Pentax K1000 Se

I landed a Pentax K1000 SE for almost nothing! Everything, including the light meter, works perfectly; however the focusing screen looks like it died and went to hell! It appears as though someone tried to clean it with some sort of solvent, which practically ate through the surface; as a result, I need to find a replacement focusing screen, preferably for next to nothing. It doesn't have to be the SE version, with a split image, or even originally made for the K1000, so long as it fits. Anyone care to point me in the right direction? Any names of other brands/models of focusing screens, which will also fit the K1000, along with where they can most commonly be found, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I've already looked around on eBay, but no luck. Even "pentax-club" was all out. Any other ideas?

Go to Ebay and contact the seller: pentax-club ... He's been known to sell focusing screens for the K-Series.

2006-06-19 07:43:09 by Peter Pan

Pentax K1000 Men's and Women's Tees! www.spreadshirt.com This is an introduction to photography. Pentax K1000 at Amazon: www.amazon.com ...

I have a little digital camera right now, but I'm really interested in film and I've seen awesome pictures come out of it. I've been looking at the Nikon FM10, since its the cheapest of the two nikon film cameras and I own that brand of camera at the moment. Do you think you would be able to tell me a little about developing the photos and how difficult and time consuming it is to actually use one vs a digital camera? I've also seen some pictures taken with a pentax k1000 SE that I really thought looked cool. If possible, could you tell me how the two compare? Sorry, I'm very new to this, but very excited to learn!!!
PS I should also mention that if I weren't to get a film camera, I would probably go with Nikon D40. Any opinions on which I should buy? Clearly, the digital is much more expensive than the others, and must take great pictures, but do you know how they would compare with the film-style pictures I'm looking for? I am just so torn on what to do! :)

I think it is great that you are wanting to use film and learn. Contrary to what lots of kids think, film is still a very viable and used form or photography.

I won't go into developing your own film as the answer above me has already been given better than I could do. I don't know if you meant you actually want to develop your own film or not, but keep in mind, very few people develop their own color film. Home processing is typically only done with black and white film.

Frankly, just getting started, I would say trying to do either is too much to take on too soon. Just send your film out for processing. It is not that expensive for 35mm, and you can get digital scans done at time of processing so you will have files you can use on your computer. You can elect to have prints made or not made when you get the film developed.

As for the Nikon FM10. It is a great camera with which to learn with. Yes, it is a night and day difference between that and a point and shoot digital camera, (or for that matter a point and shoot film camera). The Nikon is ALL manual. It has a built in light meter, but it will not automatically set exposure for you. It will suggest if the settings you have in the camera will create an over or under exposed scene. It is up to you to adjust either the aperture or the shutter speed to correct for the exposure. It is manual focus, and manual film advance. The camera is CAPABLE of nice photography, but it is only as good as the person using it.

There is no way anyone here can teach you all you need to know in this little answer box. You are simply going to have to dig in and start reading and doing studying and research on your own and / or join a local photo club, or better yet, see if you can take a photography course at a local school. In most cases, they will require a camera exactly like the FM10, so you will have just what you need.

Using film will SLOW YOU DOWN AND MAKE YOU THINK. When you are paying for each shot, and you only have a set amount of shots per roll of film, you soon get out of the digital monkey mentality of just shooting lots of photos with no idea of what you are doing and hoping to get a few good shots out of a hundred or more. You learn proper composition and exposure and to think in terms of, "is this shot REALLY worth taking"?

When you become proficient with a film camera, you will have consistent, good photographs. Many of the people who shoot digital point and shoot cameras now with no idea of what they are doing are the same ones who in the past shot with film cameras and always expected half of their photos to "not come out good". The digital cameras try to take all thinking out of the equation, and provide average snap shots for the average user. Learn to use the Nikon FM10 correctly, and if you shoot a roll of 24 frames, you will get back 24 prints and negatives of which you can be proud, .... while the typical digital shooter will go out and shoot 100 shots of the same thing, sit in front of a computer for an hour, delete 90 of the crap shots, and have 10 that are half way worth keeping.

So it is up to you which method of photography to which you want to aspire.

I don't know how the Pentax compares to the Nikon, but it really does not matter. YOU are what matters. Any camera is only a tool. Learn what you need to know, and either camera will serve you well.

steve

ADD: Yes, the Nikon D40 is CAPABLE of taking great pictures, but again, .... you have to keep in mind that NO camera takes great pictures. Don't believe me? .... just set the camera down on a shelf and see what it does. It is YOU that has to learn to take great pictures. And you have to learn that on either the digital D40 or the film camera. One BIG difference between the two is as I mentioned in my original answer. With the film camera you will be much more likely to learn proper photography technique. You are PAYING every time you push the shutter button. You do not have a monitor to look at and see "if the picture is good or not". There is nothing wrong with digital in and of itself. It is great technology. The problem is it tends to make people lazy. They just shoot like a monkey and never bother to learn anything. "Take a hundred photos to try to get a few that are good". Keep the camera in AUTO so it can try to think for you, and thus give nothing more than average snapshots. Really not much better than a pocket point and shoot. So I still say if photography is REALLY important to you and you want to LEARN to use a camera properly, then the film camera is the way to go. The digital is just too much temptation to let it try to do all the thinking for you and give you only what IT wants to give you, NOT what you create with a film camera.

Start with the film camera. Learn the basics there. Then later if you want to move to a DSLR, you will have the knowledge and discipline to use it properly. You will be able to get great results from it while the great majority of others are only using it in AUTO like a big point and shoot and on here asking what "settings" they need to use to have "amazing" or "professional" looking photos. Too many people can't seem to understand that just having a camera is not going to magically give them great photos or make them a "professional". You could have a full set of dentist tools, but that would not make you a dentist.

Start out the right way with film, and you will advance far beyond just mindlessly pressing buttons on a DSLR, and as I said, the temptation is just too great for you to do that with digital.

2009-11-21 09:50:12 by Lynne

Works with: Acer CL-5300, Agfa Photo DV-5000G and Easy Pix SX. Replaces the Aiptek Brand ZCB-PKX Compatible USB Camera Cable: Aiptek Pocket V4100, Pocket DV4100M, Pocket DV4500, Pocket DV5100F, Pocket V5100M, Pocket DV5800, Pocket DV5900, PocketCam 4000, PocketCam X, Action HD, A-HD, A-HD Pro, A-HD+, DAM-Z5X, DZO-V3T, DZO-V5O, DZO-V5T, DUO-V39, DZO-V37, DZO-V58N, DZO-Z33, DZO-Z53, GO-HD, GO-HD+, HD-1, Hi-Speed HD, IS-DV, IS-DV2, IS-DV2+, IS-DV2.4, MZ-DV, P-HD, V5V and Zoom DV. Argus: DC-1620, DC-2250, DC-3185, DC-3270DV, DC-3500, DC-3510, DC-3515, DC-3520, DC-3530, DC-3550, DC-3640, QC-1620, QC-1730, QC-2185, QC-3185, QC-3270 DV and QC-5150. Canon: Replacement for the Canon IFC-400PCU and IFC-300PCU OEM USB Interface Cable and works with: Canon Powershot Series: PowerShot A10, PowerShot A20, A30, A40, A60, A70, A75, A80, A85, A95, A100, A200, A300, A310, A400, A410, A420, A430, A450, A460, A470, A510, A520, A530, A540, A550, A560, A570 IS, A580, A590 IS, A610, A620, A630, A640, 650 IS, A700, A710 IS, A720 IS, A1000 IS, A2000 IS, E1, G3, G5, G6, G7, G9, G10, Pro 1, S1 IS, S2 IS, S3 IS, S5 IS, S30, S40, S45, S50, S60, S70, S80, S300, S330, S400, S410, S500, SD10, D20, SD30, SD40 - Cradle Only, SD100, SD110, SD200, SD300, D330, SD400, SD430, SD450, SD500, SD550, SD600, SD630, D700 IS, SD750, SD770 IS, SD800 IS, SD850 IS, SD870 IS, SD880 IS, SD890 IS, SD900, SD950 IS, SD990 IS, SD1000, D1100 IS, SX10 IS, SX100 IS, SX110 IS, and TX1. Canon EOS Series: EOS 1D Mark II, EOS 1D Mark II N, EOS 1Ds Mark II, EOS 5D, EOS 10D, EOS 20D, EOS 30D, EOS 40D, EOS 400D, EOS Digital Rebel, EOS Digital Rebel XSi, EOS Digital Rebel XT and EOS Digital Rebel Xti. Canon Digital Series: Digital IXUS 30, IXUS 40, IXUS 55, IXUS 60, IXUS 65, IXUS 70, IXUS 75 , IXUS 80 IS, IXUS 85 IS, IXUS 90 IS, IXUS 300, IXUS 330, IXUS 400, IXUS 430, IXUS 500, IXUS 700, IXUS 750, IXUS 800 IS, IXUS 850 IS, IXUS 860 IS, IXUS 900 Ti, IXUS 960 IS, IXUS 970 IS, IXUS I, IXUS I Zoom, IXUS i5, IXUS i7 - Cradle Only.
We have already done all of our homework and all of the research for you, so you need not waste time doing it yourself! Simply locate the make and the model number of your digital camera or camcorder device from the following (alphabetically arranged by manufacturer) compatibility index, and you are in business!
Also Olympus: FE-115, FE-170, FE-210, FE-270, Ferrari camera dock, IR-300, IR-500, X-1, X-2, X-200, X-250, X-300 and X-400. Panasonic: Lumix Series: Lumix DMC-F7, DMC-FZ1, DMC-FZ2, DMC-FZ10, DMC-FZ10K, DMC-L1, DMC-L33, DMC-LC1, MC-LC20, DMC-LC33, DMC-LC40, DMC-LC43 and Lumix DMC-LC5. Panasonic Digital Cameras: PDC-3375, PDC-3510, PV-DV203, PV-GS39, PV-GS50, PV-GS59, PV-GS70, PV-GS80, PV-GS85, PV-GS180, PV-GS300, PV-GS500, SDR-H18, SDR-H20, SDR-H200, SDR-S100, SDR-S150, SV-AS10, SV-AV100, SV-AV25, VDR-D100, VDR-D105, VDR-D200, VDR-D230, DR-D250, VDR-D300 and VDR-D310. Pentax: Replacement for I-USB6 OEM compatible USB cable. Pentax Digital Cameras: Optio 30, Optio 330RS and Optio 430RS. Polaroid Digital Cameras: a500, a520, a550 and iON 230. Polaroid PhotoMax Series: PhotoMax PDC-1000, PDC-1050, PDC-1075, PDC-1320, PDC-2150, PDC-2300z, PDC-2350, PDC-2510, PDC-3350, PDC-4350 and PhotoMax PDC-4370. Ricoh Digital Cameras: Ricoh Caplio Series: Caplio GX, GX8, GX100, R4, R5, R6, R7, R10 and Caplio RR30. Ricoh GR Digital, GR Digital II and GX200. Samsung: Replacement for all of the following OEM USB Digital Cables: AD39-00073A , AD39-00073D , AD39-00073AG , AD39-00132A , AH39-00498AG and AH39-00589AG. Samsung Digimax Series: Digimax 35 MP3, 50DUO, 101, 200, 201, 202, 230, 240, 250, 300, 301, 330, 340, 360, 401, 410, 420, 530, 800K, U-CA 401, V3, V40 and Digimax X105L - Cradle Only. Samsung Digital Cameras: SC-D23, SC-D24, SC-D27, SC-D29, SC-D33, SC-D34, SC-D39, SC-D86, SC-D103, SC-D107, SC-D180, SC-D303, SC-D353, SC-D362, SC-D363, SC-D364, SC-D365, SC-D366, SC-D453, SC-D590, SC-D903, SC-D963, SC-D965, SC-D5000, SC-D6040, SC-D6550, SC-DC163, SC-DC164, SC-DC165, SC-DC563, SC-DC564, SC-DC565, SC-L700, SC-L770, SC-L870, SC-L901, SC-L907, SC-10S, SC-X205L, SC-X210L and Samsung SC-X220L. Sealife Digital Cameras: Reefmaster DC250, Reefmaster DC300 and Reefmaster DC310. Sharp Digital Cameras: VL-Z3U and VL-Z7U. Sigma Digital Cameras: SD-9, SD-10 and SD-14. SiPix StyleCam Blink II.