skygzr Posted December 30, 2003 Share Posted December 30, 2003 Hi Everyone � I spent some time looking around the �net, and I�m probably more confused now than I was when I started. I�m wondering if Pentax ever made a camera with all these features: auto exposure, manual mode, AE lock, manual ISO settings (bulk loaded film, you know), and DOF preview. AE lock is a �must�. I can live without DOF preview and I don�t care about program modes. The fewer buttons and readouts, the better. If not Pentax, then how about Ricoh or someone else? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skygzr Posted December 30, 2003 Author Share Posted December 30, 2003 Don't need autofocus, either (sound of T-Rex in the background....). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry thirsty Posted December 30, 2003 Share Posted December 30, 2003 How about a ZX-5N? The problem is they are no longer in production and don't come up on E-bay very often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the tightwad Posted December 30, 2003 Share Posted December 30, 2003 Look for a Pz-1p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_merrill Posted December 30, 2003 Share Posted December 30, 2003 I second the recommendation for the Pz-1p. It is a great manual focus camera that can do autofocus in a pinch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_oleson Posted December 30, 2003 Share Posted December 30, 2003 Look at the Ricoh XR7 (also sold as the Sears KS2). It has all you describe, and its AE lock is the best in the business: push to lock, push again to unlock, no trying to hold the shutter release halfway down as you climb back over the fence to your shooting position. It also has auto shutter speeds to about 20 seconds, MANUAL speeds to 16 (with meter readout).... and it handles better than any Pentax offering in its class (i didn't try out an LX for financial reasons, and I can't comment on any of the autofocus models). Screen is not interchangeable (its only shortcoming, for me) but it's a very versatile diagonal-split center. i think you'll like it; i dumped a brand new MX to get one, back in the day, and never regretted it.... rick :)= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
escu Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 Here you find lot of handbooks for K-mount cameras other than Pentax (you also have the equivalences between Ricoh and Sears): http://www.butkus.org/chinon/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
escu Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 The site above is not only for Chinon, as the name shows it. Chinon takes only a part of it, and not the bigest one. I suggest you to look into Ricohs and Sears (Sears are Ricohs: just the name was changed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_eve Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 Sounds like a *ist to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_merrill Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 The *ist does look like it would fit the bill quite well. I just can't bring myself to get one because you have to do some weird voodoo pray to the gods of light to get a non A lens to work on it, and I have some very good M lenses that I don't want to part with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garver Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 I bought a used MZ-5n/ZX-5n/whatever. If all I had wanted was your list of features, I would've been delighted with it. Also if it had been cheap. :) I took it back, and ended up getting an ME Super a couple months later (which of course doesn't meet your requirements, lacking AE lock). I use it along with a cheap-o modern vivitar body which has MLU, DOF preview and a pc socket...together they meet all my 35mm needs (I don't need MLU or the pc socket often, but when I do there's no substitute). If you get a 5n and use it stopped down a bit with AF lenses (stopped down because the af isn't killer), I predict that it will be a lot of fun and take fantastic pictures. Without the AF lenses it will still take great pictures, but AF is fun. :) (btw, when I say stopped down I'm talking about maybe f2.8. If you don't have fast lenses you'd probably never notice the AF being a bit sloppy, but when I had the 5n I used it with a 50/1.7, and it wasn't that great). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_oneill Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 I'd recommend the MZ-5n (Zx-5N in the US). It's got all those things. You've got Program, Manual, Apperture and Shutter priority modes, and AE lock is under your thumb and DOF preview under your middle finger if your grip it normally with your index finger on the shutter button. Nice simple set of buttons and readouts. I bought mine on e-bay, and part of the deal with my wife was if I bought the *IST-D (which I have) the MZ-5N would go back on ebay (Body, battery Grip and cable release). I'm looking to get about £200 for it. Pentax UK still list it as a current model and their web site, although I understnad it has gone out of production. You can downloaded the manual from the US web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_s2 Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 I am going to throw one more out there... in canada it is the mz-6 elsewhere it is the zx-l... I have been using it as a backup to the mz-s. I have found it to be a wonderfull machine after i went through some initial issues with getting used to it. I have had good success using everything from the autofocus 28 - 90mm that it came with, my 70-200 KA Tamron, 50mm KA, 28mm KA, to my 15 year old 300 and 500mm screw mount lenses off my spotmatic (with k-adapter and stopdown metering). An easy camera to use, as fast or slow as you need (1/4000 to 30sec). It took a while to get used to it, but, its light, easy to use and will, i suspect, work with any lense that any pentax camera has ever used. Plus, it can be had at a great price compared to others in its feature range/quality range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahkivgak Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Ricoh XR-P's got all of those except DOF Preview. Takes batteries to run the shutter and meter. It's got three program modes but the middle one is essentially auto exposure. It's got AE Lock although I haven't used it. It's got a bunch of other 'features' so you might want to consider something more spartan. I know Minolta has a bunch of cameras (x-series?) that have some of the features you mention. I was given my Ricoh by my kindly mentor who also lent me an m4-2 for awhile. I have to say I'm quite happy with my XR-P, even after using Leica. It's got quite a soft shutter, surprisingly, although it makes an electronic whinesnap noise. You have to use a Rikenon P lens for the autoexposure to work. My little 50/F2 returns clear sharp negs. There are other 'P' lenses for the XR-P that I've seen on Ebay. oh yes, it has a K mount as opposed to m42. Cheers! Ahkivgak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_eggleston Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I just want to add a hearty second to Richard Oleson's response. I have two Ricoh XR-7s and a third in Sears markings (which I prefer when I'm among equipment snobs), and I've used them with a 28-210 zoom as travel cameras. All the capability you ask for in a sturdy, compact, ergonomically superb package. The meter readout in the finder is shock-resistant solid-state, too, but without flashing lights. What looks at first glance like a meter needle is actually a series of LCDs indicating the shutter speed selected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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