Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]M.E.Berube <MEB@goodphotos.com> wrote: > I'm hard pressed to think of a better 35mm camera for a > student than a Pentax K1000. (or a minolta srT etc...) > Why outlay a lot of money for equipment before you learn > if you will stick with it or not? Many students may > eventually end up not interested in photography after > all. Even now that they are no longer in production > K1000s (and srTs) can often be obtained in great > condition WITH a fast 50 for less than the cost of a > Leica never ready case alone. These venerable hunks of > metal are more than suitable to learn the basics of > light management and composition. > > After the passion for photography is established and the > basics are learned there is plenty of time to work on > getting coveted quality equipment. (After 20 years, I > still wouldn't trade my srTs in for anything.) Not > everyone is lucky enough to have parents who can hand > down used Leica (on topic) equipment nor wealthy enough > to be able to even purchase such quality used. Agreed completely. I'm one of those lucky folks with a hand-me-down Leica M (bought nearly all my own lenses however), but the camera I learned on–not counting the Instamatic I abused as a pre-teen–was a K1000. I still have it and in fact picked up a used KX not long ago so I could do macro photography with mirror lockup. In November a few years back I spent two weeks with a friend hiking and taking photos in and around the Grand Canyon. Took along my M2 (35 & 90 'crons), K1000 (50, 135 & 200 SMCs and 1.4x converter) and lots of Ilford Delta 100 and XP2. The two systems were perfectly complementary. - -Dave-