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Anonymous
I have the camera about 2 generations before the one you have posted (Pentax Spotmatic). IMO it's a better camera. Differences:
K1000 has open-aperture metering (easier to meter in dim light) and a K-mount (easier to find lenses that work on it). K1000 also has a hot shoe and I think 1 stop faster shutter.
Spotmatic has no plastic parts anywhere (it's one giant hunk of brass) and the lenses that you do find for it are likely to be better (sharpness and build quality). It uses the M42 mount, which means you can use all sorts of crazy russian PC and fisheye lenses. I <3<3<3<3<3 my spotmatic, and recommend it to everyone.
Plus -- if you shoot with a K1000 you're a student. If you shoot with a Spotmatic it's almost exactly the same, but you're a conneisseur :)
If you're serious about getting into photography, get film to start. I dunno if I'll keep making that recommendation in the future (seeing where digital is going), but it's still best to start with film right now. By getting an old manual SLR you will get a much better understanding of the physics of light and lenses; once that becomes second nature, you will have complete creative control instead of just saying "ooh, that one turned out nice, I wonder why".
So yeah. Spotmatic if you can find one and are happy to look a little longer for lenses (the M42 Takumars are amazing when you can find them). K1000 if you want to get started sooner and worry less about equipment. Old Nikons are worth a lot on the collector's market, so I'd stay away from them. Don't go for the K1000 knockoffs (Yashicas, Zenits, etc); film cameras are so cheap these days that there's no reason to go for those.
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