I recently picked up a working Pentax MZ 60 along with a FA 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 and a Vivitar 70-210mm zoom. But what really swayed me was the inclusion of a Pentax M 50mm f2 prime that I had been looking to acquire for some time.
When I got the camera home I was keen to try out the camera and particularly the Pentax M 50mm lens. However, when I tried this combination I was met with the following, as seen from the video below.
When I consulted the manual all was explained.
” The camera does not operate when a lens with the following conditions attached. 1. When a lens, which does not have autofocus function is attached. 2. When an F or FA lens is attached with the aperture ring set other than the A position.“
So you can only use auto focus lenses??? This could be considered a major flaw of the camera.
However, in addition to the newly aquired Pentax FA 28-80mm I already own the FA 80-200mm champagne coloured lens which I have hardly used, so not a problem at all. The 50mm f2 will wait until another time.
To potentially make things worse, the top plate LCD is where shutter speed and aperture values are shown not in the viewfinder. All you get in the viewfinder is an indication of correct exposure (green o) or under (-) and over (+) exposure when in manual mode.
All the usual exposure modes are present in the MZ 60. These are selected, as are all the functions of the camera, via a mode button (image below) and rocker switch (top right in the image above). While the camera can read DX coded film this can be overridden and set manually. Very nice feature☺️
Exposure lock and flash pop-up buttons
The pedestrian sounding shutter, click on the image below to hear, confirms the large amount of plastic present in the construction of the camera.
So the Pentax MZ 60 really doesn’t stand out from the crowd of similar if not better spec’d cameras of the time. So why even bother taking a look. Well that’s what I wanted to find out!
For my first photo I took a picture when it was dark. The camera wanted to select an exposure of 4 seconds at f8. I checked this first against my Nikon D500 which said 15 seconds at f8. I went with the Nikon and took the image below at 15 seconds. So not a good start with the MZ 60.
The next day I awoke to a very heavy fog. What better way to test the camera out. With the combination of fog and grainy potential of Fomapan 400, would the camera deliver the images I was looking for?
“No one would have believed that in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s…” – H.G.Wells
I think the secret to the MZ 60 is in its weight or lack thereof. The MZ 60 plus the 28-80mm lens weigh 600 grammes or 1lb 5/6 oz. The 80-200 lens fits in a coat pocket and focuses and zooms internally and so less bulk. I took this combination of camera and lenses out with me for a couple of hours walk while I took the above images and I could have continued to do so for much much longer.
In addition the camera’s metering system got the exposure right every time. I’m delighted with the quality of the images, as they are as I had imagined when I took them with all their grainy detail. I had very little post processing to do. This means a lot. This camera really delivers the goods when it comes to well exposed images. So while I do like to see the exposure value in the viewfinder it wasn’t a problem to get in the habit of looking first on the top LCD screen. If the camera is unerring in it’s accuracy regarding exposure then I can forgive its flaws.
So have I found a light, walk about camera with full set of lenses that can satisfy and get my creative juices flowing???🤔
arhphotographic 