Pentax MZ-6 / ZX-6
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| Pro | Accurate light meter
Spot metering Auto bracketing DOF preview 11 custom functions Soft shutter Metal lens mount Compatibility with cheap, old, but quality manual lenses | ||
| Contra | No selectable centerwieghted metering
No mirror lock up Viewfinder magnification could be bigger | ||
| Thoughts | I own my camera for one year, and I'm happy with it. Since I use, I could not find any major problem. There are a lot of useful functions in it that you can only find in much more expensive cameras. Great deal! | ||
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| Pro | Compact design
light weight very good light meter soft/quiet shutter easily selectable exposure modes good and easy to use controls DOF control clear informations on viewfinder and display some useful functions | ||
| Contra | not one of the best viewfinders i've ever looked trough (rather bright, but with only 0.7x magnification, a lot of distortion)
high energy consuming (CR2 x2 batteries) easily scratchable (gray) paint no mirror lock up (via self timer) | ||
| Thoughts | A very easy/comfortable to use point and shoot camera, but with advanced and creative possibilities (with dedicated flash also); would be a great camera with a better viewfinder (even 0.8x would have been enough!) | ||
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| Pro | best camera i have ever used and i am an amuter so it suits me | ||
| Contra | nothing | ||
| Thoughts | best camera even better than the nikon f80 which was my previous camera and dould the price | ||
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| Pro | -Great Build Quality - Metal Mount -Very good design -Excellent operation - very easy -Pentax Functions -Shutter speeds -6 segments metering and spot -up to 2fps film advance -fast enough focusing -Auto bracketing -1/125 flash syn -OLD CHEAP MANUAL PENTAX COMPATIBLE LENSES CAN BE MOUNTED, also look for great TOKINA LENSES - which are cheap and have very good parameters | ||
| Contra | -could have mirror lockup, but it is not usual for this class | ||
| Thoughts | Excellent camera I recommend for all amateur - semi professional photographers. I just have bought it in Germany with Tamron 28-80/3.5-5.6 lens for very good price. I think Pentax made great camera, to compete with Minolta Dynax 5, Canon EOS 300 and Nikon F65. And in my opinion, it is much better. Canon EOS 300 is already old camera, with no improvements, also Nikon F65, only camera which can compete with this is Dynax5. But I would prefer MZ-6 because of that great feature - mounting old manual lenses! | ||
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| Pro | extrem user friendly, can use cheap 30Euro)prime lense Pentax M1,7/50 | ||
| Contra | no miror lock up | ||
| Thoughts | I buy MZ-6 after 3 monts of comparison different 250-300 Euro cameras in my hand. Nikon F65: too sensitive trigger, no ISO manual!! Canon EOS 300: plastic lense mount. Minolta Dynax5:for me no user friendly | ||
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| Pro | * Spotmeter and 6 segment multi-metering system * Build quality * 11 Custom Functions (in Pentax lingo, Pentax Functions) * Depth-of-field Preview * 1/4000 sec. shutter * 1/125 sec flash sync * High speed sync/wireless control with AF360FGZ flash (P-TTL) * Auto bracketing in .3, .5, .7 or 1 EV * Metal lens mount * Illuminated LCD panel * Spot AF (tho' ability to choose each AF point would have been nicer) * Diopter adjustment | ||
| Contra | * No Centerweighted Average Metering * No Flash Exposure Bracketing * Battery Grip/Pack has no shutter like Canon R2K's * AF points not indicated in viewfinder LCD * New cable release socket (means they'll charge more for the cable) * Terrible Manual - It's all over the place. Standard Japanese/English. Yuck! | ||
| Thoughts | When I heard that Pentax was going to be releasing a new camera, I got very excited. Having owned and enjoyed their ZX-50, ZX-30 and ZX-7, I just knew that this new offering would be as capable as Pentax's other cameras. And it is. Prodded by the intense competition in the entry-level SLR market and wanting (I'm sure) to keep competitive, Pentax has fired back with a new camera to go head-to-head with the likes of the Minolta Maxxum 5/ Canon EOS Rebel 2000/ Nikon N65/ Sigma 7. These are all excellent, feature-rich budget SLR models. I'm just amazed at the specifications that drip from this class of cameras. The ZX-L is based on the same chasis as all the other ZX models (except the new ZX-60). As build quality with the other cameras was very good, so is it with the L. The Auto Picture mode is mostly for beginners and for when you just want to hand the camera to someone to take your picture. It works a treat. But the illuminated Mode dial (which lights up and chases the picture mode icons around and beeps when you first turn on the camera) can thankfully be turned off. The six picture modes (Program, Portrait, Landscape, Close-Up, Action, and Night Scene) are easy to set with a twist of the Mode dial indicator and do their jobs without a fuss. The semi-automatic exposure modes, Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority accessed through the Mode dial as is the Metered Manual mode, are a breeze to set with the Mode dial. The LCD display on the top right hand side of the camera shows all important camera information (e.g., battery status, high-speed and wireless flash, PF functions, etc.) and even illuminates in low-light. So no need to tote along a flashlight for night shooting. The Spot/3-point AF lever is located on the right next to the viewfinder but there is no indication as to which mode is being used in the viewfinder LCD. The high-precision, high-speed phase-matching autofocus (SAFOX IV) is rather nippy and locks on tightly to its target with hardly any hunting or minor lens adjustments. The AE-L button on the back, right hand side of the camera (where your thumb falls naturally) is used to either spot meter or lock the exposure value (using evaluative metering). So what if you want to have spotmetering available at all times and still be able to lock exposure? Use PF-5 set to #1 will turn the AE-L button into the spotmeter lock and set PF-6 to #2 which will lock the exposure value when focus is confirmed. The camera comes with an impressive 1/4000 second shutter and 1/125 second flash sync speeds (including high-speed sync with the AF360FGZ flash up to 1/4000, wireless flash and P-TTL). And for those who like to bracket to guarantee correct exposure, you can do so in .3, .5, .7, or 1 EV steps. There is a new cable release socket on the left hand side of the lens mount throat. Previously, you had to remove a little thingamajig and place it in the slot on the cable switch or in the pouch on the neck strap or you'd lose it. The new cap swings out of the way and remains attached to the camera's body. Nice. The Pentax ZX-L is an incredible value for the money I paid. The list of features goes on and on and I don't have enough space here to talk about every single one. Suffice if to say, I think the ZX-L is a better buy than its much praised sibling, the ZX-5N. If you get a kick out of the 5N's retro dials and classic looks...good for you. I do but I also know that being able to auto bracket in finer increments, leave the film leader out, do flash sync at all shutter speeds, do wireless flash, etc. and at a much lower price is more important to me. | ||