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Any cheap Pentax body you recommend


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Posted

Hi! I am shopping for a cheap but reliable 135 Pentax body. My needs

are slightly different though. I am an experienced photographer with

a reasonable set of Nikon lenses and a spattering of the Canon

system. About a year ago I bought a Pentax 645 NII and I am totally

impressed with the lens system and the coating. Now I want a cheap,

used Pentax 135 body as a backup on my trips, which can utilize the

645 lenses and some of the Limited, like the 43mm (I don't anticipate

I'll build up a duplicate Pentax 135 system), and maybe try out some

M42 lenses.

 

So what is a good, dependable body. I'm slightly confused too by all

the different Pentax mounts are not fully compatible.

 

Johnson

Posted

K1000 - It's a basic modell, times 1sec - 1/1000 sync 1/60, built in meter (working, if camera is in good condition, operated by a photo switch. No winder mount, no stop down lever. the camera is cheap and works without battery. There also Maginon and other K 1000s around, which arent so nice to use because the meter is read by 3 LEDs.

I had no trouble with my K1000 which I bought used 13 years ago. But I had trouble with KX, LX, SF7, Super Program and one similar easier model and a 3 Brand body with K-mount and electronic shutter and 2 Pentax motordrives. For M42 Lenses I'd recomend a M42 body, maybe a Practica, because with any adapted K-mount body you'll have to stop down the lens by hand. My LX never let me down fully, usualy the exposuremeter and the mechanical shutterspeds from 1/75 - 1/2000 still work, but service is already expiring (no more re-celling for motordrive NiCad-pack). MX must have been a really nice camera, but no more service. A K1000 will take nearly any lens, but not "FA" which have no aperture ring.

There may be more sophiosticated modells around, but if you are experienced you won't need no electronic gadgets.

Posted
If you want a manual camera body, one without auto film advance, I would say the MX would be a great companion to the 645. I happen to use this camera with my 645 as a back up and I find it to be small, light, and completely manual and professionaly built to handle everyday situations. You don't need a battery in the camera to shoot - it only works the meter. It also has a depth of field indicator so you can see what will be in focus. I would imagine lightweight would be a concern so this camera fits the bill. The k-1000 is bigger and heavier, but still a great camera. If you want to retain autofocus with the limited lenses and have auto film advance, dx coating iso, then the Zx-5n is another good lightweight camera, newer than the mx too. BTW, isn't the 645NII a sweeeet camera. I love mine. Thanks
Posted

Thanks Jochen. Any limitations on K-1000 (I recall it has a very different non-user friendly metering pattern compared to the usual center-weighted Nikons). Will the K-1000 retain metering without stopping downif I subsequently use post-K mount lenses. Will I miss out on the FA lenses? If I am carrying the body purely as a backup I may want to pickup a wide angle lens too (since the 645's lenses will become normal or telephotos once I put them on a 135).

 

To be honest, I think I can use a all manual body, but I worry that the K-1000 screens may be too dark for my aging eyes that it is better for me to get an autofocus Pentax. But the K-1000 is trading at a nice price....

Posted

For my last trip to Russia (my home country), which included kayaking, I took Pentax 645 and Pentax ZX-5n as "just in case" body.

 

ZX-5n is small, has pretty much all you need: DOF preview, spot meter, bracketing, exposure compensation and lock, FULLY COMPATIBLE with old Pentax K/M lenses and K mount non-Pentax lenses like Russian Fish-eye. I DID not like how it works with M42 lenses via adapter: exposure was not accurate and depended of lens position. I tried only one old Russian lens with "20" aperture blades and great bokeh. Others may be good, but for example Yashica with M42 adapter works absolutely perfect for metering.

 

Or I would just new *ist, which in addition to the above has advanced autofocus, MLU, multiple exposures, more-segment evaluative metering. It is just does not meter with old K/M lenses.

 

Manual ZX-M is small, works with all K/M lenses, DOF, bracketing, compensation, but less advanced exposure meter, which still works surprisingly good with slide film.

 

Al these bodies are light.

 

As for lens I would recommend "universal" FA 35/2 lens which is excellent wide open and does not cost a fortune to be taken in field.

Posted

I agree with the proposal of the MX, it is a very reliable camera and would fit your needs as a backup, considering its size. I have been using one for 11 years until it was stolen. Never had any problem after 400 rolls/15,000 exposures and I am sure it is still working. My MEsuper had its first problem with the winding lever after 17 years of service and more than 25,000 exposures. The repair and an overhaul of the shutter cost 110 euro and the camera runs like new. <p>

 

Nevertheless I would advise you to buy a modern MZ-5N (ZX5-N) for the following reasons:<br>

1. It has a bright viewfinder in spite of its AF. The focus confirmation works with all, even older lenses.<br>

2. It has a spot meter, compatible with K, M and A lenses.<br>

3. Its controls are identical to those of the 645N.<br>

4. Most important: the metering patterns (both CW and matrix) are the same as in the 645N.<br>

 

Since you are already familiar with the controls and the meter, you'll be able to work fast without thinking about technicalities and without adapting to a new situation every time you switch cameras. The extra cost of the MZ-5N (ZX5-N) is worth the convenience.<p>

 

Remember: all today's camera meters are capable of measuring light precisely but their users must first learn how to interpret their readings...

Posted
Just in addition: ZX-5n/MZ-5n is small copy of 645n with the exception that 645n has "2x6" zone matrix metering, while ZX-5n has just 6 zones.
Posted
K 1000 again. The camera meters with A & F lenses if you set a aperture with the ring. FA lenses are out because they have none. Can't tell you much about the light metering patern, I usualy did only b&w or consumer color negatives with it. The screen of my SFX is brighter. If you want a being in focus part of your subject to jump into your eyes, you should use a LX with full microprism screen. I found it hard to focus my SFX full manually just on the screen. The MX should also have a quite dark screen compared to even Super Program, not talking modern yet. Well my eyes aren't very good too, but the K1000 never felt worse than my old MF stuff like Mamiya TLRs and Pentacon six. I'd suggest you should try it out. If Pentax 'd say "it's still 1985 and we provide an other decade of MX service", I'd get a MX. I remember the little problems of my KX so I believe these cameras have seen their best years. Being very small is a disadvantage for a old camera in my oppinion, because something small should be hard to service, but I don't know for sure and am no repairman. What is sure is there are newer K1000s around, so they should last longer. I don't want to talk somebody into buying the wrong camera. Find out what you like and get it.
Posted

I just wanted to comment on what Jochen said in an above post. the FA lenses do have an aperture ring, I have 5 and all of them have an aperture ring. The new, brand new, FAJ lenses do not have an aperture ring. These lenses are developed with the *ist and *istD cameras in mind that use the "crippled Kaf" lens mount. FA lenses will work with all pentax cameras with a Kmount.

 

The P645NII has an incredibly bright and clear viewfinder, better than the MX that I have previously recommended. The MX does have interchangeable screens that you can change out. The standard split image screen is darker than the 645's but manually focusing a 2.8 lens isn't all that hard. I find it actually harder for me to try to manually focus a lens on an autofocus camera like my Pz-1p then on the MX. The split image screen really helps. If you are looking for cheap but reliable in a pentax body, alot of pentax bodies exist, I just have found that the older mechanical bodies are really reliable. I just bought another MX on ebay for 43 bucks. Its in great shape and works wonderfully.

Posted

It depends on what you are after.

 

If you want a do-all manual focus body with aperture priority, shutter priority, full program (and manual of course)long exposure (15 seconds)settings, and TTL flash, nothing can beat a Pentax Super Program. Incredible camera at the price (say $125-180 used). Depth of view preview too. Moter drive options as well.

 

If you want a all manual camera and like small the MX is hard to beat (about $120 silver to $225 black). Although hard to find lots of nice screens for this camera too. Moter drive options as well.

 

If you want a newer camera and can live without TTL flash than the ZX-M (MZ=ZX outside the use) is hard to beat.

 

If you want a stellar camera and can go up to the $300 range the ZX-5n is a very hard camera to beet. It has a little of everything in an autofocus camera that is a joy to use manually because of its bright pentaprism.

 

The LX is still my favorite in manual cameras, but it is more expensive, in the $350-700 range depending on the quality of the camera.

 

A P30N and P30T are steals, but have a flaw that you can't set the DX coding.

 

The K1000 is missing the depth of field preview knob which in my case eliminates the camera from MY general use. I'd rather look at the KX or K2 much more full featured cameras than the K1000 and every bit as dependable.

 

Because it sounds like you want to use this camera to use with 645 lenses (with 645 to 35mm body) DO NOT GET the ZX-30/50/60 or *ist (although I'm still not clear yet about the ist). They will not meter properly with these cameras.

Posted

The workhorses of my Pentax gear are a K1000 and a ZX-5n. Both are lightweight and easy to handle. The K1000 is completely mechanical, so even if the battery dies you are still in business. The ZX-5n is my travel camera. Lightweight and easy to use but with some almost pro features built it, it's a fun camera to use. The Nikon N90 and the Canon EOS 1 are just too heavy for some of my excursions and I've found that the Pentax optics are just as prestine as these two heavyweights.

 

Ken

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