[MBrannon]

Hello all,

I haven't had a film camera in quite a while now, and have kind of missed it. I just won the bidding for a Pentax MV1 with 3 lenses and flash, and can't wait for it to get here. Tell me what you folks think of this deal. The outfit includes:

Pentax MV1 black body with case
Pentax M 50mm f2
Pentax M 28 f2.8 with case
Soligor zoom/macro 80-200 f4.5 with case/pouch
A pentax flash unit with case/pouch

From what I can see in the pictures, it looks like everything is in close to new condition too, and the whole kit was $75 plus shipping. I don't know too much about the MV1 body, but I felt like I couldn't go wrong with this whole deal. From what I'm understanding is that the MV1 is limited to AV mode? Is that true? Here are the shots from the ad. I'm pretty happy with the deal. What do you all think?

Michael

---

Last edited by MBrannon; 01-31-2010 at 12:52 AM.

[woof]

Nice looking kit... welcome to the film forum!

Here's a brief description:

Pentax MV1 - Camerapedia.org

Here's the manual:

http://www.cameramanuals.org/pentax_pdf/pentax_mv1.pdf

woof!

[MBrannon]

Thanks Seaain,
I downloaded a manual from a site online already, but it looked very muddy and hard to read. This one is waaaay better. Thanks! So, what are people's impressions of the MV1? I understand it doesn't do full manual, but from what I've read online, it looks like it does a very good job.

[Mike Cash]

Seems to be an ME minus the shutter speed indicators in the viewfinder. You'll really have to be mindful of Sunny 16 when selecting your aperture; you'll have no other way to guesstimate if your shutter speed will be too low for handheld shooting. Can't imagine why they ever made such a camera.

[Nesster]

I think that's a good haul, the lenses are excellent ones and that's a really nice flash.

True, the camera body has the limitation, but it also has an awesome view finder. Sooner or later you may end up with a second body due to the shutter speed thing, but this doesn't stop the MV-1 from making excellent photos in most situations.

[J.Scott]

Taken from, "Asahi Pentax and Pentax SLR 35mm Cameras 1952-1989; by Danilo Cecchi"

"The MV reflex was brought out simultaneously with the ME Super. The ME Super was the advanced version of the ME, whilst the MV was greatly simplified, for less demanding photographers who did not want to pay for facilities they did not require. It had the same body, the same light metering circuit and the same shutter as the ME. The function selector was decidely simplified and the viewfinder practically devoid of information.

The selector offered AUTO, 100X and B. The viewfinder had a single signal which acted like traffic lights indicating the best exposure. Green showed that the automatic exposure was correct, that the set aperture enabled the computer to chose a sufficiently high speed so as the avoid the risk of blurring."

And it goes on about the light system which I am sure you have read about in the manual. The MV1 was brought out suddenly after the release of the MV as this version can hold the winder for the ME; the MV could not.

I'd suggest you give it a try but due to its limited capabilities you may want to keep the lenses and eventually upgrade to an ME Super.
Now there's a keeper!

[MBrannon]

Thanks for all the comments and research guys. I'm going to give it a try, and I'll probably be alright with it. I haven't shot film in years, and don't really know how often I'll use it anyway. I was really thinking about an ME Super, but for all the more I'll use it, it will probably do me fine for now.

The biggest reason I bought it was that I'll have so little involved in it. I already have a M 28 f2.8 and a M 50 f1.7. So, I'll be looking to sell these two focal lengths once they come in. That should pretty much end up covering what I paid for the whole setup.

[jgredline]

Looks good and it is a nice black one.