K1000 ice age

melmoth · Jul 28, 2007

Hallo,

I need some technical advice with regards to a Pentax K1000 camera that has mysteriously 'frozen' up as the lens was closing. I took a picture at f/16 with a SMC 3.5 28mm lens. Suddenly - nothing.
I can see looking into the lens a small opening with the shutters stuck around it. I assume that because the camera is so well know that somebody has experienced this before. I bought the camera and lens second hand off the net but this is the first time I have ever had a problem. It refuses to respond.

I would be grateful for any suggestions as to causes or what I may do to fix it.

Appreciate any help. Mel.

Ian Grant · Jul 28, 2007

The K1000 has a mechanical shutter, it sounds like it's jammed. You're looking at the lens aperture diaphragm which closes down just before the shutter fires and re-opens afterwards.

The tone of your post seems to assume that the shutter itself in the camera body has jammed open, and that you can't wind the film on. If this is the case the camera needs to be repaired, which unfortunately isnt cheap.

Ian

bob100684 · Jul 28, 2007

grab the camera by the top, hit it downward, with the bottom firmly stricking the palm of your hand. I'm not quite sure why this works, but it does on many mechanical models.

juan · Jul 28, 2007

Is your mirror stuck in the up position? Mine sometimes sticks and locks up due to deteriorating seals in the place the mirror stops when it goes up. I think replacing the seals will fix this problem, but I haven't gotten around to doing it yet.
juan

removed account4 · Jul 28, 2007

is it the shutter that is stuck, or the lens aperture is closed down and won't open?

it sounds like maybe the aperture lever is stuck .. or the little "pod/lubricant" is dried out

there is little lever on the bottom of your lens that slides back and forth freely
so you can be f2, when you are stopped down to f16 (at least when focusing &C)
if THAT is the problem - (your shutter fires fine, with the lens off of it)
a repair guy/gal should be able to fix it - with a pair of tweezers ...
if it is the lubricant that is dried out, that can be fixed too. a repair person will have
no trouble opening +cla'ing your lens.

good luck !

john

waynecrider · Jul 28, 2007

Rewind the film and open the back. If the shutter is closed re-cock the advance and release it again while watching. I bet if the shutter works the lens is bad. It probably will be mechanical.

melmoth · Jul 28, 2007

Hallo Wayne,

I rewound the film and took it out. The shutter was closed. I re-cocked the advance lever and fired the camera. It worked! The lens diaphragm closed correctly.
The film is free. I don't know why the lens froze or if it will happen again. But for the moment, I am grateful for all the suggestions. A result!
Thanks a lot. I appreciate that. Mel.

waynecrider · Jul 29, 2007

Take a loupe or magnifying glass and see if there is oil on the blades. Either way you may want to get the lens cla'd. Probably needs greased. There are a couple of people around that can help you out. Eric at http://www.pentaxs.com/ or Paul Ebel whose number is around somewhere, google or search it here.

dmr · Jul 30, 2007

waynecrider said:
Eric at http://www.pentaxs.com/ or Paul Ebel whose number is around somewhere, google or search it here.

Thanks for that link. I've bookmarked it. I've wondered where I can go when mine starts acting up {knocking on wood}.

Vonder · Jul 30, 2007

Be warned

melmoth said:
Hallo Wayne,

I rewound the film and took it out. The shutter was closed. I re-cocked the advance lever and fired the camera. It worked! The lens diaphragm closed correctly.
The film is free. I don't know why the lens froze or if it will happen again. But for the moment, I am grateful for all the suggestions. A result!
Thanks a lot. I appreciate that. Mel.

That the problem is gone is good, that the problem is gone is bad. I know first-hand, much to my sadness, how this can go. I had a Minolta with an occasional bad picture - 1/2 of the image was unexposed. Sticky shutter I reckon, now, in hindsight. But it was such a rare problem and I used the camera so little... until I needed it for my honeymoon. Twelve rolls of film shot, yielding only 60 images or so. The rest lost to the jamming shutter.

Get the camera looked-at, repaired, or buy a new one. You won't be wishing you had.

Brac · Aug 2, 2007

On the ebay UK site I can recommend Camera Repairer who is based in Derbyshire. He charges around the £50 mark for servicing this type of Pentax. I don't know if Pentax themselves would do it but you can be sure the cost would be much higher.

cao · Aug 3, 2007

I'll add to the chorus. Get a clean-lube-adjust job for your camera. These aren't generally a very expensive repair, and you have fewer doubts about the camera's operation when you're shooting. All of my Spotmatics are eBay cameras, but when I bought them, I knew full well to budget a CLA for each camera. Good luck!

K1000 ice age

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