Pentax K1000 + Zenit MC Helios 44K-4 58mm F2

The Pentax K1000 is the camera that taught a generation how to shoot — fully mechanical, in production from 1976 to 1997, and famous for having nothing on it you do not need. Paired here with something genuinely uncommon: the Zenit MC Helios 44K-4 58mm f/2, the native K-mount version of the Soviet Helios 44. Most Helios 44s are M42 screw mount and need an adapter on a Pentax; this one bayonets straight on. The optics are the same Zeiss Biotar-derived six-element design that made the lens famous for its swirling backgrounds wide open.

Specifications

• Body: Pentax K1000 — fully mechanical 35mm SLR
• Shutter: Mechanical horizontal cloth, 1s to 1/1000s + Bulb
• Flash sync: 1/60s
• Mount: Pentax K — native, no adapter needed
• Lens: Zenit MC Helios 44K-4 58mm f/2, 6 elements in 4 groups, Biotar-derived
• Aperture: f/2 to f/16, 6 blades, automatic stop-down via the body
• Filter thread: 52mm
• Minimum focus: 0.5m
• Lens weight: approximately 255g
• Format: 35mm film
• Metering: TTL match-needle — currently non-working, see condition

Condition

• Cosmetic: Body in excellent condition with minimal to no signs of use; tiny dust present inside the viewfinder. Lens in excellent overall condition with minor cosmetic marks.
• Functional: Fully functional at all shutter speeds. The light meter is non-working. Lens glass is clean.

Included

• Pentax K1000 body
• Zenit MC Helios 44K-4 58mm f/2 lens
• Strap
• Lens cap

The light meter does not work, so this is shot with a handheld meter or a phone app — the shutter is fully mechanical and fires correctly at every speed regardless. Cosmetically the body is near-flawless apart from a little dust in the viewfinder. The native K-mount Helios is the interesting part here: swirly-bokeh Soviet glass with no adapter stack between it and the camera.