it from time to time for nostalgic reasons, but its certainly not likely to see regular use. I will get it CLA'd though, then my son can probably use it after I've gone!

I do prefer the K series to the M series these days, my hands seem to need something bigger.

However, I've also recently acquired a 'non-working' z-1p - which needed a new battery - and that will be my goto film camera. It was £27 on fleabay with 4 other pentaxes, 2 others (an SF7 and a z-20) which also actually worked with fresh batteries and an SFX with broken autofocus drive that works fine in manual focus. The other one was the standard ZX-with-a-broken-pinion.

So, if you just want a film camera don't confine yourself to a K1000! There are bargains to be had.

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Last edited by redbirdpete; 03-29-2018 at 08:40 AM.