The M series were something of an uptick in Pentax's fortunes as things had been headed downhill after the success of the early Spotmatics. The later Spotties never sold as well as the early ones and the K series didn't really sell any better which is why they were replaced so quickly. But even the M's didn't stall Pentax's decline, instead they cemented Pentax's reputation as a low-end camera company.
Remember in the mid-60's Pentax dominated the 35mm SLR world alongside Nikon. By 1972-73 they were a much smaller player as Canon and Minolta in particular had introduced successful modern designs. Pentax never came close to regaining the marketshare or status they had in the mid/late 60's. -Adam On Sun, Nov 28, 2010 at 1:20 PM, P. J. Alling <[email protected]> wrote: > You've got that backwards Paul. The K series, preceded the M series of > cameras, which made Pentax in the '70's, (a lot of ME and ME variant cameras > were sold). The K1000 was release soon after the introduction of the M > series after the other K series cameras were dropped. It the various > cameras after the M series and Minolta's introduction of the first really > practical Auto Focus cameras began Pentax's decline. > > On 11/27/2010 10:41 PM, paul stenquist wrote: >> >> The k1000 was introduced in 1976. By that time, Adams was 74 years old and >> had quit shooting for the most part and was just making some reprints and >> organizing his archives. Also, remember that the Pentax's fortunes in 35mm >> photography had slipped considerably by the time of the K series launch, and >> the K1000, while a nice student camera, was the entry level offering of the >> Pentax K lines. In other words, Ansel Adams probably never touched one, >> although if he had, he might have liked it. >> Paul >> On Nov 27, 2010, at 8:00 PM, Bob Sullivan wrote: >> >>> Wasn't it St. Ansel's camera of choice when he wasn't shooting big >>> negatives? >>> >>> On Sat, Nov 27, 2010 at 3:19 PM, Nick David Wright >>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>> I've been shooting the past two years almost exclusively with the >>>> M-50/2, if that's what you're getting you won't be disappointed. >>>> >>>> As for the camera, maybe it's not the "greatest" but its all anyone >>>> ever needs to make a photo. And it will teach you more about >>>> photography than any auto mode will. >>>> >>>> ~nick >>>> >>>> On Sat, Nov 27, 2010 at 3:09 PM, Walter Gilbert<[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> As of approximately 6:00 PM central time this evening, I'll be the >>>>> proud >>>>> owner of a Pentax K1000 and what I suspect will be the 50mm f/2 >>>>> (though, >>>>> hoping for a pleasant surprise on the lens). Having spoken to the >>>>> owner, >>>>> it's been very lightly used, is fully functioning, and in need of a >>>>> battery. >>>>> I'd been afraid I was going to miss out on it, but as luck would have >>>>> it, a >>>>> little bit of computer tech work suddenly presented itself which >>>>> allowed me >>>>> to go ahead bite on it. >>>>> >>>>> I know it's not the greatest camera and/or lens on the planet, but I'm >>>>> pretty excited about finally being able to lay hands on a 50mm prime >>>>> without >>>>> having to order the thing over the 'net. I have a feeling I'm going to >>>>> get >>>>> a LOT of use out of this lens on my K-x (and my recent discovery of the >>>>> advantages of raw shooting -- [still sobbing over the shots lost to the >>>>> jpg >>>>> engine]), and may even venture into a bit of B&W film photography >>>>> before all >>>>> is said and done. >>>>> >>>>> Anyway ... here's asking for crossed fingers toward the hope for a >>>>> f/1.2 -- >>>>> but, at $40 US, I'll take it whatever it is. >>>>> >>>>> -- Walt >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> ~Nick David Wright >>>> http://www.nickdavidwright.net/ >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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. >>>> >>> -- >>> 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. >> > > > -- > "His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed > moral bankruptcy." > -Woody Allen > > > -- > 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. > -- M. Adam Maas http://www.mawz.ca Explorations of the City Around Us. -- 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.
