Alas, for it is in so many ways a sweet little camera. But a couple days using it divulged some critical flaws:
First and foremost, it eats batteries. It burned through a set of expensive CR2s in the first four rolls. So I put in a new set, different brand — and they went dead in the middle of the third roll. Minimal flash use, autofocus, reasonably warm weather. Nothing strenuous. I could get a battery grip and use AAs, but then the camera loses one of its great charms: Its small size.
Next, the exposure data imprinting feature doesn’t really work with Tri-X. The numbers are there, on the film margins, but they are so overexposed that they can barely be read, if at all, with a magnifying glass and a great effort. Apparently the feature doesn’t work for all films, as the manual notes.
Finally, the fact that the MZ-S doesn’t deal well with current lenses that don’t have aperture rings was more irritating than I expected. You can use the 70/2.4 Limited, for example, but only in program mode or shutter priority mode. Weird. What you want with that lens is aperture priority.
So I’m back to square one on the impossible dream: To reduce the amount of camera gear I own to a bare but productive minimum.
Here’s what I would like in a single system. The ability to shoot film as well as digital with the same lenses. That essentially means full frame digital. I thought Pentax, with its broad lens compatibility, would be a good approximation, even though they don’t have FF. But to have the lens coverage I want with Pentax really just means two sets of lenses. That’s what I’m trying to get away from.
The cost, though, is high to move to full frame because the bodies are so expensive. I probably don’t need a 5D or D700, as much as I might enjoy them. And they’re heavy.
But there is a certain attraction to the idea of a basic system with a 5D/EOS3 or D700/F100 and a small set of lenses useful on both bodies.
What I hope to do is get back to taking pictures and not think about any of this for six months.
2 Comments
I read your reasons for needing to return your MZ-S. About the first two points I have to say that with my MZ-S that I’ve been using for the past six years, I have only gone through 2 sets of CR2 batteries in the first two years and then for the next four years I used a battery grip with AA batteries that also seem to last forever. Perhaps you have an electronic short-circuit in your MZ-S that is draining the batteries. I once bought a used LX and noticed that it sucked the life out of new batteries overnight. I replaced that LX and the other the one I have now lasts a couple of years on one set of batteries.
The other thing about not being able to read the film details in the perforation of Tri-X is that since Tri-X is a 400 speed film, it is more sensitive to light. Therefore you should set Pentax Function #15 to ‘Low’ in order for it to not print so blotchy. Perhaps you have Pentax Function #15 set to ‘High’ and therefore it is trying to imprint this data with too much light on such a sensitive film. I have used 400 speed film (Ilford HP5 and Provia 400X) and I have no problems reading the writing in the perforations.
About the lenses… yes you are correct to not be able to use non-FA or non-A lenses on an MZ-S. You should get an FA lens, which is full-frame, and use that on your Pentax digital cameras without limitations. FA lenses can be found for very reasonable prices new and used. They all work on pentax digital cameras.
But yes, I understand your dream of getting the impossible system. Perhaps if you hit the jackpot then you could get a film Leica MP and a full frame digital Leica M9 with a 21mm, 35mm, 50mm and 90mm. I’m estimating all this would cost you about 30,000 dollars bought new. Till then, we’ll all keep dreaming without harm!
I second Asim’s comments. I always used MZ-S with the grip (just liked it better this way), and the usual rechargeables would last forever. Now pepole tell me by using the 1.2 volt Ni-MH I missed half of the fun with Lithiums it work much faster – may be, but the speed was never a problem, and it’s the first time I hear the complaint about battery wasting like this.
As to A-mode – I’ve tried it with 70/2.4 yesterday, and what’s the difference? Put it in P, start rotating the wheel (which puts the camera in Tv mode), see the aperture and speed in the viewfinder. Not a bid deal. Yes, on my other bodies I usually go with Av, but I didn’t feel the other way around was such a big loss.
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[...] Ideally, a blend of the best features of Pentax’ two best cameras of the past, the LX and the MZ-S. It would be a basic, small, tough, weatherproof autofocus camera that would also play well with [...]