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Tech · Pentax · 1976

Pentax K1000

The film-school standard. Nothing to break, nothing to learn twice — and priced up by its own reputation.

35mm film SLRs still worth buying used — #4

Overall

7.9

out of 10

Axis scores

Strongest on Durability (9.0), weakest on Performance (7.0), a 2.0-point spread. The 7.9 overall is the plain average of all 5 Tech axes, with no weighting.

Pentax K1000 — axis scores out of 10Horizontal bar chart of editorial scores out of 10 across 5 axes. Bars run from a shared zero baseline; longer is better. Pentax K1000: Performance 7.0, Value 7.8, Durability 9.0, Ease of use 8.4, Design 7.2.PerformancePentax K1000 — Performance 7.0 out of 107.0ValuePentax K1000 — Value 7.8 out of 107.8DurabilityPentax K1000 — Durability 9.0 out of 109.0Ease of usePentax K1000 — Ease of use 8.4 out of 108.4DesignPentax K1000 — Design 7.2 out of 107.2Editorial score out of 10 — higher is better
  • Performance — How well it does the core job
  • Value — What the same money buys elsewhere
  • Durability — Failure and fade reports past the one-year mark
  • Ease of use — Setup, daily operation, cleaning, maintenance
  • Design — Build quality and how it sits in a room

Specs

Shutter
Mechanical, 1 s to 1/1000 s, B
Flash sync
1/60 s
Metering
Center-weighted CdS, match needle
Power
One SR44 or LR44 cell, meter only
Mount
Pentax K

As published by the manufacturer. We didn't measure these ourselves.

Is it for you

Buy it if

  • You're learning exposure and want every setting to be your decision
  • You want a body that independent shops can fix cheaply and quickly
  • You'd like lenses that also fit a current Pentax DSLR

Skip it if

  • You expect a self-timer, depth-of-field preview, or a meter switch
  • You can find a Pentax KM or KX with more features for similar money

Generations of photography students learned on the K1000 because it does almost nothing on its own. There is a needle meter, a shutter dial, and an aperture ring. No auto mode, no self-timer, and no depth-of-field preview. That simplicity is also why repair shops see so few that cannot be fixed.

The meter has no on/off switch. It reads whenever the lens cap is off, so storing the camera in a bag with the cap on keeps the battery alive. The camera works fully without the battery.

The name now carries a premium. Pentax made better-equipped bodies around the same time, like the KM and KX. They take the same lenses and often sell for less because fewer people search for them. The K1000 earns its spot here for durability and resale ease, not for being the best Pentax.

Production later moved from Japan to Hong Kong and then China, and the later bodies drop the Asahi name and use more plastic in small parts. They shoot the same. Collectors pay more for early Asahi bodies, which is worth knowing only if you’re paying that premium without meaning to.

Last updated . The scoring method is on how we rank.