Pentax K2

image by Alf Sigaro (Image rights)

The Pentax K2 is a 35mm SLR camera introduced by Pentax in 1975. It was the flagship camera of a trio of that year featuring the new K lens mount developed for Zeiss in a joint venture never really to be developed. The two others were the KX and the KM. Along with these cameras, Pentax released a 26 Super-Multi-Coated (SMC) K mount lenses. The announcement of the K-mount cameras and lenses occurred at a large Pentax birthday celebration held at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan.

A year later the Pentax K1000 was added, becoming a popular mechanical camera. Taking advantage of new technical possibilities, the cameras all have full aperture TTL exposure metering, with a black indicator needle visible to the right in the viewfinder. The K2 has aperture priority automatic exposure, selected on the shutter speed dial. The camera selects the proper shutter speed between 1/1000 and 8 seconds when the shutter release is depressed. Other notable features of the K2 are the mirror lockup, and that shutter speeds from 1/125 to 1/1000 second and 'B' work without battery power.

Despite its short production run, the K2 set the stage for fine Pentax cameras to follow. The Pentax K-family was the first step on the road, but smaller cameras was the trend, initiated by the Olympus OM-1, and the Pentax K-cameras were merely a continuation of the Spotmatic body, just as big and heavy. There is remarkably little variation among the family of four K-cameras apart from the K2's automatic mode; yet they are quite differently arranged in detail, possibly testing alternative future design paths. Only a year later Pentax introduced the much smaller and competitive Pentax ME and Pentax MX.

Setting the film speed on the K2 is not particularly convenient. While facing the front of the camera, locate the rings surrounding the base of the lens mount. Next depress the black lock button situated at 5 o'clock and rotate the chrome ring with the ASA scale by grasping it at 5- and 11- o'clock to bring the desired ASA value opposite the small red index triangle labelled ASA in green at about two o’clock on the black ring. To set an exposure compensation value, grasp the two black knurled tabs low on either side of the lens mount and rotate firmly to bring the desired multiplying factor on the black ring opposite the tiny red index dot at ten o’clock on the lens mount. Make sure the ASA setting has not been offset during the process.

Specifications

• Manufacturer: Pentax
• Film type: 135 (35mm)
• Image size: 24mm x 36mm
• Shutter: Vertical, metal focal-plane (electronic or mechanical operation)
• Shutter speeds (mechanical): 1/125 or Bulb
• Shutter speeds (electronic): 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000
• Flash sync: X sync at 1/125
• Self-timer: 5 - 9 seconds
• Viewfinder: Pentaprism with cross-microprism or split-image focusing screen, 0.88x magnification
• Exposure meter: Silicon photo-diode, aperture-preferred, TTL metering
• Meter switch: Meter is on when shutter is depressed halfway
• Batteries: 1.5V S76E, MS76H or equivalent
• Weight: 680 g (24.2 oz) with no lens

K2 Features:

Depth-of-field preview

Auto exposure (aperture priority)

Exposure compensation (4×, 2×, 1×, ½×, ¼×)

The K-mount:

This lens mount was the result of cooperation between Pentax and Zeiss Ikon from the late 1960s until 1972. Zeiss Ikon however, withdrew from camera production about 1975, while Pentax went on and introduced the K-mount to be a feature of all their subsequent cameras. They made the mount available for other camera manufacturers as well, hoping for a new industry standard. Some manufacturers adopted it, but due to different requirements regarding electrical contacts, no real universal mount has been obtained.

Color Variants

There are two color variants of the Pentax K2; A black and silver version and an all-black version.

All-black Pentax K2 image by Colton Allen (Image rights)

All-black Pentax K2 image by _Paulo_ (Image rights)

Black & silver Pentax K2 image by Tassilo von Parseval (Image rights)

Black & silver Pentax K2 image by Dutch Dennis (Image rights)

Links

• Pentax K2 service manual from Pentax-manuals.com
• Pentax K2 in the K-Mount page