Hi to everyone,
I have been shooting film for many years. First with a K1000, and then with a Ricoh KR-10M. At work I have used an Olympus point and shoot digital. Then I got a Canon Powershoot SX20is with the external hotshoe. I thought it would have been easy to use, but then I had to learn the EOS. The learning curve was long.
While looking for information, I stumbled upon this website and learned why people like Pentax. When I saw an automated Pentax SLR at a garage sale, I promised myself I would buy it. The day came, and I bought a PZ-20 without a lens for a $1.
I bought the battery ($3.95) and downloaded the manual. I think the PZ-20 is a pretty neat camera. Even without reading the manual, I could already use the knowledge I have from my previous cameras in manual mode. I like how I can use my K mount lenses on it and my Pentax AF 160 flash in the hotshoe (even the flash ready light works!).
So far, I have been practicing without film, and I find the spot metering to be much more sensitive than the center weight metering I am used too with the K1000 and Ricoh. I can handle that difference. What I am not used to is when the camera is set to Av. The shutter speed jumps around a lot when I move the center from the subject. It seems like there is no way to lock the speed. What is the work around for this?
The PZ-20 has a lot of features that I did not know about. It has force me to learn more about photography to understand when to use them. For example, I about EV since the meter in calibrated in EVs. I look forward to buying an auto focus lens, but I find the focus indicator beep handy for the manual lenses as the focusing aid.
About film.....I was looking at my pictures I took with the Powershot at the last Christmas Party. They were OK. But, 10 years ago, I shot the Christmas Party in film for the last time. Those pictures were so sharp, detailed, vibrant, and lively. Even today, people still have those film pictures hanging in their cubicles.
Have a good day.