*Small *Light *Easy to use *Programs seem to work well *Well designed *Looks very kewl *The people at the pentax website are very nice, they put up Australian recommended prices...unlike canon who didn''t even put up US prices on their aussie site. *Feels very comfortable.

According to Ted''s (who I name "Club Canon") it doesnt have *Ghasp* Multiple exposures!! hahaha i personally have no intention of taking a multiple exposure even if the camera did have it. But if you DO want this feature (as I understand some might) look no further than the MZ-30.

Words cannot describe how much I love this camera!! It is my first SLR and I can already take great pictures on full manual. It is sooo comfortable everything is really easy to find you can change all settings and never have to move your eye from the viewfinder. The programs you can choose from for full automatic operation are all pretty good, although I find manual so quick and easy to use on it I normally just use that. It doesnt take a hundred shots a second or anything (actually it takes two which is better than the other cameras I was looking at). Some people seem to complain that its maximum shutter speed is "only" 1/2000 but unless your filming a gun fight and want to freeze the bullets mid air 1/2000 is more than enough. Despite being plastic it is very well built and feels solid. I got mine for $450 Australian (about $290 US) with a bag, a Sigma 28-80 Macro lens, a UV filter and a couple of rolls of film. I almost decided on buying a Nikon F-80 but after going into the shop and holding them I found the pentax a LOT more comfortable and bought it. The Nikon is a very good camera too, but it just felt too boxy for me. The Pentax is small too. Without the lens you could just about fit it in your pocket like a compact. And it''s light too. I think my wallet weights more (not a brag about my finacial state, im actually pretty poor. Just I have a lot of keys :P) When we went to buy this camera this woman at Ted''s tried to make me buy a canon which was waaaay overpriced (over $400 more than it should have been) on the sole basis that it did multiple exposures which were "essential"... But one thing you might want to know before you buy it, this camera is NOT manual in the sense that it operates without batteries. Many websites selling this camera seem to imply that, but the manual function is what you can use to decide all the settings yourself, without any programs doing any of the work. Anyway, I love this camera and Im sure you will too :)

Customer Service

Not needed :)

Light, ease of use. Quality shots when using quality lenses.

The lense that came with this body, FA 28-80 3.5 is o.k., but if get your hands on a decent prime lense you''ll probably never use the package lense again. I recommend buying the body only and investing in better lenses unless you only plan on taking fun shots, and not enlarging artistic shots. Pop-up flash unnecessary. On rare occasions the metering system seems to get confused, but doesn''t prevent good composition. Doesn''t have the option of single frame rewind.

This is a great compact camera body, with ease of controls. I like being able to adjust my exposures while meetering without having to look at the top of the body or reaching for a knob. Shots can be composed rapidly when neccessary with the thumb and index finger. Use high quality lenses and you''ll have near professional results. I use Pentax A-series 135 f-2.8, 50 f-1.4 and 28 f-2.8 . I like the feel of them better than the AF lenses. The auto program and focus modes were great while learning, but I no longer use them. I have more fun composing my own shots manually using the comfortable features of this light weight body. I recommend it for beginners and students. Once you have mastered composing your own shots, keep it as a great manual SLR for composing beautiful shots quickly.

Customer Service

Haven''t needed it.

Similar Products Used:

K-1000

Full automatic as a point & shoot, ease of use. Easy to read display. Not a complicated camera to figure out.

In full auto mode under low light with flash, metering is weak along with auto focus, Does better as an outdoor camera.

I bought this camera used one year ago and was surprised by the easy use of the camera. You almost don’t need to read the owners manual. The controls pretty much explain themselves. I use a ProMaster 28-200mm lens with a UV filter. I do different types of photography and have used a couple of different cameras. This camera is the easiest to use. With the fully automatic mode, you can take pictures like a point & shoot or for more complicated shots such as storm lightning or fireworks, go to full manual. I was surprised at the auto focus. Indoors it has trouble choosing what to focus on under low light but then again all the cameras I have used do the same thing. Overall A nice camera but not a camera to use for professional looking shots.

Customer Service

None needed so far

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N6006, Cannon Rebel G

Easy auto-focus and quick change of modes

I have had problems with the pictures coming back blurry.
Noisy re-wind.

Over all, I feel that it is of good quality for your money.

Customer Service

They have repaired my camera once.

Similar Products Used:

Fuji Discovery

Very cheap
Easy to use
Light weight
Looks good
Sigma 28-80mm Lens that cames with it, very shap and fast auto focus(Though i don't use it that much). Hard to manual focus. (cheap plastic build)

No DOF
Only Matrix metering
No Multi Exposure mode

I love it. Though it feels very cheap and easy to break(every thing will break, if you don't be careful with it), but the picture quality it's just like a pro. Also it is easy for my family to use it. Just point and shoot and the picture quality still coming out great. I've got lot of photo to show other people and they thought that I'm a pro. Heee... Secrete is that, go back and learn your basic photography stuff and be more creative. Browse the net for more or better or new idea and learn from it. If I’ve got money i will move to Pz-1p or MZ1(have to wait and see), but for now Pentax mz-50...hmm... I love it. 5 starts for this price range.

Customer Service

None

Similar Products Used:

None

Easy-to-use, full manual control if needed, wide array of accessories available, light wight, and very affordable as well.

None

Best camera for a beginner and for a casual amateur; a great tool for discovering the art of photography.

Similar Products Used:

Manual SLRs, e.g. Practica.

Light, easy to use, (with 28-80 Tamron lens) focusing was quick.

Silver finish?

Saw this for sale price and badgered my mum to get it for moi. Proved itself a capable piece of equipment.

Similar Products Used:

Centon K-100 (Chinise Pentax K-1000 copy)

Great value, quality, and features. Pentax lenses are generally the top in the field. This camera is incredibly easy to use, and quite handsome and nice to handle.

As others have noted, the relatively simple two zone-metering is sometimes fooled. Also, the autofocus hunts a bit sometimes - but as long as you are aware of the subject's position, you can focus-lock and recompose. As when buying any camera, watch out for big camera stores trying to give you off-brand lenses as part of a kit.

This is the best starter SLR on the market - get it quick before it disappears. Pentax optics are on par with Nikon's, and sometimes better (though they have fewer lenses, of course). If you don't need (or have the $$$ for) multi-point autofocus, depth-of-field preview, or a more sophistocated metering system, BUY THIS CAMERA!

Customer Service

Pentax is great. They sent me a manual within a week for a couple bucks. They answered two email queries within 2 days. They are the only ones to care about backwards compatability of new cameras with older lenses.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus IS-30, Nikon N-60, Canon EOS Rebel, several Minoltas

Used to have a Pentax MX and a point & shoot now got both in one Camera, focusing fast and easy with no problems so far ,and you can rewind in mid-roll, someone should read their manual,cann't comment yet on the batteries though.

Difficulty focusing in low light, but this may be a problem with all autofocus cameras,and you can always change to manual.

Good all uses camera for the Price, and you can meter manually with none A lenses, at least I worked out a way!

Customer Service

Good ,mine was bought in Spain, had mo problem getting the English manual.

Similar Products Used:

None

Lightweight compact camera.Easy to use.Excellent value for the money.looks great.

Standard Lens feel chintzy compared to Pentax M series or earlier.

Excellent value for the money.Ok for the beginner or the professional

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Have always been a Pentax fan.Started with a k-1000,then ME & Me super.