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Anonymous
I think I want to start doing some photography. The only camera I have is a 2megapixel camera on my phone. Needless to say it is piss poor. Obviously I'll need an actual camera. Not too pricey because I don't really know what I'm doing.
Recommendations?
>> Anonymous
oh, I won't be taking photos of nearly dead leaves or anything like that.
>> Anonymous
because you mentioned megapixels, get a point and shoot. power shot A series or something
>> Anonymous
I'd recommend the camera in your picture.
>> Anonymous
i actually enjoy piss quite a bit and do not consider it to be poor
>> Anonymous
the camera in your pic is a great camera! if that is one you have i definatly recommend that to start. or grab a cheap point and shoot.
>> Anonymous
>>88447
it was actually the first google image result for camera
>> VF-19
Trust me, I have a K1000 and it is a beautiful camera. You might want to consider getting one of the older versions of the K1000. It's easy to tell:

1) It's heavier
2) The front of the prism housing has the Old Pentax Logo, in addition to Asahi Pentax on the front too.

It's just that some of the last K1000s were made with somewhat less than quality parts, to save costs...

One other thing: The K mount on this camera will accept any K mount lens, provided it has an aperature ring on it (which is all of the original K series, the M series, the A series, the F series, and the FA series).
>> Anonymous
If you want to try photography, I suggest you DO NOT buy a film camera. You'll want to take lots of photos. You'll make mistakes. Having used film (I have boxes and boxes of slides) each time you shoot on film, you think about money. The film/prints far outways the cost of the camera, if you enjoy photography. My advice: buy the cheapest Canon in your price range. You won't get the best, but you'll get a good camera.
>> Anonymous
>>88660

i had the choice of begining with digital or film

i chose film

i think it DID make me better than if i had started with digital, i DO use a DSLR nowdays tho
>> Butterfly !xlgRMYva6s
>>88662
If you start with film you are more likly to make sure that each shot is going to be awesome, which means you learn THEN shoot and try to make everything as good as it can.

Starting on digital means you can shoot then learn, which is cheaper and you get the feedback faster but you dont appreciate each shot as much.

depends how much you want to love photography, I really want a 9 or 7 so i can use b&w film because i appreciate it.
>> 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.
>> VF-19
>>88673
I've got a spotmatic too. Personally I think the K1000 is the better choice for the beginner because of the fact that the mount is still supported, and that there's a very big selection of lenses out there.

If I were to compare the two side by side, I think that they're about equal. And My Spotmatic does do 1/1000 shutter speed. It's only the budget models of the Spotmatic that tops out at 1/500, but they do have a "hidden" 1/1000 shutter speed.
>> Anonymous
>>88674
You're probably right about the mounts, which is basically what I said above. I still recommend the spotmatic, though, because all-metal beats out some-plastic any day. A guy I know drove over his with a truck years ago; still shoots fine, no repairs needed.

I thought the K1000 went up to 1/2000s? My spotmatic also maxes out at 1/1000.
(Incidentally, I can think of maybe 2 occasions where I've actually needed the maximum shutter speed, and none where I needed higher.)
>> des
I wouldn't go with a spotmatic, the viewfinder is horrible and mercury batts or replacements are a bother. For M42, the fujica or chinon bodies are a better choice. For K, even pentax made a lot better bodies than the K1000 that usually are cheaper on the used market because they don't have a mystique. ...like VF-19 said, get the pentax branded adaptor and M42 works on K bodies anyway.
The last fujica I bought was 15bux, iirc, and came with two lenses and an everready case.
>> VF-19
>>88698
Actually, you don't need the old mercury batteries for the Spotmatic. As long as the voltage is about the same, and the battery fits (with tin-foil as needed to ensure contact) the light meter will work perfectly.

And I didn't mention anything about the K mount to M42/screw mount adapter... But basically, if you get one, make sure it doesn't have a flange. If it does have a flange, it won't allow for infinity focus. What I meant by compatiablity is that a K mount lens from the 1990s will work with the K-series of cameras (aka the K1000), provided that it has an aperature ring on the lens. Case in point: I picked up a minty fresh FA 50 1.4 a week back, and I can slap it onto my K-1000 and it will meter, and focus properly, despite the fact that the lens was designed in the last 5-10 years or so. Nikon, Canon, and Minolta have changed their mounts since the 1970s...
>> Anonymous
>>88698
I've never had a problem with the SM's viewfinder. It's maybe dimmer than some, but I've never encountered a better split-circle. If I could dump the ground-glass from a spotmatic into an EOS 5D I'd be ecstatic :)

Also, in the Spotmatics Pentax was kind enough to build in a bridge circuit. You don't need the proper voltage; any modern battery around the same voltage (say, silver cells) will work great. I've only had to replace the battery once anyway, and the one that died was the original from 35 years ago. New cell from radio shack that looked about the right size worked great.
>> des
>>88703
>>Actually, you don't need the old mercury batteries
I know>>or replacements are a bother

>>I didn't mention anything about the K mount to M42
Sorry, thought you meant that M42 was still supported on K here

You can use (mount/meter/focus) any modern non-g lens on almost every vintage nikon body. You might have to get ears put on it (for N/AI meters) but it's not a hard or expensive thing to do.
The problem with nikon is the backwards compatibility of the mount, not the forwards compatibility ;P
>> Anonymous
Go get yourself a used Canon Digital Rebel XT. XTi if you have the cash. It's a good, basic, super user-friendly dSLR, and it has all the automatic functions on it so that you can use it BEFORE you learn all the ins and outs of the fully manual camera, i.e. shutter speeds, ISO, aperture, and light metering.

That's what I did. I started out just like you, without a clue, and now I'm fully mechanically schooled and everything. I still use the digi XT because it's still a great camera.