K1000 resurrection

April 29, 2009 10:41 AM

Old AskMe post resolved. In 2004, I asked about getting a jammed Pentax K1000 fixed. ->

A couple few days ago, I found the camera again. Mysteriously, it had repaired itself. I played with it for a bit, and then it jammed again. I Googled for variations on 'Pentax K1000 shutter release jammed' and came up with plentiful reports of the problem. i also came up with a couple hints that it was an easy thing to fix.

After locating a page full of old Pentax service manuals (obv, you want the K1000 one if you are playing along at home), I removed the bottom plate (a simple three-screw procedure), jiggery poked the windy geary bits and hey presto, Bob's my uncle.

I loaded it up and started shooting.

(Now of course, 12 frames into the roll, it's jammed again, and I noted some light-seal material around the edges of the baseplate. So I'll be performing the same surgery shortly... in the dark.)

Anyway, just wanted to complete the thread. The fix is so incredibly simple it seemed silly not to point it out.

posted by mwhybark to MetaFilter-related at 10:41 AM (27 comments total)

My Spotmatic jams in humidity. I think it's the emulsion sticking more than anything else, but this is interesting...
posted by Sys Rq at 10:45 AM on April 29

Cool. It's still never happened to my K1000, but still happens to the MESuper.

I can never use my pentax without hearing Michael Franks singing "How come you always load your Pentax, when I'm in the nude?"
posted by crush-onastick at 10:47 AM on April 29

Question from 2004? Impossible. It's 2009, so that was 5 years ago. AskMetafilter can't be 5 years old. The years can't go by that fast. I refuse to accept it.




(congrats on getting the camera fixed)
posted by dios at 10:56 AM on April 29 [2 favorites]

Well that's interesting to me as the owner of a K1000 and ME Super. I roll out the ME now and again because gosh darn it there I things I can do with film that I can't with digital. So thanks in advance, I'll know what to do if/when she jams on me.
posted by Mister_A at 11:10 AM on April 29

gosh darn it there I things I can do with film that I can't with digital.

Throw it at people?
posted by inigo2 at 11:36 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]

It's like you read my mind (or my Facebook).
posted by Mister_A at 11:43 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]

A roll of what? Why in the dark? Did you scratch the sensor? What are you talking about?
posted by GuyZero at 11:48 AM on April 29 [3 favorites]

mwhybark: "jiggery poked the windy geary bits and hey presto, Bob's my uncle."

There's something wrong with the MetaFilter database. This doesn't make sense, I think it got corrupted somehow.
posted by Plutor at 12:01 PM on April 29

Pentax? OH SHIT THE WYRM
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:01 PM on April 29

We have cameras(?)
posted by cowbellemoo at 1:34 PM on April 29

"jiggery poked the windy geary bits and hey presto, Bob's my uncle."

See, I would expect this sort of linguistical frippery from someone down under, but not SEATTLE.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 1:59 PM on April 29

In my defense, there are speakers of ye Qveene's Englyshe hereabouts.
posted by mwhybark at 3:14 PM on April 29

See, I would expect this sort of linguistical frippery from someone down under, but not SEATTLE.

It's perfectly ordinary banter, Squiffy. Bally Jerry pranged his kite right in the how's yer father ... hairy blighter, dicky-birdied, feathered back on his Sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harper's and caught his can in the Bertie.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:25 PM on April 29 [1 favorite]

Speaking of Bertie-ese, I saw where the full run of Jeeves and Wooster is getting a DVD re-release soonish, what.
posted by mwhybark at 3:50 PM on April 29

It's on DVD right now? What have I been watching with Fry & Laurie on DVD all those times?
posted by GuyZero at 3:51 PM on April 29

Their Bits?
posted by Sys Rq at 3:52 PM on April 29 [1 favorite]

yes, it's new edition (or packaging or something), dunno whyfor. Seems like it was hard to get the original release for a while. See? Both versions. Upcoming one due end of May, priced lower than the currently available one as a preorder. AS I said, this just bobbed under my nose and made me go 'huh,' I have no special knowledge of the product's differences and similarities to extant product.
posted by mwhybark at 3:55 PM on April 29

I mis-parsed re-release as in "re-released from VHS to DVD" as opposed to DVD-to-DVD. Anyway, jolly good! I'll let Fitzroy and Scrottie know down at the club.
posted by GuyZero at 4:02 PM on April 29

Wow, I wasn't even born then!
posted by SpacemanStix at 4:19 PM on April 29

I found out this week that this incurable askme could be fixed by finding this painting. I hope lizzicide is enjoying her time here.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 5:19 PM on April 29

Oh, god, a thousand times yes. Best five dollars fucking EVER.
posted by lizzicide at 6:58 AM on April 30 [1 favorite]

Huh, wacky painting.

Here's a blog post with a pic of the info card from the musuem wherein it resides.
posted by mwhybark at 7:58 AM on April 30 [1 favorite]

Bob's my uncle

I have no idea what that means but I love it.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 8:39 AM on April 30

I think it means one of his parents has a brother named Robert.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:23 AM on April 30 [1 favorite]

Note to self: Never piss off Mrs. Clovis
posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:55 PM on April 30 [1 favorite]

I have no idea what that means but I love it.

It generally means you live in the UK or watch too much BBC. Wikipedia for Bob's your uncle
posted by Lame_username at 1:10 PM on April 30

I had a K-1000 for about 20 years. What a fucking tank of a camera. Sure, its flash speed was slow, & it didn't go to 1/4000 like my wife's hoity toity Nikon, but god, it took the abuse. It routinely got caked in mud, I kicked the tripod over in the dark at least twice, and one time I tossed my pack down a 20-foot deep crevice, then realized the camera was in my pack. Oh, well. It was fine. I had the shutter sticking problem once. Pretty common for that model, I understand.

I had to sell it and 3 lenses in order to afford a good digital SLR, but man, I really, really miss being able to mistreat a camera. My new(ish) D-50 seems like such a princess by comparison.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:37 AM on May 1