Pentax K1000 (needs repair)

Matt L

Matt L

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Matt
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My dads has an old film slr which i would like to use eventually but it currently doesnt work (exposure meter thingy) and hasnt worked for aslong as i know, put new batteries in but nothing seemed to work like the exposure arrow thingy my bob didnt move (dont really know any other ways to check if it works) but anyone know where i could take it to see how much it would cost to fix? I imagine it wont be cheap so may not be worth it at all but thought it would be quite nice to use a film one.
 
I see from your location your in Stoke so you could try http://www.lehmannsdirect.co.uk/ which are based there.

If they can't help they may know someone who can.

Think you may struggle to get it fixed.
 
There are a lot of people on ebay that offer servicing of old film cameras, usually around the £40 mark. I have no experience of them but maybe worth emailing one and see what the response is. Also if you have an old school camera shop in your area they usually know one or two places, also local camera clubs are a great resource.
 
More than likely the battery has gone flat, especialy if it's been stored without a lens / lenscap. I'd suggest a trip to Google before anywhere else as it's usually a simple job to change out the battery in old SLRs.

Carl
 
CReid said:
More than likely the battery has gone flat, especialy if it's been stored without a lens / lenscap. I'd suggest a trip to Google before anywhere else as it's usually a simple job to change out the battery in old SLRs.

Carl
Click to expand...

already tried brand new batteries didnt work, bin sorted with lens attatched, lens cap on, in a proper little case thing for it.
 
Matt L said:
Sorry the shutter does work (i think) it is just the meter thing that doesnt work/move.
Click to expand...

Then it probably is either a battery or dirty contacts problem.

Even if the meter is dead, you can still use the camera.

Do a Google search for sunny 16. Basically, you set your shutter speed to the closest speed to your film ISO so for ISO 100 film use 1/125 and for ISO 400 film use 1/500.

Then you set the aperture to suit the weather/lighting conditions - f16 for a bright sunny day, f11 for a cloudy bright day, f8 for an overcast day, f5.6 for a dull day. etc.

After a while you should be able to judge accurately enough for colour or black and white negative film. If in doubt give it a bit extra exposure rather than a bit less.

You only need the accuracy of a meter for slide film which is quite critical. The meter doesn't have to be in the camera though as a hand held meter can be bought for a few pounds on ebay.


Steve.
 
Try cleaning the battery contacts with a rubber, or what the politically correct call an eraser. Otherwise use Sunny 16 to be going on with, as Steve suggested. I learnt this when I was a kid 40 years ago and I can still get pretty good results with it, even though I've been using cameras with built in metering for a long time.

Run a film through the camera and see how you get on. The shutter might be working, but the speeds could be out of whack, and there are a few other things that old film cameras can suffer from. Most of them (clean, lube and service, and light seals) can be sorted out without spending too much.
 
i prefer sunny 11 myself . seem to get better results when i played silly b's and run a film through the fm without using the meter .
 
I agree, sunny 16 is erring too far on the side of under in Britain IMO.
 
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