Originally posted by SCADjacket As I said in a previous thread, a friend of mine who is a pro is switching to all digital all the time. He doesn't see any need in keeping his 35mm SLRs and has offered me first pick of the bunch before he takes them to a local used shop to sell. He's not willing to bother with listing them on E-bay.
The last few days I've been trying a few of them out... but here is the full list of everything he has.
Pentax LX (I've been giving it a trial run)
Pentax ME Super (might need a CLA, seems to have a mirror lock issue)
Pentax K2
Pentax PZ1p
Pentax ZX-5N
Pentax PZ-70
Nikon FE (really like this one, might make him an offer)
Nikon F3
I've got a K-1000 that I bought locally that I'm going to keep for sentimental reasons (The K-1000 was my first SLR and I used it all through college)
So, if you could buy a few cameras off this list, what would you go for?
I used a couple of FEs quite a bit in the 80s. They were nice in some ways, but tended to eat a lot of batteries. The FE2, which I've also used a lot, is a significant improvement. I'm also very familiar with the F3. A very nice camera, although in my view not quite as good as the LX.
In my view one important difference between MF Pentax and NIkon is lenses. NIkon made a broader selection, and Nikon lenses appear to be easier to find used. However, in my experience Pentax lenses are superior. This is mainly due to Super Multi Coating. SMC lenses offer better flare and internal reflection control than MF Nikon lenses, and are generally equivalent in terms of sharpness.
For many years I shot Nikon at work because that was what came with the job. For my personal work I used Pentax because I preferred the lenses.
Nikon began to catch up with Pentax with many of their early AF lenses, which offered better coatings and internal baffling than their MF lenses.
The K2 is equivalent to an FE with K mount, and is a very solid camera. I would choose it over the FE. As others have said, it is quite a different beast from the K1000. I have one and find it pleasant to use.
The ZX5-n is nice, although reliability is a question. I've owned several bodies in the ZX series. Most have crapped out. My ZX5-n is still going, but I'm not counting on it. If you can get it really cheaply, give it a try. By all accounts the PZ1P is a better bet, though.
The LX is the LX. I have two, and they are my main 35mm bodies. I often work in dark forest conditions. The LX meter makes it very easy.
Hope you find this useful.