Pentax K1000 ~ M42 Factory Conversion

[dmr]

M42 and Pentax mounts both have the same flange-to-film distance.
If the adapter flange is positioned at same level as the camera flange, all will be right.

Thanks. When my new E100 gets here I'm gonna shoot one roll in one of the pentaxes and I would love to use the Vivitar 28mm prime (m42) instead of one of the zooms zoomed out to wide, as those do have some obvious barrel distortion on the wide side.

 

[darkroommike]

That adapter works perfectly. I never understood why Pentax went away from the screw mount other than the obvious marketing ploy .

The market wanted full aperture metering. The market wanted bayonet mounts. The K-mount was a response to a perceived need. it was co-designed by Pentax and Zeiss, originally both companies were going to build a camera together, too, much like Zeiss and Yashica did a bit later. The C/Y is very similar to the K-mount. The earliest K and M mount lenses are mechanically very nice, some of the later ones are not so good. We have a big box of broken ones here at school, all must have been dropped since the focus ring is stuck on all of them.

 

[mshchem]

The screw mount Pentax cameras were intended for advanced amateur / pro market. The K1000 was a entry level camera. Pentax LX is one of the most beautiful cameras, I've ever seen. No dealer sold them around here .

 

[AgX]

The market wanted full aperture metering. The market wanted bayonet mounts.

There were M42 lenses designed that enabled open aperture metering, mechanically or even electrically (Praktica).
But as you said people wanted a bayonet.

 

[dmr]

The top photo shows the two Pentaxes I currently use. The MG on the left came from a local yard sale. The MX on the right was a lucky find at a local thrift shop by a co-worker who phoned me and told me to get over there.

The only true M42 I currently have is the Mamiya shown on the right below. It was a hand-me-down in pristine condition. I've enjoyed shooting it but I do prefer the Pentaxes, which are smaller, lighter, and quieter.