Pentax ZX-M / MZ-M 35mm SLRs
Pentax ZX-M / MZ-M 35mm SLRs
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[Jul 30, 2000]
John O'Neal
Intermediate
Strength:
Very light weight compact body. Takes great photos.
Weakness:
Plastic lens mount, but no wear yet. Great camera for the money. Good for learning techniques. Customer Service Never needed. Similar Products Used: Canon AE-1, Canon Rebel XS, Pentax k1000. |
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[Jul 28, 2000]
tom hirashima
Intermediate
Strength:
simple, cheap, lightweight.
Weakness:
plastic lense mount, no double-exposure, mid-roll rewind takes film all the way into the cartrige. Good beginners camera and a nice stand-by, but can't top a fully mechanical camera as a learning tool. I suggest a canon AE-1 for a start-from-scratch beginner. Customer Service n/a Similar Products Used: canon ae-1 |
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[Jul 19, 2000]
Richard Murrian
Intermediate
Model Reviewed:
ZX-M / MZ-M
Strength:
Features-to-Price ratio is unbeatable. Excellent Pentax quality and reputation. "K" lens mount (of which there are MILLIONS in circulation)
Weakness:
Body very lightweight, however, this is easily compensated for with the addition of the "AA" battery-pack option which gives added weight, size, and looks. Plastic lens mount is a negative. First and foremost, looking through the other reviews, anyone who would give this camera less than the "5" Thumbs Up rating in the "Value" catagory must have NO idea what they are talking about. The value for your money with this camera is almost too good to be true! Anyone who knows anything about SLRs would look at the spec sheet, look at the brand name, then look at the ridiculously low price and say, "What the...?". Why Pentax prices this little gem this low is beyond me. In the overall catagory, I can see a couple of things that would drop the rating down a bit, but for value for your money, forget it! This is THE BEST SLR in this price range PERIOD. I was looking for a new manual focus SLR and looked at the Nikon FM10 and Olympus OM2000. Neither of those two cameras offered the features that the ZX-M has on offer. (the FM10 turns out to be a piece of junk anyway, though the OM2000 seems to be a nice fully-manual camera). The auto advance and rewind, the 4 exposure modes, the ISO override, and exposure compensation, not to mention a very good TTL metering system, put this camera far ahead of anything in it's price range, and even ahead of most cameras that cost twice as much. My only complaints are the overall light-weightness and the plastic lens mount. The light weightness problem is easily solved by adding on the optional "AA" battery pack which adds size, weight, appearance, and a better grip. The plastic lens mount, however, you're stuck with and I guess is just a sign of the times. It does make me nervous having a large zoom attached to the plastic mount, though! I wish they had used metal there. Other than than, this is a great camera! I chose it because I do only fine-art photography and manual focus forces you to think about composition a bit more. If you want to use it for general photography, you can pick up an entry level autofocus model in the ZX line for about $20 more. I think the model number is ZX-50. Customer Service Haven't needed them yet! Similar Products Used: Nikon FM10 |
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[Jul 17, 2000]
Giuseppe Prencipe
Intermediate
Model Reviewed:
ZX-M / MZ-M
Strength:
Weigth, Price, DOF button, AE lock button, simple to use.
Weakness:
No Built-in Flash. A good camera: inexpensive and very ligth. OK, it does not have the AF, but have you looked at the price? Good metering system. I really disliked the lense in the kit: I changed it really soon. I like also the presence of the DOF button, that sometimes also advanced cameras do not have! I miss the presence of a built-in flash. In conclusion: I have been used this camera for the past two years in several situations, and I really liked the pictures It took. The prefect choice for the traveller that does not like many electronic gadgets. Customer Service Not needed yet. Similar Products Used: Yashica 109. |
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[Jul 09, 2000]
Allan Goldarbit
Intermediate
Model Reviewed:
ZX-M / MZ-M
Strength:
Compact,easiest manual camera to operate,fits hand like a glove,if I get lazy, there's always programmed mode
Weakness:
Haven't found any,yet except maybe the polycarbonate body which so far has been fine. Everyone should remember that things change, and many plastic materials are in fact as strong or maybe stronger than the cheap metals that are used on cameras. Great camera at any price. The only bad shots I've gotten have been "operator problems." For learning,intermediate, or advanced photography, this camera seems to be the best of both worlds. I'm sure I'll get many arguments, but the quality of most photos usually is determined by the picture taker, not the equipment. Customer Service Bought MZM with 7 year extended warranty from Mack Camera Service for much less than I would have paid for 1 year USA warranty from Pentax. ZXM and MZM are identical. Similar Products Used: ME Super,Konica Auto S-2,Ricoh Shotmaster Dual(point&shoot&garbage) |
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[May 07, 2000]
Kevin Sutton
Intermediate
Model Reviewed:
ZX-M / MZ-M
Strength:
This camera is very easy to operate. High lens availability, good quality for the price. No gadget menus. Fits in hands well with Battery Pack FG. Exposure lock.
Weakness:
A bit on the noisy side. If you want to be stealthy forget it. This is a great begginers camera or "pro" camera. You don't need the $1000 dollar camera to take great pictures. Pick up this one and put a great lens on it and your ready to show them up. I have had the camera for a year and a half and the lithiums are still good and the AA's for the battery pack last forever it seems. I have taken this thing in the rain and it has been in the snow and sand as well. I still don't have any problems with it. Customer Service questions to service people only but next day answers received. Similar Products Used: zx-5 |
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[Apr 19, 2000]
ben
Beginner
Model Reviewed:
ZX-M / MZ-M
Strength:
very easy. for the price it has a lot of features. very inepensive. fairly accurate P mode. compact(which can be good and bad)
Weakness:
it could be a little heavier. awesome camera for the dollar!!!!! Customer Service no need Similar Products Used: none |
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[Apr 05, 2000]
Collin Brendemuehl
Expert
Model Reviewed:
ZX-M / MZ-M
Strength:
Four exposure modes plus programmed flash make it easy to use.
Weakness:
Very basic construction. Wonderful grip to the hand, especially when adding the AA Battery Pack FG. It also has a decent winder built in. I've used it for a year now with no signs of problems. Exposures are consistent and operating with older "M"-class or newer "A" and auto-focus lenses is flawless. Similar Products Used: None |
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[Mar 28, 2000]
Dave Spaulding
Intermediate
Model Reviewed:
ZX-M / MZ-M
Strength:
The most features for a camera in its price range.
Weakness:
The view finder isn't the best, and no TTL. I've sold this camera to students and pros. They all want one thing. The best bang for the buck. This is it. A wonderful replacement for the K-1000. Customer Service Pentax has ok service. The web site could use some work. Similar Products Used: Pentax ZX-5n, MX, K-1000. |
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[Mar 11, 2000]
Miguel Giacomello
Intermediate
Model Reviewed:
ZX-M / MZ-M
Strength:
Very ligth, logical & excelent design,
Weakness:
nones Excelent for a globetrotter like me or hard conditions excelent pictures.Is a professional machine.It's unbelieve that price Customer Service no need them yet! Similar Products Used: Canon T-70 |