Black markings in finder of K1000

[4season]

For Japanese devices JIS is generally what you want, and Vessel-brand screwdrivers can be had at a very good price.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CED236

 

[What About Bob]

 

[What About Bob]

There are two sellers on eBay that have a prism replacement. The first seller is in Australia and states that the prism being sold is not a genuine Pentax part, whatever that means. The second seller is in the states but is selling the prism with the whole mirror box assembly and does state that there is normal wear and no extra information about the prism.

I am also looking over K1000 bodies for parts but no real idea if these bodies, many of them are dirt cheap, have prisms in them or if they may have been removed.

I am holding back with buying some tools until I can find a source for a prism with known condition. Would there be another brand of prism that would be compatible with the K1000 if I am unsuccessful in finding a Pentax one?

Thanks

 

[F4U]

What makes you think anything is wrong with the prism? Looks to me like a piece of foam has broken of and fell down and landed on the top of the focusing screen. All you need is set of Vessel JIS screwdrivers off ebay and a youtube video showing you how to take off the top panel and knobs so you can get to the topside of the focusing screen. Childs play. GL

 

[What About Bob]

What makes you think anything is wrong with the prism? Looks to me like a piece of foam has broken of and fell down and landed on the top of the focusing screen. All you need is set of Vessel JIS screwdrivers off ebay and a youtube video showing you how to take off the top panel and knobs so you can get to the topside of the focusing screen. Childs play. GL

Desilvering was mentioned. When I looked up that term I saw the same condition that I have in my finder and it led me to threads talking about the prism needing to be replaced. I'm still new to all of this repair stuff. If it is just stuck foam then that will be a relief. What I'll do then is just get the screwdrivers and open up the top and see what is what. I'll keep updated.

 

[F4U]

Desilvering was mentioned. When I looked up that term I saw the same condition that I have in my finder and it led me to threads talking about the prism needing to be replaced. I'm still new to all of this repair stuff. If it is just stuck foam then that will be a relief. What I'll do then is just get the screwdrivers and open up the top and see what is what. I'll keep updated.

Might be desilvering, but Idoubt it. I've worked on more camera than I can count and never seen desilvering look like that. Looks to me like a piece of foam has fallen on top of the focusing screen. All that old Japanese foam has decomposed and turns into a mess. The beauty is that the K1000 was a camera they made a trillion of. They're not a bad camera at all, but they have no market value. The only wat to find out is get a set of cheap JIS screwdrivers and maybe a cheap ebay spanner wrench set and open it up. Nice camera actually. I'm not disparaging it, so don't misunderstand. But for years it wast the most popular 35mm and they made a trillion of them. What have you got to lose by opening it up for a look-see? You can pick up another K1000 for practically nothhng.GL and Regards