Made between 1976 to 1997.
But a K1000 SE ver also came out in 1979.
These are identical except that the SE ver has a ground glass with micropism and split screen.
Also SE's from the first few years of production used brown leather instead of black.

Later regular K1000 can be found with the same focus screen as the SE.

Technical info

Lens mount: PK
Shutter: 1/1000s to 1s + B
Light meter: Through the lens, center weighted (ISO 20 - 3200)
Battery: One 1.5v SR44
Flash: Flash hot shoe + PC sync connection (sync 1/60 sec)
Weight: 610g

Takes standard 135 film
24×36 mm negative size.



Viewfinder:

Great size and good brightness for a 1976 standard.
But it's a bit darker than the somewhat later models like the Pentax ME Super which came out in 1979.
None the least a very nice one and it's easy to find focus etc.

Info:
Right side has a match needle info for the light meter.

Focus aid:
Microprism


Shutter type:

Focal plane
Horizontal traveling cloth curtain (rubberized silk cloth)

All mechanical.


Build quality:

Body is all metal and it's very nice and solid.
This was made under a lot of years and some changes was done during that time.
The biggest was between 1990-97 when the top and bottom exterior plates was changed to plastic.
These latest ver can be easaly spoted becouse the logo in the front only sees Pentax and not Asahi Pentax like the older.

Look, feel and sound:
I really like this clean and simple look.
The feel of the camera is just amazing.
And the levers and buttons has a very nice feel to them.
Shutter and mirror nois are okay for this typ of SLR.




Usability:

This is a very simple camera and it has what you need but nothing more.
So no fancy auto shutter or even a self-timer.

It's all mechanical so battery is only needed for the light meter and this also uses a modern battery.
My copy did not have a working light meter unfortunately so I can't say much about this.
But it is apparently always on as long as it got light to read.
So if you don't want to drain your battery you have to put on a lens cap.

This camera also feel very good in your hands and it is logical how you operate it.


Conclusion:

One of the longest lived and most sold SLR ever.
So that has to say a thing or two about this camera.
And the lack of features was apparently seen as a feature when it was sold.
This because it was seen as a more reliable camera with less things that can break which is statement I would defedenly stand by.

The look and feel is just amazing and it is very similar to the Pentax Spotmatic.

A very nice camera for those that looks for a simple manual camera.


Thumbs up:
Great build quality and feel
Reliable
Viewfinder

Thumbs down:
Light meter is always on.
No mirror lock or equivalent.
No self-timer.


Related post how you can get the mirror to lock on this camera: HERE