----- Original Message ----- From: Christian Skofteland Subject: K1000: Why a good student camera?
> I'm sure the K1000 is a good basic camera but why do many people think it's a > good "student" camera? It's a good student camera because of all the crap it doesn't have. No aperture readout? Well then, better learn which way your lens works so you know when it is full open and then you count stops to the one you want. No shutter speed readout? Set the shutter speed, then remember where you put it. If you move it, remember which way, and how many clicks. Or, look at the damned camera. That ain't hard to do. What the K1000 has going for it is a completely uncluttered viewfinder, which allows the student to learn about COMPOSITION, and LIGHT, without a bunch of dancing lights and flashing numbers distractiong him/her. Being a student of photography isn't about learning how to run a camera, its about learning how to be a photographer. Its about learning what light does when it hits an object. It's about learning what light does when it reflects from an object back to the film. For myself, I think a Yashicamat is a better student camera than a K-1000, as it takes the student into the realm of quality imaging, something that no 35mm camera is capable of doing. The format itself cripples the student. And thats neither heresy or opinion. Thats fact based on 2 decades of teaching this stuff to students of photography. Your opinion may vary. William Robb
