got a used SLR camera, any help figuring this thing out?

[rjakapeanut]

so my dad gave me a Kalimar KX 5000 SLR camera.

the only thing i know about this camera is that someone told me that it's a knockoff version of the popular Pentax k1000, which to the best of my knowledge is a decent camera.

i literally know nothing about these types of cameras. it has a lense that says 35-70mm. it has no flash. i would want a flash.

is there any sort of reference guide out there where i could learn a bit more about how these cameras work, and more specifically what are some basic parts out there that i could buy for this old thing? i wouldn't want to invest much -- as i really don't have much disposable income as a college student paying my own way -- but i think using this thing would be a lot of fun.

 

[milosz]

Should have match needle exposure - I recommend setting the aperture to your desired opening and just altering the shutter speed to meet the proper exposure (unless you're in a situation where you need a particular shutter speed to handhold or freeze action, in which case reverse the process). This is the poor man's aperture-priority program.

Lens is probably a piece of crap. The only info I can find says that it uses an old Minolta mount (MD) - you can probably get an excellent 50mm lens for $25-40 from a place like keh.com. Use it instead.

Flash - honestly, I've never used an on-camera flash that didn't basically do the work for me. I know the Vivitar 283 was the standard hot-shoe flash once upon a time, but nothing else about it.

 

[wmmk]

You'll be buying Pentax K-mount lenses for it. A 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 would be the logical place to start. You'll also need film. Ilford makes cheap but decently nice black & white films. Kodak Portra films are nice for color, and are fairly forgiving in terms of exposure. Check out Pentax/Kalimar groups on flickr and pentaxforums.com for advice on where to look for scans of the camera manual online.

I used to shoot Pentax (and now shoot Canon), but if you have any questions about 35mm photogaphy in general, feel free to PM me.

 

[milosz]

It's not a K1000 copy. It's a Chinese copy of a '70s Minolta body (that I actually owned, once upon a time). Primarily made with a Minolta manual mount.

But some were sold with a K-mount, so you need to check the lens barrel and front for markings - something that says MD or K, most likely.

 

[rjakapeanut]

Originally Posted by milosz

It's not a K1000 copy. It's a Chinese copy of a '70s Minolta body (that I actually owned, once upon a time). Primarily made with a Minolta manual mount.

But some were sold with a K-mount, so you need to check the lens barrel and front for markings - something that says MD or K, most likely.

It says MD. What does this mean??

 

[milosz]

That means it's a Minolta manual-focus mount. For lenses, you need to find those with a 'MD' mount (will usually have that as a prefix or suffix somewhere on the barrel).