Man, do I miss my Pentax!
Written: Mar 25 '07 (Updated Mar 26 '07)
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Pros: Teaches photography; flexible; durable
Cons: No one uses film anymore
The Bottom Line: The best SLR camera out there for the money. Because it is completely manual and accepts common lenses, it is a very flexible camera.
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| HawgWyld's Full Review: Pentax K1000 35mm Film Camera |
I've been reminded lately how much I miss my old Pentax K-1000. Back when I was a reporter, I had a Pentax K-1000 back in the days before digital everything when we shot a lot of black and white photos, rolled our own film and developed our photos. My Pentax was one of the professions my ex-wife grabbed back during an event I like to call "The Great Divorce of 1998" (or, "The Day Young Hawg was Set Free"). I don't miss that woman, but I sure as hell miss my camera.
These days, I make my living as a public relations guy (actually, "media cat" is my preferred title, but I've been saddled with the cumbersome title of "director of media relations" by the powers that be where I work). I've been forced to struggle along with one of those blasted digital things -- a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3 -- at my current job. In terms of digital cameras, it's not very good, and it's downright horrible when stacked up against a piece of art like the Pentax K-1000.
Yeah, I know what you're saying. "But, Hawg! You haven't used a Pentax since that evil ex-wife of yours ran off with it nine years ago! Why are you writing a review of one of those things now? Haven't you forgotten what using one was like?"
No, I haven't forgotten. And, that's the point. I had the opportunity to use one a few days ago, and I was surprised that I hadn't forgotten much about the good ol' Pentax. Here's the thing about the Pentax K-1000 -- it will force you to learn how to take good pictures, and that knowledge is invaluable.
Here's what I mean. Back when I was taking photos with my Pentax for a newspaper, I didn't have the luxury of snapping off a ton of frames and hoped something worked well. No, if I wanted a great photo to match up with an article I was writing, I had to frame it up, set my focus just right, make sure I was using the right shutter speed and etc. before I took a photo. The thing about newspaper types is that they absolutely hate posed shots most of the time, and it was a real trick to get a good action shot -- and capture it the first time -- before the subjects moved and the photo was lost forever.
And, since the Pentax boasts absolutely no automatic features, you had to be comfortable enough with how to take a photograph to set up a shot quickly and grab it. In other words, the Pentax K-1000 provides you with a handy light meter, but you're on your own for absolutely everything else. Fortunately, the Pentax does help you out a bit.
First of all, there's the very helpful viewfinder -- what you see is what you get through that thing. This is a single reflex camera, after all, and that's kind of the point -- the image your about to take is mirrored into the viewfinder perfectly. The viewfinder has a nifty feature by way of a "circle" that lines up just right when you're photo is in focus. Also, the light meter lets you know if you have enough light for your photo. Naturally, the game changes when you've got a flash mounted, so you've got to set that manually, too, when you're in darker areas (if you get the right flash, however, that's pretty easy to set up, too). Also, the controls on the camera are very intuitive -- every lens I used was of the standard "twist to focus" variety with a little dial for the "F-Stop" (depth of field selection) right behind it. The shutter speeds are on a separate dial on the top of the camera. Setting things manually is a bit overwhelming at first, but it's easy when you get the hang of it.
I've even discovered that training on the old Pentax has come in handy with my blasted digital camera. Yes, I can take a lot of photos with the blasted Konica Minolta, but there's about a one-second delay after an image is captured before you can get another shot. So, composing things quickly is still essential. Also, since the Pentax did force me to take the time to set things up right, I found that I still have the knack of setting up shots so they are visually appealing. Using a Pentax K-1000 is sort of like going hunting with a black powder rifle -- black powder guys don't have the luxury of snapping off five shots rapidly, so they tend to take their time and make that one shot count. The Pentax teaches the same kind of patience, and that's a good skill for anyone engaging in professional photography to have.
Also, this camera can accept a ton of lenses that let you do everything from getting great long-distance shots with a zoom lens to putting on a macro lens to take a detailed photo of a butterfly. Yes, "flexibility" is the best way to describe this camera in not only the sheer number of lenses available, but in everything else.
The fact that no feature of this camera is automated allows a good photographer to be creative. Go ahead and take a photo that's a little blurry and dark if that's the look you want. Set a quick shutter speed to get a good action shot or select a slower one to get that "blurry" look that suggestions fast movement. Force some long shutter speeds to take an eerie picture of the moon or choose a long depth of field to get a fantastic landscape shot. The camera is, truly, only limited by the photographer's skill.
And, this thing is durable. It's a very simple device, indeed, and id crafted of a sturdy-feeling metal. I drug my Pentax through hell and back and the thing worked every time. Back when I rolled my own film, I just cut the end off at an angle and was able to feed it into the camera just fine. I wouldn't doubt that one of these cameras could last a lifetime if taken care of properly. I never had any trouble with mine, wasn't exactly gentle with it, and I fed literally hundreds of rolls of film through it.
Now, there is a major problem with this camera other than the fact that it's no longer in production. Yes, no one uses film these days. The world has gone digital, and cameras like the once ubiquitous Pentax K-1000 is becoming a symbol of a past era. That's too bad as this basic little camera has captured a lot of wonderful photos through the years and is the model on which a lot of great photographers honed their skills.
If you're serious about photography, you might want to find one of these things on eBay or something. The price isn't that high, and you'll not find anything that will allow you to take sharper, brighter pictures out there at about any price.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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HawgWyld
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Member: Ethan C. Nobles
Location: Benton, Ark.
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About Me:
The oxen are slow, but the earth is patient.
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