Photography has been my hobby for over 55 years, and I recently did a little on-line exhibition for some students, making this little thown-off still life into a graphics display poster (can't find the good copy
but you get the idea) of my 3 favorite using film cameras and the films I use. As I collect cameras, I have no shortage of machines to choose from. These are the ones you'd have to pry from my cold, dead fingers. The MX has been extolled by others, so I shall not dwell on it. I shoot a lot of half-frame. The Oly Pen FT is the obvious choice. It's also rock solid and a sexy little beast. I have an Exakta to Pen adapter, so I have dozens of lenses available to me I can use on my Pen. And the Mamiya C330 is a workhorse, with vastly underrated optics. One stop down, my 135mm f4.5 betters the 'blad lenses I had. My first camera was a TLR, so I have no problem working with them - as a matter of fact, they turn my crank!
Sorry for the quality of this little mock-up. I can't find the final copy!!
While the LX was Pentax's moment in the sun 35mm wise, I preferred the MX, and when digital came around I went Pentax for obvious reasons. I also had a 645, which I sold to by a car which I needed more. Regret it still, and will be getting a 645 soon, which to my mind was the perfect camera.
I also use a Linhof Kardan 4x5, but that's another world.
Back to the MX - I have 4 of them, two K1000s, two Spotmatics, an LX, an Sl 500, and some other electric gizmo (PX or something like that) which is buried in the basement and shall stay there. It's okay, but I never had a feeling for those electronic "transitional" cameras. I have about 19 Pentax lenses, including the 77mm f1.8 Limited, the 50mm M f1.4, the 35mm f2.8 and the 200mm f4, which are amongst my favorites, as well as bucketloads of off brands and Tamrons, so I'm not lens poor. Letting you know one of my other quirks, I dislike zooms intensely. I have only two that I use on a regular basis, one the 24-60mm f2.8 Sigma EF, which sits on my K10. Why I like it, I can't specify, but I actually love it. Maybe it's the range of focal lengths, maybe its the wide aperture, maybe it's because it's tack sharp and has practically no distortion. Why don't I like zooms? I take poor pictures with them, racking in and out framing, rather than walking around to get the best angle and the best picture. Maybe my Sigma with it's tiny range, makes me treat it like a prime. Zooms simply make for lazy photographers.
I'm never without an MX body loaded with B&W film in my gadget bag. What lenses I take depends on what I'm shooting. The next two photos are my favorite MX user, and a photo taken with it (Fomapan 400, Pentax-M 50mm f4 macro, film developed in Xtol stock, exposure 1/125th at f5.6) Scanned 5x7 print on Arista Edu Grade 3