Digital equivalent of the old Pentax K1000

[TonySlattery]

I shall have to ask for forgiveness in advance for my abject ignorance regarding photographic equipment.

This is the reason I ask - There was a question in another forum regarding formal training, and it got me to thinking that with all the whizz bang features in modern cameras, all one has to do is point the device/camera in the general direction, and hey presto! award winning image.

Anybody remember the old days, before digital, if and when one did a course in photography, the old Pentax K1000 was the most popular camera to learn with. It had only two basic controls, shutter speed and aperture control, absolutely nothing automatic, except for the light meter in the view finder.

I never had one, BTW, mine was a Ricoh with a screw lens, can't remember what model, but similar in function.

So, to cut a long story, the question is, is there an equivalent digital version of the Pentax K1000?

[Kym]

No.
The P&S end of things may or may not have manual controls (i.e. you may have auto only).
You can of course put any DSLR into manual mode and ignore most or all the auto features.

I started with a Pentax MX (also film speed, shutter and aperture) all manual.

But, I strongly suggest for beginners using our learning plan that starts in auto and works towards manual.
Leverage the auto capabilities to avoid information overload.

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?24290-Learning-Centre-Learning-Plan-***Start-here***


The learning plan is designed to help members acquire the fundamentals of photography in a sensibly structured manner, one key element at a time.
This approach avoids information overload.

The learning plan is also very practical in that it asks those participating to post images and get feedback
(constructive critique a.k.a CC) whereby they can quickly improve their skills.

We start with the camera in full auto (with fixed ISO sensitivity of 400, and JPEG mode) while learning to hold the camera and compose shots
We then progress to Aperture Priority (with fixed ISO) while learning Depth of Field (DoF)
We add Shutter Priority to the skils (with fixed ISO) while learning movement control
Once the above are understood we process to changing ISO (100 thru 1600) using mainly Aperture Priority while learning about sensitivity and noise
The participant is now ready to use full manual control of the Exposure Triangle (ISO sensitivity, Aperture, Shutter speed)
We advance to control of white balance using raw mode instead of JPEG
Finally we add other aspects such as flash, stabilisation (tripod) and other creative options

The above sequence provides a sound base to further explore the joy of photography.

[William]

I shall have to ask for forgiveness in advance for my abject ignorance regarding photographic equipment.

This is the reason I ask - There was a question in another forum regarding formal training, and it got me to thinking that with all the whizz bang features in modern cameras, all one has to do is point the device/camera in the general direction, and hey presto! award winning image.

Anybody remember the old days, before digital, if and when one did a course in photography, the old Pentax K1000 was the most popular camera to learn with. It had only two basic controls, shutter speed and aperture control, absolutely nothing automatic, except for the light meter in the view finder.

I never had one, BTW, mine was a Ricoh with a screw lens, can't remember what model, but similar in function.

So, to cut a long story, the question is, is there an equivalent digital version of the Pentax K1000?


Not to sure about that even in modern Digital Photography, My First Camera was a "Kodak Box Brownie" I had a "Pentax Spotmatic" during the 60s and 70s 35 mm Film of course , In answer to your question yes there is , Most DSLR's I would have thought :)

[ricktas]

..all one has to do is point the device/camera in the general direction, and hey presto! award winning image.



Disagree. Show me an award winning photo take this way! All the award winning photos I have seen use the skills of the person behind the camera to get the result that wins the Award. Luckily people cannot be turned to "auto".

[Kym]

I assumed Tony was being sarcastic?

We are fighting P&S marketing that sells features that imply that if you use 'this' camera
you only have to point it in the general direction of the subject and out pops a sharp, well composed, well posed, well lit, masterpiece.
And if you have to, there is always photoshop.

Clearly the marketing messages are less than truthful.

[ricstew]

I started with a Pentax spoto too! an old one of my dads.......
The dslr answer is to turn off all the auto buttons.........I think.......and work in manuel.....the white balance would be the equivalent of the film you would like to use.
cheers
Jan

[ricktas]

Ithe white balance would be the equivalent of the film you would like to use.


Or filters. We used to have filters to counteract fourescent lights for example. You could either get the right film for the Kelvin temp of the lighting, or get a filter to screw onto your lens to counter the light.

[ricstew]

Jeez ya could too! I remember my little sister getting her bum flogged for drawing faces on dads filters.....and then I got mine flogged for laughing! Wow thats a buzz down memory lane :)

[fillum]

Depends what you mean by "equivalent". In my mind there is no equivalent - even if you switch a DSLR to manual settings you are still relying on plenty of electronics to take a shot. From memory, I'm pretty sure the K1000 would even operate without batteries (except for the meter of course). Some of my mates got K1000s back in the late '70s (or early '80s ?), but I went for an Oly OM-10 which I think was one of the first (semi) auto-exposure SLRs aimed at consumer-level users.

Dunno about "award winning", but certainly some aspects of what used to be called "camera craft" have become "a bit of a doddle" under normal conditions (focus, exposure for example) but this has really just raised the bar as to what we see as an "acceptable" image. On the flip side however, the digital age has also bought with it a heap of new stuff for serious amateurs to get their heads around - off-camera multi-strobe flash for example.




Cheers.

[OzzieTraveller]

Hey Ricki

Watcha mean

Disagree. .... Luckily people cannot be turned to "auto".

I see people running on "auto" every day

I see people who look where they're going to avoid bumping into others, but when I ask them "did you see (such & such) " the answer is 'no ... didn't see nuthin'

Regards, Phil