Hi, I asked earlier about manual camera and Thank you all for your advises (Pentax K-1000 & Minolta X-700). I found a manual camera Pentax MZ-M new camera body available from various places. Is it a good one? Can I go for this one insted of K-1000.

Please advise me. Thanks

-- K Kanthasamy (kanthasamyk@netscape.net), March 28, 2002

Answers

The MZ-M (ZX-M in the US)is an electronic camera with manual-like controls. It will give you all the advantages of a manual camera except (1) it is very lightweight -- some people find it difficult to hold a lightweight camera steadily, and (2) it has motorized film advance, which might not be a problem for you at all.

It will use all the Pentax K-mount lenses, of course without many automatic features, so you will be able to find lenses cheaply. I recommend that you use a prime (fixed focal length) lens to start. The MZ-M comes with a perfectly good 50mm f/2.0 standard lens. This would be a good camera to start with.

I live in a large city, so one of the reasons I like the Old K-series manual Pentaxes is that the all-steel construction makes them good for self defence. Not everyone would agree with me.

-- Jeff Polaski (polaski@acm.org), March 28, 2002.