Lenses for Pentax K1000?

Rob MacKillop

Rob MacKillop

Edinburgh Correspondent
What lenses would be compatible with my Pentax Asahi K1000? I still like some of the shots I took with that camera when I started out. Link to my K1000 Set on Flickr: Pentax K1000 - a set on Flickr

I've never changed lenses on any camera (they are fixed on my two Fujis) so it's something I haven't given much thought to, and know little about. I'm not interested in a zoom lens, as my Fuji X-S1 has a super zoom. Something for portraits, perhaps? Also wide angle for landscapes, maybe?
 
I would check out Rocky camera, there are lots of lenses as well, you are looking for a 'pk' mount

Pentax

Whats odd about that listing is that it also states 'M42' mount, so it might be an M42 lens with a PK adaptor? Just looks quite a shiny mounting bayonet thats all, but im sure it will be fine :D Looks to be in good condition as well, I was looking at getting a K1000 but got the Nikon FM2n instead, I liked the fact that there are so so many lenses for the PK mount as the K1000 was a 'student' camera.

Edit - looks like this lens came in M42 and PK mount :)
 
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You confused me for a minute there, David. But I did ask the seller before bidding if it would fit my K1000 as is, and he confirmed it would. Anyway, he has had over 2,600 sales and a 99.8% rating, so I'm sure he will take it back if it doesn't fit...
 
So, I'm trying to figure this out. There is the M42, which is a screw-in system? And most of the others are bayonet? So, what is a PK? There must be different diameters, I suppose. I've seen adapters for PK to 4/3 systems as well. Does an adapter give a reduced quality compared to a dedicated system?
 
Adaptors are ok in some cases, the M42 lenses are screw lenses with a 42mm thread, PK or Petax K mount is a bayonet fitting, due to the large number of M42 lenses on the market (lots of russian lenses etc) some people buy lens adaptors to mount non OEM lenses to their cameras due to having more choice. I have an M42 adaptor for my Nikon, however due to certain lens mounts having a different flange distance I can't get infinity focus. I do have an adaptor with a corrective lens that would allow me to get the correct focus, however the extra piece of lens degrades the image slightly.

With your Pentax K1000 there are a LOT of lenses out there so you shouldn't need to get an adaptor for a certain lens, higher quality adaptors can sometimes be better and the new Canon mirrorless camera that has just come out comes with an adaptor to use normal lenses - its quite big as the flange distance is different.

There are certain lenses that work well with adaptors due to there being more space, an example is the Nikon to Canon adaptors, they do work well and there are people who use the older Nikkor lenses with a Canon adaptor to use the video functions on the Canon body but the lens quality on the Nikon.
 
Bloody hell David ... Talk about over complicating an answer ...

m42 and pk are both mounts that have been used by pentax which is I expect why the listing on eBay was odd.
there are many many mounts most of which are specific to brands, m42 being an obvious exception. It's a 42mm threaded mount, hense m42.

(Im going to do an article on this soon) flange distance is the distance from the mount to the flim plane.
If you try and mount a lens from a camera with a longer flange distance to a shorter one you just use an adapter that makes up that difference in distance

Trying to mount a lens from a camera with a shorter flange distance on a camera with a longer one is more difficult because you need to take away somthing away ... You can't very well remove some of the camera or lens (at least without serious modification). This problem can be solved with an adapter with a corrective element in it ...

lens mounts also contain parts that interact with the camera ... For example telling the camera what the aperture is set to so it can meter correctly ...
these things differ from brand to brand which often means adapting lenses means they can only be used fully manually.

you may have noticed I have been mounting lots of lenses to my sony nex ... It's an obvious choice as it has a very short flange distance meaning most lenses can be mounted with various adapters

in answer to the leica lens on a cheap camera ... Film cameras have very little if any impact on image quality ... So the only reason not to is the impact on function

- - - Updated - - -

... For the sake of saving confusion ... I often call flange distance flange back distance or FBD
 
Clear as mud [doh]

I'm now totally confused - is the lens I bought on eBay adapted with a mount in order to fit my K1000? And if yes, will that mean I can't focus to infinity? That would be useless for landscapes, but the seller said it would be great for landscapes.

Sorry to be so ignorant [doh] [doh] [doh] [I knew that emoticon would come in handy!]
 
Haha
no, the lens you bought is fine, it is designed to work on your camera ... You can tell it doesn't have an adapter in a couple of ways ... You can see the screws on the mount, and it doesn't say in the listing!

you will be able to focus to infinity and it will work fine for landscapes ...
 
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