Inside a K2

I couldn't get my "normal" case to fit, the little plastic loops wouldn't fit over the strap lugs. I assumed the ME-F case was slightly larger.

K.

I'll double check when I get home and measure them

Kim

I'll investigate closer. The case is sort of halfway between the Spotmatic's leather case and the cardboard ERC sold for the M series, the main obvious difference is the dimpled finish and the way the top of the "nose" is stitched to the rest of the front - on the Spotty the nose is a separate piece of leather while on the KM case it comes up onto the top of the case to form a sort of "T" shape. This case is also more flexible than the M series case and doesn't seem to crack as badly.

I also have a very tidy Spotty with original ERC/strap and Super Tak 35mm f3.5. The case and lens came with my KM, however given the supplier sticker inside the case was earlier than the camera (and the presence of the M42 lens) I surmised that someone had bought a KM to replace a dead Spotty. I've since replaced it, united the KM with the 55/1.8, and sourced the correct case for the KM

I did buy another for my KX but it never came out of the pre-xmas London post. I just hope whichever light-fingered individual was dipping into the mail was seriously disappointed to get a scruffy old camera case rather than anything saleable!

I too was caught out by the MX case as I was sold a standard M series one which, judging by the distortion, someone had determinedly rammed an MX into! It recovered more-or-less the correct shape after some careful bending and now protects my Italian-spec ME from any further scuffs.

Did longer front parts exist for these cases?

The "folded" cases were the later ones and I may be wrong but most were sold for the K1000. My KX case is put together like the Spottie cases but made of that dimpled cardboard LOL I love that description!

For most of the cases there were long fronts. I even have one for the Spottie. This does attach to the bottom half and there is a wide piece of elastic so it will fit over the lens.

For the M series and the Super A, there were the T1, T2 and T3 fronts. The T1 basically would take the 50/1.2 lens. The T2 was useful for the 35-70M and the T3 would take a short tele lens. On all of these, they didn't attach to the back but were put on over the lens and were velcroed up the back.

The "normal" front for the LX would take the 50/1.2 as standard and so there was no T1 equivalent. There were, however, the equivalent of the T2 and T3 in leather.

Kim

Hmm, see, the K1000 cases I've seen (stamped "Asahi Pentax" so presumably genuine) are different again!

The KM case I have looks like this, although that one seems to be a copy rather than the genuine article. The top of the front part is pretty much identical though.

The K1000 ones I've seen are like this.

I could do with the long front for a KM/KX as I rather like my K 120/2.8 for shooting architectural detail but obviously it won't fit into the standard case. At present I just unclip the front, but this makes the lens rather vulnerable to sudden rain showers or knocks against hard objects.

Yes, I think the later K1000 were made like that though I'm not sure when the change happened. Early on, there was just the one case to fit the K1000, KM and KX. Looked liked to copy but had the AP logo badge as well as the stamp.

If you go to my website and look under literature, the KX case is shown in a picture in the KX brochure. Also Page 44 of the Pentax K Series Lenses and Accessories shows the cases. It does say one size for the K2 and another for the KX/KM. It also lists 2 long fronts. You will notice the slightly different design on the "snout".

The one I managed to get and it was only after years of searching is actually a Spotmatic one but it works just as well. It's the one shown in the Spotamtic System Brochure also on my site.

Kim

Thanks for that - looks like I've got a bit of a hunt on my hands then!

I'm intrigued when the K1000 case changed. I have a minty K1000 which judging by the serial number is from the first batch to be made in Hong Kong after production was moved from Japan, and wouldn't mind getting the correct case for it although I haven't used it for ages.