The Pentax K1000: A Cult Classic

 The Pentax K1000 was my first real camera. It was given to me by my parents when I was around 11 or 12 years old. This was before Google, YouTube, and the internet. The camera came with a few expired rolls of 12-exposure film. I quickly learned what not to do as I figured out how aperture and shutter speeds worked.

 

The K1000 is a stunningly simple and clean design. It is one of the most popular film cameras out there and was produced from 1976 until 1997. The K1000 is often recommended to students in film classes because it's simple and reliable. There are no unnecessary features to complicate photography. The camera is mechanical and only uses a battery for the light meter. I find I focus (no pun intended, or was it?) on composition more with the K1000 because I'm not worrying about settings, switches, and dials.

I sold my K1000 as a teenager to put gas in my car, but years later tracked it down and purchased it back. It's the camera on the right in the photo above. The K1000 SE came from the factory with a brown leatherette; a nice touch for a special edition. I still have and use my original K1000. Although it is in perfect working condition, I sent it in to be serviced last year just because it's getting harder to find good people to service these old film cameras. Now it should last me at least another 40 years. Here's a video review of my K1000:

New Camera this Year

I've been using the camera below, a K10D for the past 10 years. It was time to get a new one, so the K-1 arrived in the spring.

During the last 10 years before I acquired the K-1 I tried the K20D, K-x, K-5 II, K-50, K-3, K-70, and 645Z. None compared to the K10D though, until the K-1.

New Lens Test

There's not a better place to test a new lens other than Yellowstone National Park. I recently came across a lens I've been searching for during the last several years.

The lens is a Pentax F* 250-600 f/5.6. It's not a small lens, so a good tripod is needed.

Checking In...

I'm still taking photos, even if I'm not posting much. Here's a self-portrait while hoping things slow down a bit soon.

Why I Shoot Film

Film Photography

Although much hasn't been posted during the last few months I can assure you I'm still taking photographs. Slowing down to shoot a roll of film every now and then has helped me relax when I need a break from my master's program, fixing up the yard or house and other activities keeping me busier than I'd like.

Camping:

There's a lot of photos to show here, and I have more rolls waiting to be developed too.

Corn and bees, color and B&W film:

Others from the same roll that I liked:

Family:

A couple more and we're done for now:

A Recent Roll of Film

This roll of film was just recently developed and I'm excited to share the results. What do you think?

New Lens Test

Acquiring a new lens while down recovering from surgery was really difficult, but patiently waiting paid off. I was recently contacted by the previous owner of this lens in Canada. He wanted to trade it for one of my lenses. I was happy to oblige as I've been wanting this lens for a while; they're not very common since they've been discontinued for some time. Here's the first few shots with the Pentax FA* 24mm f/2 lens attached to my camera.

It's Been a While...

I usually don't say much in my posts and just let my pictures do the talking, but since I've been missing in action for some time I figured I'd let you know where I was. In bed. And physical therapy. I'm still in physical therapy for a while, but I'm getting out of bed now.

I had some extensive knee surgery repairing my meniscus and ACL and I'm on the road to recovery. While in bed late one night, and after the bandages and immobilizer brace was removed from my leg, I saw something moving in my lemon tree on the desk next to the bed. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures thinking when would I be in a situation like this again? Below are some photos and more details. In the coming weeks more posts will be coming, including a new lens test and a few other fun ones.

While watching this spider for a minute a mosquito flew in the open window and landed on the next to the tree. Without hesitation the spider jumped from the leaf to the wall, moved over to the mosquito, grabbed it and started eating the insect.

While stuffing the mosquito in his mouth I moved in a little closer to the spider, probably making it nervous. The spider then jumped to the pot holding the tree where I initially found him.

New Lens Test

After acquiring the Pentax FA* 80-200 f/2.8 lens (yes, I'm excited) last week from France I thought I'd share a few of the first pictures from it. Yes, it was shipped from France. This lens is quite rare, and it's been even more difficult to find one in the condition I wanted.

Using a 36-Year-Old Lens

One of the benefits of my camera system is the ability to use over one million older lenses without any adapters. Pentax has made some pretty nice lenses over the years and with their backward-compatibility it's simple to use some of their nicest lenses from the 70s and other eras on their newest cameras.

Here's an example below from a 36-year-old lens on my camera recently. I don't think it did too bad. What do you think?

New Lens Test

Today's post is about the Pentax DA 15mm f/4 Limited lens. It's small, built really well (all metal, like the other Limited lenses from Pentax), and resists sunlight flare like no other lens. A nice starburst is created when photographing bright lights. See for yourself below. What do you think?