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Andrew Bingham
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 09:26 am: | 
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I recently found 2 Pentax K1000's that belong to my school's astronomy club (used for astrophotography). Both are in very good shape, with the original 1:2 50mm lenses.
Seeing as I'm taking over as president of the astronomy club next semester, I did some research on the camaras (which were used ~10 years ago by the Physics Dept when they were in charge of our obsevatory) and found out what they are in terms of the reputation of the camara, etc.
One of them has problems with the needle meter, though; it works intermittantly, mainly if you apply pressure on the appature setting without actually moving over a stop. I switched lenses between the working/non-working camara and found that both work fine in the other camara. Battery is brand new, and I cleaned all the contacts in the battery compartment with an eraser.
I'm relativly mechanically inclined, and these camaras have literally sat in a box for ten years, so I was wondering how to go about taking the camara apart and checking all the connections, etc. If I mess it up, the reality is that no one will miss it; $200 in old camaras is nothing compared to the thousands in unused telescopes we have. I'd like to fix it so that our members could use it for regular photography as well if they want to borrow it.
Also, the lenses on both camaras are covered in dust, and one has what look like fingerprints. How can I clean them? I was thinking rubbing alcohol, but I didn't know if there are coatings on the glass it might damage. I'm going to purchase UV filters for both camaras to protect the lenses in the future, as I expect they will go right back into storage 
Based on my experience shooting a roll of film with one of the K1000s, I decided to get an SLR of my own (I've had a Canon P&S for years). I watched K1000 auctions on eBay for a week or so, but they seem to get bid up a lot by people who buy 5 or 6 at a time, going for $75 for just a camara with the 50mml lens. I settled on a Pentax P30t, which doesn't appear ob eBay a lot and hence doesn't get bid up. I picked one in nice shape with a 35-80mm SMC lens up for $48; can't wait for it to arrive. |
Haig Hovaness
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 04:08 pm: |
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The K1000 is a rugged old beast, but the cost of a professional CLA (clean, lubricate, and adjust) is about as much as the replacement cost on eBay ($75). Alcohol is fine for cleaning the lens surfaces, but make sure to blow off any superficial grit before applying alcohol (sparingly). Don't pour alcohol on the lens; put a little on a Q-tip or bit of lens cleaning tissue. I wouldn't bother with the protective filters, since replacement Pentax 50mm f2 lenses can be had on eBay for around $25.
If you like the classic Pentax SLRs, you should know that the (affordable) cream of the crop is the MX, an elegant and versatile camera with a terrific viewfinder and great handling qualities. |
Andrew B
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 06:53 pm: |
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Can I use the canned compressed air that you get at RadioShack to gently blow dust off the lens? Is there anything in the propellant that might damage the coatings? |
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