HELLLLLLLP! Pentax manual SLR bodies: K1000 vs. KM vs. KX

Helios 1984 · Feb 22, 2017

Forrest Conifer said:
Bought it. Hooray! Thanks, everyone.

Now you have to get proper Pentax lenses, something like a Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 (or f2) and a 135mm f3.5. If you want to try screwmount lenses, you can do it with a m42 to k mount adapter (I prefer the genuine Pentax and 3rd parties like Jessop but a Chinese el cheapo will do the job too). Hope you'll enjoy your camera

Happy shooting.

GRHazelton · Feb 22, 2017

I have a K 1000 and a KX and 3 MXs.

The K1000 needs depth of field preview and a center-weighted meter and a proper power switch. It is often grossly overpriced in response to its status as a student camera.

IMHO the only thing lacking with the KX is a motor/winder capability. Otherwise what's not to like? DOF preview, mirror lockup, shutter and aperture visible in finder. Some don't like coupling the wind lever position with the power switch, could be bad for lefties. I got mine in Excellent condition with a f 1.4 50mm for a little over $100. But they aren't common.

While I love the form factor, winder, viewfinder, etc of the MX all of mine eat the meter cells like candy. Yes, I've checked the tiny switch under the base plate. And the shutter speed dial is really stiff on all of mine. Gotta send them all off to Eric.

dmr · Feb 22, 2017

flavio81 said:
Let's leave the K1000s to the hipsters and to the uninformed.

So? Which am I then? A hipsta? Uninformed?

Helios 1984 · Feb 22, 2017

flavio81 said:
+1

Let's leave the K1000s to the hipsters and to the uninformed. The prices are higher than KX and KM which is absurd!
The KM and KX are superior cameras, as are the K2 (although the K2 is an electronic camera).

Pop Culture Icon, other cameras have more options but they don't have this specific feature. Cameras like the K1000, the Rolleicord, the Yashica Electro 35 and Polaroid instant cameras are shining a light over film, which is a very very good thing.

flavio81 · Feb 22, 2017

dmr said:
So? Which am I then? A hipsta? Uninformed?

You are Daria Morgendorffer.

The K1000 is a nice camera, if you got one for a fair price then no problem! What I mean is that currently the K1000 is more expensive that the KX, which I consider illogical, and if that's the case, only the 'uninformed' would go for a K1000 instead of a KX or KM.

flavio81 · Feb 22, 2017

GRHazelton said:
The K1000 needs depth of field preview and a center-weighted meter and a proper power switch. It is often grossly overpriced in response to its status as a student camera.

This is what i was referring to. Currently, it is grossly overpriced.
Curiously, the Pentax Spotmatics are lower priced than a K1000 right now, and for me the Spotmatic is better built than most of the K1000s (perhaps the Made in Japan K1000 is comparable, but I haven't found one yet.) Also, the Spotmatic SP was the top of the line Pentax SLR for many years, while the K1000 was from the beginning the bottom-of -the-line K-mount pentax.

Pioneer · Feb 22, 2017

I own at least one version of the Pentax K series cameras from the 70s. They are all great cameras and I do take all of them out for a walk and a roll at least once a year.

But guess which one gets used all the time.

Les Sarile · Feb 22, 2017

flavio81 said:
This is what i was referring to. Currently, it is grossly overpriced.

But compared to a $4,000+ Leica MP it is grossly underpriced even though they have similar specs. And the Leica MP doesn't have DOF preview either. . .

dmr · Feb 22, 2017

flavio81 said:
You are Daria Morgendorffer.

LOL, at least SOMEBODY gets that one!

The K1000 is a nice camera, if you got one for a fair price then no problem!

Well, I got mine ca. 1980 and I honestly forget exactly what I paid for it. It's been my primary film camera for many years and it's held up well. It looks like my current issues can all be attributed to lens flakiness.

flavio81 · Feb 22, 2017

dmr said:
Well, I got mine ca. 1980 and I honestly forget exactly what I paid for it. It's been my primary film camera for many years and it's held up well. It looks like my current issues can all be attributed to lens flakiness.

Ms. Morgendorffer,

If the K1000 is showing focus issues and you don't have many K-mount lenses, I suggest you should try the Pentax Spotmatic while prices are still cheap. Pentax M42 lenses are beautiful and extremely well built. Not to mention the possibility of using great Carl Zeiss Jena lenses, Fujinon lenses, etc.

PS: http://wifflegif.com/tags/59597-daria-morgendorffer-gifs

Chan Tran · Feb 22, 2017

Les Sarile said:
But compared to a $4,000+ Leica MP it is grossly underpriced even though they have similar specs. And the Leica MP doesn't have DOF preview either. . .

In my opinion if the K1000 is selling for more than $100 then it's grossly overpriced even compared to the MP

Les Sarile · Feb 22, 2017

Chan Tran said:
In my opinion if the K1000 is selling for more than $100 then it's grossly overpriced even compared to the MP

And that is why there are a great variety to choose from . . .

dmr · Feb 23, 2017

flavio81 said:
If the K1000 is showing focus issues and you don't have many K-mount lenses, I suggest you should try the Pentax Spotmatic while prices are still cheap. Pentax M42 lenses are beautiful and extremely well built. Not to mention the possibility of using great Carl Zeiss Jena lenses, Fujinon lenses, etc.

Well, the thing is ... (to make a long story long ...) I used to have a Spotmatic, and I had a prime 28 and a prime 135 as well as the stock lens. I got tired of unscrewing and screwing in the lenses so I traded for a K1000. I got even more lazy soon after I got that and got a zoom.

Quite honestly, I've gotten more than my money's worth out of that system as two of the lenses I have are now consistently inconsistent in focus. I may just donate it to Goodwill or something cuz I'm really more interested in shooting than I am futzing around with test targets and test rolls and such and I think it's probably approaching the end of useful life as a primary camera.

Jon Shumpert · Feb 23, 2017

I own both a K1000 and an MX. I prefer the MX because it shows shutter speed and aperture in the viewfinder, and has a brighter finder. The MX is compact, but can seem too small to someone with large hands. I sometimes put a winder on the MX just to make it feel bigger in my hands. I rarely use the winder to advance the film, because it can be a little noisy. The K1000 is actually my wife's camera, but she doesn't use it any more. Once she married me, I became the official family photographer. The K1000 does have sentimental value though, because my wife took a photography class to learn how to use it. I was the instructor, and that is how we met. I have sold many film cameras over the years, but the K1000 will stay because of it's meaning and because I will teach my son photography with the same camera. You can't go wrong with any of the three you listed, or with an MX. Good luck.

Jon Shumpert · Feb 23, 2017

Here is a photo of the K1000 next to the MX to give an idea of the size comparison.

Sharktooth · Jan 19, 2025

Pentax introduced the K series cameras to replace the Spotmatic series. The Spotmatics used the m42 lens screw mount, which had been extremely popular for many years, but was now losing sales to bayonet mount lenses that were faster and easier to install. Pentax saw the writing on the wall, so had to make their own bayonet lens mount, called the K mount, in order to stay competitive in the camera market.

The K series cameras introduced the K mount, but were similar in size to the previous Spotmatics. There were different Spotmatic models at different price points. The Spotmatic F (SPF) was the top of the line manual exposure model, and the ES II was the electronic model with auto exposure. The KX replaced the Spotmatic F as the top end manual exposure model. The K2 replaced the ES II as the auto exposure electronic model. The K2 was the most expensive camera, due to the electronics, as was the previous ES II.

The other K mount cameras were just stripped down versions of the KX, to sell at lower price points. The K1000 was the "cheapo" basic "no frills" model. The KM was the middle model that had a few more features than the K1000, but not as many as the KX. The K1000 became extremely popular due to it's low price. It had all the features that were needed by most users on a budget.

The Olympus OM-1 was already in the marketplace when Pentax released the K series cameras, so they were still under pressure to introduce smaller cameras to compete with the OM-1. Pentax did that by introducing the M series cameras a year or two later. The MX became the top of the line manual exposure camera, and the ME became the auto exposure model. The K series was quickly ended, except for the K1000, that remained as the low budget option for many years.

The Pentax KM and KX models are not that common, since they weren't in production very long. The K2 is a bit more common since it was a bit more "high end" than the ME, and was also available with a motor drive for the K2 DMD. Pentax resolved this by introducing the LX as a true professional grade compact camera.

Kodachromeguy · Jan 19, 2025

Sharktooth said:
Pentax introduced the K series cameras to replace the Spotmatic series. The Spotmatics used the m42 lens screw mount, which had been extremely popular for many years, but was now losing sales to bayonet mount lenses that were faster and easier to install. Pentax saw the writing on the wall, so had to make their own bayonet lens mount, called the K mount, in order to stay competitive in the camera market.

The K series cameras introduced the K mount, but were similar in size to the previous Spotmatics. There were different Spotmatic models at different price points. The Spotmatic F (SPF) was the top of the line manual exposure model, and the ES II was the electronic model with auto exposure. The KX replaced the Spotmatic F as the top end manual exposure model. The K2 replaced the ES II as the auto exposure electronic model. The K2 was the most expensive camera, due to the electronics, as was the previous ES II.

The other K mount cameras were just stripped down versions of the KX, to sell at lower price points. The K1000 was the "cheapo" basic "no frills" model. The KM was the middle model that had a few more features than the K1000, but not as many as the KX. The K1000 became extremely popular due to it's low price. It had all the features that were needed by most users on a budget.

The Olympus OM-1 was already in the marketplace when Pentax released the K series cameras, so they were still under pressure to introduce smaller cameras to compete with the OM-1. Pentax did that by introducing the M series cameras a year or two later. The MX became the top of the line manual exposure camera, and the ME became the auto exposure model. The K series was quickly ended, except for the K1000, that remained as the low budget option for many years.

The Pentax KM and KX models are not that common, since they weren't in production very long. The K2 is a bit more common since it was a bit more "high end" than the ME, and was also available with a motor drive for the K2 DMD. Pentax resolved this by introducing the LX as a true professional grade compact camera.

This is an excellent summary. I hope it cuts through some of the fog.

xkaes · Jan 19, 2025

Sharktooth said:
The Olympus OM-1 was already in the marketplace when Pentax released the K series cameras, so they were still under pressure to introduce smaller cameras to compete with the OM-1. Pentax did that by introducing the M series cameras a year or two later.

The OM-1 appeared in 1972, and it did push camera makers to think "small" -- just as it's Pen series of cameras had been doing. It took a while, but Pentax was the first to down-size their SLRs with their M-series in 1976, and Minolta did the same thing with its XD & XG series in 1977.

dynachrome · Jan 19, 2025

I have one KX, one K2 and many KMs and K1000s. I have mostly used the KMs. For me, the main benefit of the KX is that it has a more sensitive meter and that the meter is no longer a CdS type. Of the M series, the MX is my favorite. Someone mentioned different versions of the 50/1.7 (manual focus versions). There were M and A versions but there was no K version. I don't think the M or A versions of the 50/2 are as good as the 50/1.7 lenses and I still prefer the 55/1.8 and 55/2 K lenses. I agree that the nicest standard K mount lens I have is the 50/1.4 SMC Pentax. The 50/1.2 SMC Pentax is not yet in my collection. There was no 50/1.2 M lens. It couldn't have been made much smaller anyway.

Autonerd · Jan 20, 2025

Sharktooth said:
The KX replaced the Spotmatic F as the top end manual exposure model. The K2 replaced the ES II as the auto exposure electronic model. [...] The K1000 was the "cheapo" basic "no frills" model. The KM was the middle model that had a few more features than the K1000, but not as many as the KX

Actually, the KM was essentially a Spotmatic F with the new bayonet mount. KX was a new model with additional features (Dual SPD meter (as opposed to Spot F/KM CdS) with an on/off switch, match-needle meter display, aperture "Judas window", mirror lock-up, shutter lock) that I don't believe were available in the Spotties, at least not the mechanical ones.

KM was the original entry-level model; the K1000 did not join the lineup until, I believe, 1976. It was a KM with the self-timer and DOF preview removed (and, later, simplified/cheapened components).

I'm not as familiar with the ESII (one of these days I'll buy one) but the styling and general arrangement makes me wonder if the KX and K2 weren't based on the same chassis. (KX was my first "real" camera in the early 1990s, so I'm very familiar! Also own Spot F and K2.) Although... K2 had that weird EC/ASA setting on the lens mount, whereas KX had ASA up top. ESII, KX, K2 all used two batteries; Spotmatic F, KM and K1000 use one.

Pacific Rim Camera has a great PDF of a Honeywell Hotline dealer newsletter that introduced the new K lineup as it existed in 1975.

HELLLLLLLP! Pentax manual SLR bodies: K1000 vs. KM vs. KX

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