Pentax ZX-M / MZ-M

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
2 votes

Price Paid:  $150.00

Summary:
I love this camera and I will never get another SLR until I switch to digital in a few years. It has everything you need, nothing you don't, and the controls are simply elegant. I always get well exposed prints. I've had it for about four years and have not had a single problem. The 50mm f/2 lens that is offered with it is sharp and well made. If manual focus is your thing. This is all you need.

Strengths:
Small Well-built Easy to use Lots of available lenses Inexpensive

Weaknesses:
Not black Not weatherproof

Similar Products Used:
Minolta Maxxum Stsi Nikon F50

Customer Service:
N/A

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
1 votes

Price Paid:  $168.00 from e-bay

Summary:
Took some of the most amazing pictures with this camera. Easy to chenge settings, controls are right where you need them. Combined with a battery pack, gives you the feel and look of a pro-camera. Light meeter might be a bit off in outdoor conditions, but as a manual camera user you should know how to adjust the settings without relying on the camera's meter. Best dollar for dollar camera I have owned.

Strengths:
- very durable - easy to use - DOF preview

Weaknesses:
- could have a manual winder

Similar Products Used:
F3MA K-1000 ZENIT APK, 212K

Customer Service:
Never needed.

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Jessops

Summary:
This is the first SLR that i've owned, i was attracted by its general manualness. Performance is generally sound although metering for black and white isn't great. Compact size and light weight are bonuses, its fairly strong too having taken a couple of falls without any problem. A good camera to get to grips with the basics of photography.

Strengths:
Good range of shutter speeds, DOF, robust, have shot about 40 films on the initial set of batteries, motor drive [albeit not very fast]. Cheap.

Weaknesses:
The bundled lens is a cross between a real manual lens and an autofocus style, it's short with a tiny focusing ring which slips very easily. Avoid this and pick up used K - mount lenses. Viewfinder display can be difficult to read in some conditions. Also no provision for a manual remote trigger, requires a pentax remote [costly].

Similar Products Used:
Nikon F35, Nikon F80

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.67 of 5,
3 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from brians camera

Summary:
I bailed out from this camera as soon as i noticed it had a very difficult time metering under unusual or tricky lighting situations. ( Yes, i realize that some would cry foul as it couldn't be the camera, it must be the user! NO, i am currently using a 15yr old Program -Plus and the pics turn out great) One does not know what percentage of the metered light is allotted for each of the 2 segments. They would have been better off just making it a center -weighted system, as then you would at least know what area of the viewfinder to focus the target on. (Or, better still , having made it say a 3 segment metering system.) In my opinion it is good only as a point-and shoot camera. Not recommended for the student!!

Strengths:
lightweight, exposure memory lock, several exposure modes available,

Weaknesses:
no auto bracketing; good only for average light scenes; only 2 segment metering; no built-in flash;

Similar Products Used:
program plus; nikon FE

Customer Service:
NEVER NEEDED

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $170.00 from Wolf Camera

Summary:
Bought this camera to replace my Yashica FX-3 (my beginning system). I needed an inexpensive camera with a better selection of lenses at my price range. This had all of the features I wanted, was in my price range, and had a wide selection of lenses to choose from. I've used it for portraits to nature to journalism.

Strengths:
DOF preview, exposure compensation, AA battery pack (very reasonable at $30 extra), access to controls (dials make it very easy to change settings, I can't stand pushing buttons over and over to get to a 'custom program'... )

Weaknesses:
I've had the same black specks show up in viewfinder (doesn't affect picture, just distracting). Only other weakness is that I didn't buy 2.

Similar Products Used:
Yashica FX-3, Nikon N90s

Customer Service:
Never had to deal with them yet.