Pentax mzm manual

I had no cause to use the shutter priority or manual modes, but looking through the Pentax MZ-M viewfinder in manual mode, the LEDs which guide you to the correct exposure are agreeably bright and indicate both if the image is under or over-exposed and by how much.

Towards the end of the roll of Tri-X , pressing the depth of field preview button, which had worked fine previously, randomly seemed to be the trigger for a catastrophic malfunction, and the shutter never fired again though the Pentax MZ-M did have the presence of mind to spontaneously autorewind the film. It seems there is a reliability issue with the shutter mechanism of the Pentax MZ series. Maybe just think twice before using depth of field preview.

There is also an autofocus version of this camera, the MZ-5, which is reviewed here. For more articles on 35mmc about the subject matter discussed here, please click one of the following tag links:. Alternatively, please feel free to chuck a few pennies in the tip jar via Ko-fi:. Become a Patron! Learn about where your money goes here. Would like to write for 35mmc?

Find out how here. Thank you for the story and pictures Yes, these are actually problem-free cameras for beginners and yet everything can still be set manually.

Even so, a no-frills mechanical camera is better, even for beginners. Until recently I also had two of these — along with many others; unfortunately some of them suddenly break plastic gears that break ; so if you go on vacation with it, it is better to have a second housing with you … otherwise you get annoyed — like I was recently on vacation.

Thank you very much for your comments Andy. This was my first camera when I started taking photos around It was great. Even with the plastic bayonet mount I was able to hang a mm Takumar off the front or maybe I hung the camera off the lens! Agreed, I liked it a lot too Dave — now using a weightier Pentax P30 P3 instead, which is great, and has a brighter viewfinder, but is definitely more limited.

These are indeed terrific cameras — the whole MZ range seems to have an issue where they pick up dust, small hairs and such in the finder very easily over time.

Shout out to Ricoh for still having the product information online, years after they have no longer been sold. Eye roll. And the Pentax ZX-M fits right in. They offer the same feel and most of the features of any DSLR someone may already be familiar with. I have many of the great Minolta AF cameras from the to the 7.

Two of my favorites, while not bullet proof like my SRT manual group, are the Maxxum 5 and Small, light, great features, use the great Minolta lenses in my collection, super cheap, and my favorite of all they used a metal bayonet mount and not plastic.

Hi, interesting points made here. Film photography for many people is more about a statement they want to make and a feeling they want to experience. Thank you Stefan — good point, I agree that the continued interest in film photography must surely owe a great deal to the deserved appeal of the classic SLRs.

I'm zero for six. I do not recommend this camera, period end of story. Spend a few dollars more and pick up a K or M body. You'll be much happier with your selection. Review Date: March 18, For my A-lenses my favorite. It has much more features than the famous Super A. With exterior TTL flash excellent photos using it with AA-battery grip mine's has no diopter correction as indicated above.

Review Date: April 19, Inexpensive on the used market, very lightweight. I wanted a basic camera and the ZX-M is certainly that. It is indeed a plastic camera all over but doesn't feel cheap. The only place it feels and sounds plastic is the film door.

But let me say this, even though it feels and is plastic it still feels like a solid camera. My ZX-M sat in the closet for may years when I took a long break from photography so it's in excellent condition. The plastic lens mount has held up great despite almost always having metal mount lenses attached.

The battery pack allows the use of 4 AA batteries and will save you money over the more expensive battery the ZX-M was designed to use. Again, the grip makes the camera much easier to handle and adds very little weight. On the topic of weight, this is a very light camera. When I first got it I would always use older manual lenses that were heavy, so I was still toting a sort of heavy rig. It's unbelievable how light the combo is. Even when my K-x kit lens is mounted it's light load.

If you're interested in picking up this or any other camera on the used market I would recommend finding the Manual in PDF form online and checking out the features of the camera. The controls on top of the camera are easy to use thanks to the rubber grip on each dial, the power switch and shutter button are where they should be for ease of use, the depth of field preview button is a great feature, and in my opinion the ZX-M is a good looking camera.

I've never dropped my ZX-M so I can't attest for how really solid it is, but it feels like a well built camera even after all these years. It's cheap to buy, the battery pack will pay for itself and makes the camera easier to hold , takes great pictures, may make you a better photographer as you have to work a little more and if you ever happen to break the camera you can replace it for next to nothing. Review Date: January 12, This is a very good, basic SLR that fits the niche it was created for: students new to photography.

No, the viewfinder is not the best. Yes, the plastic lens mount is questionable. But it has simple to use control dials, you control aperture on the lens itself, and it forces you to do a lot of the work but has P mode if you really need it.

The biggest durability issue I have had is the markings on the shutter speed dial rubbing off. A little sharpie fixed that, though. Now I'm just waiting for the digital version. Review Date: September 15, Plastic build, non-reliable focus system. This camera was my first SLR, I bought it new about 10 years ago.

I bought a fully manual camera with the sole purpose to force myself all the aspects of SLR photography without relying on any electronic aids, and it did the trick. This camera is easy to use and will force you to become a better photographer, otherwise you won't get good pictures with it - period. The build looks cheap and plastic-y, but is fairly solid nonetheless. I would suggest this camera only for people that really want to learn all the basic aspects of SLR photography without the use of electronics, and who want to learn to shoot film, otherwise this is probably not the camera for you.

Review Date: May 28, Its a joy to carry this around because of the weight However the viewfinder is really small though on the other side its really bright This is a student camera after all. Review Date: June 24, I spent my life as a teacher not of photography and this would be my first choice for students if I taght photography. All manual everything is available along with three autoexposure modes to use as training wheels.

All the manual shutter speeds and f-stops are right in your face and you just grab the dial and turn it to what you want. Other cameras this small often have cryptic controls Super Program or are hard to hold onto Nikon FG.

The manual meter in the viewfinder is so much better than the many cameras that claim a manual mode but make it really hard to use. I am not sure why this camera is rated below much less capable or more unintuitive models. It includes many of the features that are missing and so draw complaints in the reviews of those other cameras.

On the negative side I too find it hard to focus, but then at my age everything but an Exakta is hard to focus. I suspect youngsters would have no trouble with it and I'd use an autofocus model for seniors. In addition to not lasting very long the batteries seem to die in the camera even when it is turned off and unused so I take them out.

It weighs a whole 65 grams and it's thin enough that you'll be able to get the camera, lens and all, into your pocket. There's even some adapters for Pentax lenses out there if you're really weird. This must look incredibly silly and I don't know why anyone would do this especially given that you could go get some superb K-mount lenses for the price of the adapter , but that's photographers for you.

I got a quite incredible and very cheap! I'm spoiled because my main camera for years was a Voigtlander Vito B; every aperture ring is nasty in comparison. Boring snapshot, but check out the deep, rich reds! This always works, though I'm paranoid and always swing the exposure compensation dial around to "ISO" to make sure it has detected it properly it has every time so far. Like weird film? You can use films from ISO 6! You need this on a camera without a manual rewind crank, because there's no rewind crank spinning as the camera winds on to tell you that the film is loaded properly.

No built in flash, sorry. Even with Pentax's dedicated flash, you don't get TTL autoflash at all. The manual tries to scare you into only using Pentax flash units, but they would say that, wouldn't they? I haven't set fire to the camera using a big old Nissin TW , so make of that what you will. Motorised, about two shots per second, and you have the option of continuous shooting. Rewind is automatic and motorised, too, as is film advance to the first frame when you load the film.

I kinda liked it anyway, so I'm forcing it upon you. Edited only to rotate and crop. SLR pentamirror not a pentaprism -- another reason this camera is very light. You get shutter speed and aperture displays in the top left though in aperture priority and metered manual, you'll only see the aperture display if you've got a lens with electronic contacts, as mentioned earlier , and an LCD exposure bar graph right underneath.

In the automatic modes, the LCD bar graph on the left shows you how much exposure compensation you are using, and turns off altogether if you don't have any set chew on that , Canon! In fully manual mode, this works as your over- and under-exposure meter. It's as well-designed as anything I've ever seen, even if the LCD display is a little dim for bright daylight.

Stick it in program auto "A" on both the aperture ring and shutter dial and just shoot. Everything works just as it should do, and everything is where it should be. Actually, the first thing I noticed was that the power switch is in just the right place: right in front of the grip, so if you forget to turn it on I did you can turn it on easily with one finger.

It's more awkward to turn off, but I doubt you'd ever have to do this in a hurry. Actually, I find the button to be a little slippery, so I'm probably going to stick a bit of rubber on it to make it even easier to use one-fingered.

Whine whine whine. Ignore my nit-picking; I could find things I dislike in just about any camera that isn't a Trip This camera is a joy to use. Yes, it does its R2-D2 impression when you use the AE lock. Yup, it feels kinda plasticky, because it is. That's the price you pay for a camera which weighs so little that you'll forget it's there.

There cost next to nothing these days -- another good reason to get one.