New Camera Testing - Pentax K1000

1/28/2018 10:20:00 PM

New Camera Testing - Pentax K1000

January 21, 2018-New Camera testing Pentax K1000

The final camera I acquired over Christmas was a Pentax K1000.

Although I have heard and read multitudes about this workhorse, I've never had the opportunity to shoot one.

What. a. Joy.

This camera was amazing. Although there was some type gunk in the viewfinder, the battery I replaced was spot on as far as metering. I decided to use a Kentmere 400 black and white roll that I had loaded on a cassette from bulk. The film was pretty newly acquired, and although I was a little worried from prior exposed film roll loading, these shots all turned out splendidly using a twelve minute development using an Xtol 1:1 mixture and a five minute Kodak fix, followed by an eight minute wash at 68 degrees.

Last Sunday was a beautiful day. I decided to get my son off the video games and walk with Jen, me and the dog in a park he'd never explored before--The Bluffs at Scenic Hwy, Pensacola.

Even though there was pouting and silence on the ride over (after prying him from his video game chair at 0930 hours), we showed him what he hadn't seen yet. Railroad tracks on beautiful Pensacola Bay, complete with a beach, flat bay, oyster beds and all sorts of bluffs down the tracks to explore. It actually got a little hard to get him to leave until the pangs of hunger took over..He is, of course an almost 14 year old and all that's on his mind other than video games and sports, is food.

I think I may have loved this camera the best of the three I recently tested. Even though i had to work around the junk in the viewfinder, the Sigma 50mm f2.8 Macro lens was easy to focus and the controls were easy to shoot in the early day sun using the new Kentmere black and white film.

After a mile and a half of hiking and walking, it was time to grab some late brunch and head home.

As hard as it is sometimes to get your kids off the couch to do 'adult things' like hiking, there is always that element of exploring a new place, and, with that the thrill of visiting new places, even if you have to threaten taking away said video games for the rest of the day to motivate.

The final frames of the camera were of my daughter; weeks before her eighteenth birthday. I couldn't help but love the way everything turned out today. I will be shooting the K1000 for many years to come.

All photos taken with Pentax K1000, Kentmere BNW 400 film:

Developed in Xtol 1:1 for 12 minutes with a 5 min fix, and 8 minute wash.