Pentax K1000 and Pentax KX

[peters8]

Hola!
Can you help me with an informations...please?

Is the k1000 similar to KX?...have these cameras the same shutter?

it seems to me that KX is less noisy than the k1000 or am I wrong?...i'm not shure because i never owned a KX

I can bay a KX for 60 euros.Is this a good price?
Thanks

regards

 

[voceumana]

KX was the higher end product, it has a shutter lock, depth of field preview. I don't know if the shutter is the same or better in the KX, but the KX is a very nice camera. I would prefer it over a K-1000. The K-1000 was a lower end model, and it may have had some features removed to reduce cost. I don't know the european market, but 60 Euros seems like a very good price to me if the camera is in excellent condition, especially with a lens.

I haven't heard a K-1000, so I don't know about the noise, but I suspect they are similar.

Charlie

 

[Chan Tran]

Hola!
Can you help me with an informations...please?

Is the k1000 similar to KX?...have these cameras the same shutter?

it seems to me that KX is less noisy than the k1000 or am I wrong?...i'm not shure because i never owned a KX

I can bay a KX for 60 euros.Is this a good price?
Thanks

regards

They probably have the same shutter although the KX is generally better built and has more features, I meant useful features not gimmicks. For 60 euros for a good working KX is a fair price. Not cheap though. But for whatever price, a KX is worth twice the price of the K1000 in my opinion.

 

[Pioneer]

Both are very good cameras!

I love the K1000 and use my own a lot. I also enjoy working with the KX as they are very similar with the exception of a few additional features. On the surface it would certainly seem that a KX should be a better deal than a K1000. But I would have to say that would only be true if the KX were at least in as good a shape as the K1000.

The shutter in the KX and K1000 is the same, and should sound fairly much the same. They are both cloth, horizontally traveling, focal plane shutters. Neither camera ise very quiet but I cannot tell any real difference between the shutter sounds in either my KX or my K1000. Any differences in sounds would likely be more related to the current condition than to differences in shutter construction so it would be an indication to me that the mechanical condition of each camera is different. If possible I think it would be a good idea to have the cameras checked before you make any decision. At a minimum, take off the lens, open the back of each camera, and fire each camera's shutter while watching from both sides. I suspect the sound you hear is actually the mirror swinging out of the way and dropping back down. The noisier of the two may have bad mirror bumpers. But a lot of times watching the shutter and mirror work can tell you a lot. Or, take them to a camera repair person.

Either way, both are very good, very reliable cameras, so you can hardly go wrong with either.

 

[BradS]

The K1000 was made and sold for many, many years after the KX was dropped from the product line. A K1000 of roughly the same age as a given KX is going to have the exact same shutter mechanism. If two cameras sound different, it is likely that either: a) the K-1000 is newer (and potentially made of vastly different materials) or b) one of them has worn mirror bumper foam. Some of the shutter noise is actually mirror slap. This is especially true when the mirror foam has deteriorated.

The KX was the first "real" camera I bought. Way back in 1975, I went to the store with the intent to buy a k-1000 but, that wily sales man "up sold" me and I went home with a KX. I still have it today. I've also owned at least five K-1000 over the years. Yeah, they are similar but, the KX has several features which set it apart.

The KX has match needle metering where as the K-1000 has only a very simplistic "center the needle" meter. The light meter in the KX is technologically superior to that of the K-1000 and the meter on the KX can be turned on and off with a switch (actually by pressing very lightly on the shutter release button) but the K-1000 meter is "always on". The KX has a self timer, depth of field preview and mirror lock up. The K-1000 had none of these features. he KX also has full exposure info in the viewfinder - you can see the shutter speed setting, the aperture setting and the light meter reading all in the view finder. Not so on the K1000.


60 euro for a KX seems about fair - assuming that it comes with a lens and that it is in excellent mechanical condition and reasonably good cosmetic condition. If it needs an overhaul, then 60 euro is too much.

 

[PentaxBronica]

Yes they use the same shutter. It's also used in the MX and KM, and came from the Spotmatic IIRC.

The important thing is not to leave it cocked for weeks or months without using the camera. As it relies on spring tension for accurate shutter speeds it will go out of adjustment if the springs are held in tension for too long.

 

[Felinik]

http://www.pentaxforums.com/camerareviews/pentax-k1000.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/camerareviews/pentax-kx.html

 

[John Koehrer]

The "meter switch" in the K1000 is called a lens cap. When the light reaches a low enough level, the transistors stop conducting.

 

[frogfroggy]

Post is late but whatever !

The posters before said everything, so I will not add anything to the technical sides. However I have to admit shutter sounds are different. The Pentax KX which I got CLA'd last summer has an "echo" if the shutter is fired, as if a spring somehow "reacts" with a tiny but hearable latency. The Pentax K1000 in contrast sounds right on. No echoing, just a pure clean shutter sound, even though the K1000 had any CLA ever !!! The pictures shot with the two cameras however are both fine ! Wonderful indeed!

 

[Roger Cole]

Yes they use the same shutter. It's also used in the MX and KM, and came from the Spotmatic IIRC.

The important thing is not to leave it cocked for weeks or months without using the camera. As it relies on spring tension for accurate shutter speeds it will go out of adjustment if the springs are held in tension for too long.

Really? I have an MX and a K1000 (and an LX.) The MX is much quieter than the K1000 (and a far superior camera IMHO, which often sells for less, at least in chrome, here in the US.)

 

[walbergb]

Which ever camera you decide, I have a bunch of Pentax gear for sale. If you are interested, please PM me.

 

[unwantedfocus]

Digging out a dead horse my apologies, in terms of repairability there should not be a problem choosing one model over the other since they are so similar right? There won't be any major problems with getting a KX repaired over the k1000 which I imagine has plenty more parts on the market given the longer production run?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I wonder if he ended up getting the KX?

 

[Pioneer]

I have one I never use. Pretty much married to my K1000. I suppose I should put it up for sale.

 

[John Koehrer]

Most of the major parts are interchangeable, some people say one is better made than the other and that's more
imagination than reality.
The only exception that I've seen have been the last series from China's K1000 which used plastic
gearing in the film transport. Didn't give a great feeling of confidence.

 

[flavio81]

Most of the major parts are interchangeable, some people say one is better made than the other and that's more
imagination than reality.
The only exception that I've seen have been the last series from China's K1000 which used plastic
gearing in the film transport. Didn't give a great feeling of confidence.

There are at least three series of K1000 cameras:

- Made in Japan
- Made in HK
- Made in China (with more plastic parts)

All KX cameras were made in Japan. And, as noted, it was almost the top level camera. I owned the made-in-hk K1000 both and yes, the KX was better made.