Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-12-2019, 08:12 AM
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For some reason Pentax used a pinkish/cream coloured foam as a gasket around the prism edges on the Spotmatics. Presumably it helped keep dust out of the gap between the prism and the focusing screens. Of course it turns to goo, and is a nightmare to clean off the focus screen or prism if you have to get in there.
But the worst is that foam bumper found on top of the prisms in the later K1000s (Chinese production especially). These cameras are now 20+ years old, and the foam degrades and eats its way through the prism silvering. That said, a lot of materials used to hold down prisms in lots of cameras are prone to eating through the prism silvering - but I think those late K1000s hold the record for speed.
My advice is to anyone with a K1000 apart is to replace that pad with something a bit more durable and remove the old adhesive off the prism top. It's getting hard to find replacement prisms these days - and a little ironic that more than once I have had to replace a '90s K1000 prism with a salvaged Spotmatic prism!
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