My bullshit meter is twitching overtime for this one. I'm especially suspicious that the seller concedes the lack of provenance for this model , but then adds that this auction itself will provide evidence for any future similar sale. That reeks of a self-fulfilling prophecy, very fortuitous for his future sales, I'm sure.
Those appliqués on the prism are stylistic knock-offs of the contemporary Nikon's , from Nikkormat FTs through to Nikon FMs and FEs, so I can't believe that they would be factory authentic. Pentax has never been in the habit of mimicking Nikon styles. The red paint of K1000 looks a little dark, as if it has black paint beneath it. To my eyes the unarguably authentic red paint, the index mark for the shutter speed dial, looks a slightly different hue, and is brighter and lighter. Shouldn't they be the same? Double application of the SMC sounds unlikely. Coatings are formulated to be a certain thickness exactly, and IIRC work on the principle of destructive interference of light wavelengths. Twice as thick does not equal twice as good, there is only one correct thickness. And as has been pointed out, a premium treatment is unlikely to be applied to the no-frills lens model. The low vibration shutter? Slow running horizontal cloth FP shutters don't give very much vibration, so any extra damping would be presumably in the mirror action. It's possible that the factory did a special build with the mirror assembly borrowed from a different model. Didn't the KX have extra damping on its mirror action? I reckon this could be a "Shop Special", but not an Asahi Pentax factory special. At the very least I'd admit that the "low impact shutter" is a possibility, but the doubly applied SMC is unlikely. Everything else is aftermarket. "I am almost positive that you will not be able to buy this camera anywhere else." Of course if the seller made the modifications himself, or knew that the first owner had, he can make this claim with absolute authority. The seller's username has a slightly Russian ring to it, don't you think? Run away! Regards, Anthony > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Bob Sullivan > Sent: Monday, 8 December 2008 10:44 AM > To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List > Subject: Re: PENTAX RED K1000! RARE LIMITED EDITION > > Michel, > I got this response from the seller when I asked what documentation he > had to back-up the price. > > "At first glance, it really could seem that it is very simple to > make. The camera has a highly responsive light meter EV=1-20 with ASA 100 > film. The camera also has a low vibration shutter. The additional mirror > and shutter shock absorber lower the vibrations of the camera by > 15-20%. You can easily photograph without a tripod, even at 1/15 > seconds. This camera is beautiful and well made and does not look like it > was hand made. I would recommend that you try making what you think looks > simple in this model. If you are a serious Pentax collector, then you > would know that these models were really made and others such as the > ''PENTAX K1000 SILVER LABEL''; ''PENTAX HONEYWELL SPOTMATIC > JUBILEE''; > ''PENTAX SUPER PROGRAM RED''; ''PENTAX KM GOLD/SILVER LABEL''. I > have been > collecting cameras for 45 years and sometimes still come across models that > I have never seen before and that are impossible to find online. There are > no collectors that have seen everything they are interested in. Throughout > my many years of collecting, I have not only acquired many interesting > cameras and lenses but also many collector friends all over the world. I > bought this camera from a friend of mine, a Japanese artistic > photographer. He bought this camera at a small show organized by Asahi Co. > Ltd. Unfortunately, I do not have any official documents (receipts, > passports, etc.) that would prove the authenticity of this model. After > this auction, it would have made its mark on the internet and will no > longer raise the questions you have. So, it is not surprising you were not > able to find it anywhere. In 2009, I plan to start a website with a group > of collectors where I will have information about rare collectible cameras > and lenses. > Best regards. > > -rolikkosoy" > > Has anybody here heard of the models he is mentioning in CAPS here? > Regards, Bob S. > > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
