To wear or not to wear??

[nanamams]

I have an old Pantex K1000 (1987) with a 50 mm lense, and also a 75-200mm zoom lense. 20 years ago I didn't wear glasses and I took some pretty good photos, clear, crisp and good color. Now I do wear glasses and my photos are not as clear and color not so good (I have tried using my glasses & without too) but not sure what's going on. Maybe the camera is too old? or maybe both of us are too old?? Now I have grandchildren and I would like to take photos of them! Appreciate any guidance here. Thanks, Nanamams

[mtbbrian]

I wear glasses, and I have worn them for a long time.
I am guessing the problem is related to both, your vision and the camera.
As I recall, the K1000 doesn't exactly have the brightest viewfinder out there, so I would say that your having trouble focusing with it.

Solutions?
Maybe you might want to buy a good digital point and shoot, they have good bright video viewfinders as well as a traditional viewfinder.
You can get a good one for around $200 these days.
Brian
:thumbsup:

[Old Timer]

I have a similar problem and have pretty much given up on all the older manual focus SLRs. My newest SLR has auto focus and an adjustable diopter built in that allows me to use it without my glasses. All the digital have the auto focus. If you want to stay with a film camera you may want to check out some of the better auto focus SLRs that are available very reasonably used on e-bay.

[almo]

I have an old Pantex K1000 (1987) with a 50 mm lense, and also a 75-200mm zoom lense. 20 years ago I didn't wear glasses and I took some pretty good photos, clear, crisp and good color. Now I do wear glasses and my photos are not as clear and color not so good (I have tried using my glasses & without too) but not sure what's going on. Maybe the camera is too old? or maybe both of us are too old?? Now I have grandchildren and I would like to take photos of them! Appreciate any guidance here. Thanks, Nanamams

I can not speak to your vision, but I can say that you should have your meter and shutter tested on such an old camera. You may also need to have the lenses cleaned. Also, what film are you using? Film type, and ISO speed make a huge difference in color, contrast, and saturation of colors.

[another view]

Been a long time since I looked thru a K1000 viewfinder, but it may not be as bright as some others out there. One thing that will affect the viewfinder brightness is the lens's maximum aperture, and if you're using a 50mm prime it's probably a very fast lens (f1.4, f1.7 or f2 on these I think).

Some cameras have an accessory diopter that fits over the eyepiece and is basically a prescription lens, so you don't wear glasses with the camera but your vision is corrected. I used one with my Nikon FE until I switched to contacts. A lot of newer cameras have adjustable diopters built in so you don't need the accessory - and have autofocus as well. I haven't kept up with what Pentax is offering these days, but they should have a camera that will work better for you. If you don't have a lot of lenses, you might look at others too - like I said, Nikon offers diopters, etc (but Pentax lenses won't work on Nikon cameras). The higher-end cameras usually have better viewfinders - check out a Nikon F100. They've gotten quite reasonable price-wise, for a good used one.

[nanamams]

Thanks everyone, I think I've gotten myself in the middle of some very savy photo folks. I do appreciate your replies. More then likely, my camera is too old and probably could use a good cleaning. I think I'll give it another shot, with my glasses on. Some good film and good light and see what happens. Thanks again, Nanamams

[Skyman]

there is no such thing as a k1000 that is to old!
the difficulty is that none of the issues you describe can easily be pinned down to any one thing. your lenses could have developed fungus in them, or the coatings could have lifted off. your light meter in your camera could be off. the shutter might be sticking a little as might the aperture blades. some of the glass in the lenses may have shifted ever so slightly out of alignment. your film could have been out of date or heat affected. the lab that printed them could have had problems with their machine, their chemicals or their lenses. what i recommend before you spend any money on things you may or may not need is to take your camera, your prints and your negatives to a good camera store (there are a few of them still around) and have a chat to the folks there about what is happening. It is possible that your eyes are not as good as what they used to be (although it is highly suspect that this would cause you issues with colour without you realising it, as the whole world would look "dull") but this doesn't mean that you need to throw away your k1000. there are many gadgets on newer cameras that can make photography easier, such as built in diopters that can do the job of your glasses on the viewfinder of the camera, auto focus and automatic exposure and in the case of digital automatic colour control as well. but if it is just your eyes and you don't want to part with old faithful then you can still get dioptic adjustment lenses for the k1000 ask your optometrist what number you need (normally between -3 and +3 in half incriments) and get your camera shop to order one in for you. A diopter as they are more comonly known sits where the viewfinder is on your camera and does the job that your glasses would normally do, enabling you to concentrate on taking the pictures not trying to see through the viewfinder.

[freygr]

there is no such thing as a k1000 that is to old!

Link to K1000 information: http://www.photoethnography.com/Clas...html~mainFrame

At the time I was in the Service, the Asahi Pentax was a screw mount lens system (1969-1971) so I went with the Nikon F1. The Pentax optics where great. If I had been in the service when the K1000 was released I may of gone with Pentax as my camera choice.

[milhouse]

I would bet that the processing is the blame and not the camera. From what your saying the photos seem washed out more then out of focus. If you take the film to Walmart for processing then they will come out washed out looking in most cases. Try using Kodak Gold film and having it sent out to Kodak for processing. Most supermarkets or places that do processing usually have an option to send film out to Kodak and that makes a huge difference.
Also, depending on how the camera was stored you could have dirt or even mold growing in the lens if its been sitting around for 20 years.

[Franglais]

I have an old Pantex K1000 (1987) with a 50 mm lense, and also a 75-200mm zoom lense. 20 years ago I didn't wear glasses and I took some pretty good photos, clear, crisp and good color. Now I do wear glasses and my photos are not as clear and color not so good (I have tried using my glasses & without too) but not sure what's going on. Maybe the camera is too old? or maybe both of us are too old?? Now I have grandchildren and I would like to take photos of them! Appreciate any guidance here. Thanks, Nanamams

My first thought is that the lenses might have beome obscured by fungus or something. Take the lens off the camera hold it up in front of you and look though it. If it's crystal clear then fine. If you see a milky layer then try cleaning the front and back elements. If it's on the internal elements then it's better to get a new lens.

Otherwise - you might be overexposing. Take a look at the negatives by comparison with the ones you did 20 years ago. Do they look dense and cloudy? If so it could be that your light meter is out or that the lens diaphragm is not being closed when you take te picture or that your shutter has become lazy and is exposing for too long.

I don't think that cleaning the camera itself will change anything.

Charles

Charles