hello. anyone have any first hand experience with this camera? i've played arpund with it in the store and like it as a light cheap manual camera with many AF camera features sans the AF.

-- bulletinmaker (bulletinmaker@juno.com), February 26, 1999

Answers

Just to keep the thread from being totally negative.... Doesn't this camera take K-mount lenses? If you already own such lenses, that should be reason enough to buy it. If you don't, and especially if you own something else, I wouldn't bother. Trying to keep the K1000 system alive, and need a backup body? Good choice. Need a backup for the 1nRS or F5, and don't own any K-mount lenses? Bad choice. Don't have an SLR, and like the way this one feels? Maybe a good choice for you.

-- Brad Hutcheson (bhutcheson@iname.com), February 28, 1999.

Hello,

I don't have any first-hand experience with it, so it's just my humble opinion... ZX-M is a fully electronic, battery-dependable non- AF camera. Now, every AF camera can be switched to manual focus very easily and still have all its advanced features. So what is the point of buying something like ZX-M? It's not rugged and won't operate without a battery at all. If I was to buy a "manual" camera I would go for one that's fully mechanical and will provide a back-up for my fully electronic if the later one fails.

As I said at the beggining, it's just my humble opinion... :)

-- Dariusz Szpunar (dszpunar@flash.net), February 28, 1999.

I've have a ZX-5 for 2 years, which uses the same chassis as the ZX-M, so the comments I have would apply to both cameras. It's not built like an LX, but I've used it under all sorts of conditions and it's quite study. (I've probably had 8 different model Pentax SLR's over 20 years and find them to be very robust.) The light weight is great when carrying the camera, but not too helpful for shooting. I handled a ZX-M, and it feels much lighter than the ZX-5. It's not a camera you're going to get away with shooting at 1/15 sec., with a 50mm lens and get sharp pictures. The other negative is that the viewfinder info is hard to see in bright sunlight. Now, for around $200 you can get the body and a used 50/1.7 A lens (used) and have good, reliable MF SLR that weighs about a pound. If that's what you're looking for, you'll be happy.

-- Bruce Rubenstein (b_rubenstein@yahoo.com), February 28, 1999.