Pentax K1000 Reviews

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Pentax K1000
4.4 stars
Average rating for this product is: 4.4 out of 5

From 5 ratings and 27 reviews

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Average Ratings for Pentax K1000

  • Photograph Quality4.6 stars
  • Features3.7 stars
  • Ease of Use4.8 stars
  • Value for Money4.6 stars
  • Reviewer Ratings4.4 stars
  • Overall Rating4.4 stars

27 Reviews For Pentax K1000

  • WWreese Rank: Corporal 22nd Dec 2008

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    Bad Points: It takes some manual adjusting. If you go on vacation and want to snap up quick memories or at a fast-moving event: not the camera.


    General comments: The K1000 is a therapeutic camera. You have to feel the subject and tweak and adjust to make a terrific photo, but is well worth it. I have old prints from the early 80's taken with the Pentax that simply look better than digital.
    I love this camera and, after many moves in the last 18 years, have made a point to hang onto this classic. The case is battered and torn, but this great little unit is still ready to go!! In fact, I am considering new accessories for the camera.

  • mike taylor 5th Oct 2008

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    First class for the serious photographer. Not for use for the snap happy. Although it's a bit heavy to carry around it's an excellent value for money camera.

  • joehanek 10th Sep 2008

    Reviewer rating: 5 stars


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    The Pentax K1000 is an excellent camera, I have had it for many years great for pro's and beginners. I have taken many wonderful photo's with this camera.

  • Ros Teuma 29th Jul 2008

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    I have had my Pentax K1000 since 1977 and it has never let me down. Picture quality is superb, especially close-ups, and I haven't yet found a digital camera at a comparable price to match it. It has been up mountains, in the desert, on the beach, on safari, been bounced and jolted - tough as old boots.

  • Guest 28th Jul 2008

    Reviewer rating: 4 stars


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    I really like the camera. It's easy to use and good for starting photographers. The camera is so simple and elegant. The pictures turn out great! It was a good purchase. The camera runs out of batteries quickly because there is no on or off switch. I recommend keeping it in a very dark area so doesn't waste batteries. Overall, it's a very nice camera to have around.

  • bobdole 1st Apr 2008

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    This is the best slr camera i have ever used and is built like a tank; it is increadibly robust and has never let me down.
    It doesnt have the widest array of features but for a simple slr nothing comes close in my opinion

  • quartermiler660 20th Dec 2007

    Reviewer rating: 5 stars


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    The only problem I've had with my Pentax K1000 was the TTL light meter quit working after several years of use, and the camera bag, ofcourse containing the Pentax somehow slipped under the air seat in my truck, and the steel scissoring arms that allow the seat to bounce up & down nailed it. Hit the prizm housing and dented it . It never had a light leak and at that point, the meter still worked. I finally got the meter repaired a few years back & the camera works like new. The repair fac ...

  • emai 20th Nov 2007

    Reviewer rating: 5 stars


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    It's a good camera and I have taken good photos, those photos I gave to the press. They put my photo on the front page....its my good point of my Pentax k1000.

  • nautilaz 18th Aug 2006

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    This has been my go-to camera for 3 years now after I moved up from a point and shoot. It's been great to get me acquainted with the use of an all-manual SLR. I've taken it on three different world-travels, though heavy in the bag, it has helped me progress in my overall skill. For travel purposes, the body is fine, but the lenses offered are not as durable (two of three are jammed). Being without batteries, the simple metering system is subject to problems in any kind of indoor situation. Tha ...

  • Sol 4th Jan 2006

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    Maybe it is a matter of getting used to it, but I think that the Pentax K1000 35mm SLR camera's exposure meter scale (in a viewfinder) is much simpler (no different flashing lights, etc, etc.), and that's why it is easier to use. Very handy!

    Also, compared to other brands manual cameras, I would choose Pentax because their manual focus lenses have got half a stop aperture bracketing, i.e. f5.6, f5.6 and a half, f8, f8 and a half, etc, which is an essential feature if you shoot slides and need ...

  • Steve Andrews Rank: Corporal 14th Dec 2005

    Reviewer rating: 4 stars


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    The Pentax K1000 35mm SLR camera was one of 3 cameras introduced by Pentax with the new K fitting lens. It was the most basic model in the range, but is simple and a joy to use. I have owned 2 of them. The first I bought new after using one of the college loaned K1000's. I traded it for a P50 (big mistake), and 10 years later found another K1000 cheap in a pawnbrokers shop.

    The parts are available for repairs, and there is a vast assortment of lenses, both secondhand and new that will fit it. ...

  • RY9 Team EMS Rank: Corporal 1st Oct 2005

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    I am a beginner manual photography student, and the Pentax K1000 35mm SLR camera is a great beginner camera to learn the basics on. I am only 18 years old, and even though this camera is older than me, the quality and reliability is great!

  • chrisshufordphotography 6th Dec 2004

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    Pentax K1000: I love this camera so much that I own two of them and own 9 different lenses for them. I have shot hundreds of weddings with these cameras over the years and refuse to give them up (even though I have 2 eos 50s and a nikon n65) The K1000 are still the cameras I would have if I could only pick one.

  • GANDALFcmk 15th Sep 2004

    Reviewer rating: 5 stars


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    To talk about the features of the Pentax K1000 in this age of bells and whistles probably misses the point. Since it burst on the scene in the early 70's, the attraction of the K1000 is that it's feature-less. Thousands of photography students for more than 25 years have been taking their first serious pictures with this camera. A quality camera? Reliabe? Durable? How many other camera models can you name that have been continually manufactured for a quarter of a century? Pentax produced its las ...

  • Rath69 28th Nov 2003

    Reviewer rating: 3 stars


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    The Pentax K1000 35mm SLR camera has a basic, simple design. So much so, it was made for twenty-plus years. Imitated by others for it's design. If you want to shoot time exposures, astrophotography, artistic capture of light and motion, or just plain weird stuff, this is your choice.
    I've owned one for twenty years, now have a second one, have bought three more for other people, and plan on getting third for myself in near future.
    Even one in need of repair is worth the time and repair cost.
    ...

  • chevron2003 1st Nov 2003

    Reviewer rating: 4 stars


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    If you want to learn the basics about photography go and find one of these. Mine has lasted twenty plus years and I am only selling it because I have been seduced by digital photography but my digital pictures will be all the better for having owned a K1000. A crying shame that they don't make them any more.

  • mikey P 24th Sep 2003

    Reviewer rating: 4 stars


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    I bought my Pentax K1000 in 1978 when I first started out in photography. The comprehensive manual got me off to a good start and very soon I was taking some really good photos. All the controls are foolproof and the meter simple to use. The camera is very forgiving and has survived being dunked in the sea and dropped down a cliff. After 25 years it has now had a new lease of life from my partner who seems to have adopted it and pours heaps of film through it, only using the Nikon F65 I bought h ...

  • Hart Cleeson. 4th Jul 2003

    Reviewer rating: 2 stars


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    The K1000 is an older manual focus camera that dates from the 1970s. Once the favorite of the student photographer because of its cost and simplicity, most examples are showing their age these days, somewhat offsetting the camera's strongest point - durability. The Pentax K used a lot of rubber and foam in the design and this usually needs replacing after 10-20 years to prevent light leaks and sticking shutter/mirror mechanisms.

    The main disadvantage of this camera lie in the fact that ...

  • Bart Keeper. 21st Jun 2003

    Reviewer rating: 5 stars


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    I purchased my first K1000 in 1982. (It was HIGHLY recommended by my college photography teacher) About five years later, I had discovered a complete tune-up and a new K1000 body were about the same price so I purchased a second body (with no regrets). Fortunately they have the metal casings on the top and bottom as they both have hit pavment and concrete on several occasions without any damage at all. I have tried other cameras that were more sophisticated, but have remained true to my K1000 ...

  • shutterbug. 21st May 2003

    Reviewer rating: 4.5 stars


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    The shutter is loud (which I like--makes me feel like each shot was a substantial commitment), the camera is pretty hefty (which means it's solid and dependable), the controls are idiot-proof, and with the lens adapters, it's one of the most versatile cameras ever made. What more can one ask from a camera? Like I said, they don't make'em like this anymore.

Product details

Main characteristics: Image Sensor Type: CCD Resolution: 6.31 Megapixel Camera Type: Standard Point and Shoot Lens: Interchangeable Lens: Not Interchangeable Le more details...