Pentax K-1000 – 35mm Film Camera
The Camera
INTRODUCTION |
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| SLR CAMERA “The Pentax K1000 is a SLR (Single Lens Reflex) Camera, which means, that you actually look through the same lens that is used to expose the film. “ There is a series of mirrors in the body of the camera that reflect the image to the viewfinder. The main mirror flips up when you take a picture |
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1. PARTS OF THE CAMERA |
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| Camera controls – top A. film rewinding crank B. shutter speed selector C. shutter release D. film / exposure counter E. ASA Setting (we use 400 ASA) F. film advance lever |
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| The Lens A. focusing ring B. depth of field scale C. aperture ring |
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| Bottom A. battery compartment B. tripod screw mount C. Film rewind release |
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| Inside a. shutter (don’t touch) b. film container compartment c. film sprockets d. take-up spool e. preasure plate (don’t touch) |
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2. LOADING FILM |
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| Pull up on the rewind crank until the Camera pops open (If you have taken photos make sure you rewound the film first!) |  |
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| “Place film with ‘nose’ down in compartment, and push down the rewind crank to hold it in place” |  |
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| Pull the Film across to the other side. |  |
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| “Place film into the slot on the spool, with the sprockets matching up with the holes in the film.” |  |
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| “Advance film to wind onto spool. If Film advance stops, press the shutter.” |  |
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| “Wind film until tight around spool, and both top and bottom sprockets are engaged “ |  |
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| “Close the Camera and take 2 pictures to ensure you have fresh film, and counter is set to 0 and make sure the ASA is set correctly (Usually 400ASA for our class)” |  |
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3. REWINDING FILM |
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| “When your roll is complete, the rewind lever will not move easily. BEFORE OPENING YOUR CAMERA, you need to rewind the film!” “Hold down the rewind button (or you will rip your film), turn rewind crank in the direction of arrow, until you hear a snap and there is no more tension. Take out film and place in a container for safekeeping.” |
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4. FOCUSING |
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| “Focus your Camera by looking through the lens and turning the aperture ring. You can also pre-focus by looking at the distance scale on you lens, with Distances given in meters (yellow) and feet (blue)” |  |
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| Many cameras have special focusing screens to help you get sharp images. |  |
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5. HANDLING THE CAMERA |
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| “Use two hands to hold the camera. One to support it, and the other to operate the controls.” |  |
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| Because it is difficult to hold still, you can not hold a camera at speeds below 1/60 (or less if you use different lenses) support your camera against an object when taking pictures.” |  |
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| For the best results, use a Tripod! |  |
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6. SHUTTER SPEED |
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| Shutter speed controls for how long light enters the camera. The speeds represent fractions of seconds. All cameras use the same speeds.If you change from 250 to 500 you let in HALF the amount of time. |  |
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| “When you switch from 60 to 30, you DOUBLE the amount of time (and light) “ |  |
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| Fast shutters freeze action |  |
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| Slow shutters will blur all moving objects SO: SHUTTER SPEED CONTROLS MOTION |
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7. APPERTURE |
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| “The other way of controlling light that hits the camera is using the aperture. Aperture settings are called F-Stops, again because they represent the fraction of natural light coming through the lens All cameras use the same stops” “The amount of glass used in a lens will affect how much light can get through, so more expensive lenses have larger F-Stops. (a stop of 1 would mean 100% of light is getting through the lens.)” |
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| You set f-stops by turning the ring closest to the Camera |  |
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| “If you make the f-stop smaller by one stop, you HALF the light. If you make the f-stop bigger by one stop, you DOUBLE the amount of light. “ “REMEMBER: F stops are fractions, so a bigger number means a smaller opening.” |
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8. DEPTH OF FIELD |
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| Aperture also controls how much of your picture is in focus With a small aperture (F22) most of your picture will be in focus |
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| With a large aperture (F2) only the place you focus on will be sharp |  |
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| “This is called Depth-of-Field, and your camera has a scale on the lens to guide you. Located between the focus ring and aperture ring of your Camera” “If you are focused at 4 Meters and use F22, the everything from 2 Metres to Infinity will be in focus. At F4 only from 3 to 5 Meters will be in focus While at F2, only objects at 4 meters will be in focus” |
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9. LIGHT METER |
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| Most cameras have a light meter. The Pentax K1000 has a built in meter on the right side of the focusing screen. The needle will move up and down when you turn the aperture ring or speed dial. “For correct exposure, the needle should be horizontal. If the the needle is lower, there is not enough light, so you have to increase the time or aperture. If the the needle is higher, there is too much light, so you have to decrease the time or aperture” “The CORRECT combination depends on what you want to achieve – depth of field, frozen motion or blurred action – but remember speeds below 60 are hard to hand-hold! – “ |
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| It is a matter of balancing time and aperture. (think of aperture as a funnel opening and the light as the water) |  |
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| “WARNING: In order to work, the ASA setting has to be correct, so make sure you do not change it by accident.)” |  |
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10. CAMERA CARE |
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| Don’t touch the Shutter preasure plate or inside of the Camera |  |
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| “Keep your lens clean, wipe only with a static free cloth, NEVER use paper towel (it scratches)” |  |
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| Keep a filter on your lens to protect it from scratches and damage should you drop it. |  |
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