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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
10-30-2018, 06:42 PM
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FWIW, There was an eBay auction for an MZ-S a few months ago with a broken mirror gear. Just some more evidence that at least some of these cameras have the plastic gear problem.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
03-30-2018, 01:29 AM
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Okay. A follow up on the lithium battery situation. Got some new batteries, went to install them and one of my 645’s didn’t even have a lithium battery installed and hasn’t had double AA’s in the grip for months. So, I call B.S. on the scare that leaving the 645 without power for extended time will erase the programming of the camera. It appears the lithium is only there to remember your settings and exposure number should you have to change the AA’s mid roll. I thought that would have been a ridiculous design from Pentax if it had needed constant power. Plus, if this was the case they would be an ocean of these cameras out in the real world that were in need of reprogramming. Just thought I would report back in case someone wonders the real deal later on.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
03-27-2018, 06:07 PM
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Well, I guess I will be buying two lithium batteries this weekend! This should probably be more common knowledge or there is likely to be a lot of Pentax 645 paper weights in the near future.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
03-23-2018, 09:50 PM
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I guess I will leave it in. I have no idea how old the battery is. It just seems that if the camera would need reprogramming if that lithium battery died then there would be a ton of Pentax 645’s out in the wild needing this service, which doesn’t seem to be the case. I wonder how many 645 owners don’t even know about that battery? Thanks for the suggestions. Would love to know the definitive truth. I’m guessing Pentax would probably not offer much insight on this old of a camera.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
03-23-2018, 03:49 PM
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That’s what I was thinking. Although the lithium battery was factory installed. Pentax originally wanted owners to send the camera to them for replacement and made the battery cover a bit hard to open. I do have a tool that will make it easy though. One person said the camera would lose its programming if it lost all power. I can’t see Pentax doing that, it isn’t a super computer. If so, wouldn’t all cameras from the 80’s and 90’s with program modes lose their functions when batteries die?
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
03-23-2018, 02:28 AM
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I’ve managed to acquire two original Pentax 645’s, the original 1980’s versions. These have a lithium battery in the bottom to hold settings when you change the 6 AA’s in the grip. I will be keeping one body in storage for a backup and using the other one. Was wondering if removing the lithium battery on the stored one would be wise or harmful. I know lithium tends to be less likely to leak but it can happen. Any harm in not having it in there for possibly long term storage? Wouldn’t it be wise to remove it just to be safe? Some info on the web mentions that the camera may have to be reprogrammed if all power is lost, I have an extremely hard time believing that.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-06-2018, 08:16 PM
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The PZ-1P!! Aren’t we still unsure if the MZ-S has the dreaded plastic mirror gear of death? I tried to find definitive answers on it and when I couldn’t come to a conclusion, I just bought the PZ1P. I was all about getting an MZ-S but not paying that price until I know for sure about that gear!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-27-2018, 09:57 PM
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TMax 100, at least in 120 size had a manufacturing problem with the backing paper. Kodak had to pull all it and get the paper fixed. The plant that makes the backing paper was also having a hard time keeping up with production (good sign for film!). So, Kodak had to wait on paper to manufacture more TMax 100, thus leading to back order status everywhere and greatly exaggerated rumors of it being discontinued.
And welcome back TMax 3200. One of my favorites!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
09-15-2017, 06:59 PM
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Get rid of the ZX before the mirror gear fails, and it will fail eventually. I have a SF1N and love the 80's style it has and it feels way better built than any of the ZX camera I've had.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
08-30-2017, 09:49 PM
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I have an MG that does something similar. After I wind the film, sometimes it doesn't fire the shutter. I can't remember if the mirror is up or down at that point. I hooked up my power winder grip to it and had it cycle the shutter a few hundred times and it seems to do it much less frequently now. Does it fire properly in the bulb mode or the 100x mode? Just wondering if the battery may be weak or corrosion in the battery compartment?
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-20-2017, 07:27 PM
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Been thinking about this as my Pentax collection needs a diet. LX would be first choice except I don't really trust them. It would come down to the most reliable so for me it is a contest between the KX and MX. In the end I vote MX because I have the winder for it and I like the viewfinder better. I will go with the M50 1.7 as my lens.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-17-2017, 06:50 PM
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I got a PZ-1P for $50 and an SF1N for $20, both in mint condition. I love them both but honestly use the SF1N more because it is simpler yet still has the features I use most in a very logical layout. Not that the PZ-1p is complicated to use, it just seems to distract me a bit more. They will both stay in my arsenal regardless. I will never own another MZ/ZX series due to the gear problem. They are ticking time bombs at this point.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-09-2017, 07:35 PM
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Thanks! However I don't want it to sound like a down and out story. Just trying to raise some extra funds to take my family to the beach for a week. One of my sons is entering high school so I don't know how many more of these opportunities I will get. Those memories are more important than an arsenal of cameras. I am leaning KX, MX, PZ-1P as the keepers. Think I will need a winder grip for the MX though, I think it would feel better in my long skeletal hands.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-09-2017, 03:43 PM
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I am guessing KX parts should be the most abundant since it surely shares a large amount of parts with the K1000 right? There is a bazillion K1000's on earth! If so, that would definitely lock the KX on my keeper list. Plus I have owned 2 K1000's that worked perfectly for years.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-09-2017, 12:04 PM
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I am kind of leaning KX, MX, PZ-1p.
Selling the LX might allow me to keep one other as well. Geez, it is so much harder to sell them than buy them!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-09-2017, 03:41 AM
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I lost my mind in the last year in my return to film. Acquired an ME, ME Super, MG, MX, KX, LX, PZ-1P, and SF1N. I had the KX and MX serviced by Eric so those are good to go. All the others function fine although the MG does sometimes not fire after advancing the film. I really strangely enjoy the SF1N and PZ-1P probably the most. I think this is because I started serious film photography on ZX series cameras. Anyway, I need money and I need to thin the herd so I turn to you fine people for advice. I can justify keeping 3-4 of these. Here are my thoughts on each:
ME: minty condition but not as useful as the ME super
ME super: really like it but worried about reliability
MG: so cheap it won't bring much money especially with the intermittent shutter firing (although seldom) I actually bought it because MG is my initials so I thought it was a must have!
KX: the K1000 on steroids, this one is the most quality feeling one behind the LX, CLA'ed by Eric and ready.
MX: I like it but it doesn't feel as refined as the LX or the KX in my opinion, the film advance feels quite rough but I had it CLA'ed by Eric so it should be good for a long time
LX: I would prefer to keep it because it does feel the best, but it will bring me the most cash and I need cash. Plus I am honestly concerned about reliability at this point and not liking CLA prices on these.
PZ-1P: I have less than $50 into it and really like it. It is mint and is probably the most reliable auto focus pentax.
SF1N: the big surprise here, fun and easy to use, surprisingly capable, feels indestructible, and got it for $25 with Lens in mint condition.
I would like to keep one that is considered a pro camera just for ridiculous reasoning of "pro" camera brainwashing. So that is basically MX vs LX I guess. The MX is probably the more reliable in the long haul by nature of being simpler and of course newly CLA'ed... but the LX just looks so badass.
Sorry for the long post. If you could keep 3-4, which ones would stay. Keep in mind, I need some cash so selling all the cheapies isn't really an option!!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-06-2017, 01:50 AM
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I vote SF1 or PZ1. I have the SF1N and PZ1P which are the top models in those lines and find them both very capable and a joy to use. Bonus is that they were made with quality components and seem to not suffer from any common failures. Run away from any ZX series. If they haven't failed, they will soon. Plastic mirror gear failure syndrome is widespread and mentioned here often.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-02-2017, 07:01 PM
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Technical reasons aside, I kinda want Sony to fail in cameras big time. Doesn't appear that will happen but I think it could be real bad for the market if the main sensor maker also becomes the dominant camera maker.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-30-2017, 02:10 AM
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Thank you! Okay, I can cross an MZ-S off my want list. The replacement part was probably brass but those parts aren't easily available now so that is probably not an option. Strange that the PZ-1P may have ended up being the most reliable "pro" or "semi-pro" autofocus camera that Pentax released. Bonus is that the PZ-1P is MUCH cheaper! I remember lusting after an MZ-S for several years before the plague of digital. I figured it was the peak of Pentax film cameras, I guess maybe not so much.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-29-2017, 02:17 AM
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Yeah Eric would be the one to give us a definitive answer but yes, he doesn't service this series. I do wonder though if he has some experience with these that could shed some light on this. I would sell some cameras to pay for the last pro Pentax film camera made if I could be assured it won't blow up like 2 of the 4 ZX series cameras I have owned.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-28-2017, 11:15 AM
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No one can seem to confirm whether the gear is plastic or metal on the MZ-S. I started a thread trying to get to the bottom of this when I considered buying one. In the end I went with the PZ-1P because it doesn't have the mirror gear problem. There is mention in the reviews on this site of a MZ-S with a broken gear, that was enough to scare me off. I love the looks and features of it, but I just can't trust the MZ/ZX series.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-25-2017, 07:22 PM
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I have literally lost my mind and went bonkers in the last 6 months. I was planning on saving for a K-1 dslr until I realized that I kinda hate digital and missed film. So, I justified saving the $1800 by picking up a ton of film Pentax cameras. LX, MX, KX, ME, ME Super, MG, PZ-1P, SF1N, and 645. It is ridiculous and I really should part with some of them but I like them all for different reasons. I didn't plan on collecting, I had distinct reasons for each of them. However, I don't have enough free time to keep them all properly exercised!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-16-2017, 05:36 PM
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Oh I think Pentax quality is as good as any but they made a lot of models and some are more issue prone than others. My ME, MG, and ME Super all work perfectly. I think that is amazing for consumer grade cameras that was also the first primarily electronic Pentax models. I have owned 4 ZX series over the last 15 years or so. Two of them suffered the mirror gear death. That's too common for my comfort so I sold my last working one (ZX-5) before it bit the dust. My sister in law gave me a ZX-50 that she had bought new back in the day and maybe had run 10 rolls through. It had been sitting in a closet for years. First time I fired the shutter.... mirror gear death. So maybe age or lack of use is not great for them.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-16-2017, 01:09 AM
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I have bought quite a few old Pentax bodies in the last year (ME, ME super, MX, KX, LX, PZ1-P, SF1N, MG). The MX is the only one that had to have service because it looked to have been through hell and back. I listened to a film photography podcast recently where one of the hosts said he loves Pentax but had never found an ME Super that worked. This made me start thinking... what is the most unreliable Pentax film cameras? I think for the most part that Pentax made reliable high quality cameras that just don't die but there are exceptions. My vote would be the ZX
Series (I guess MZ series outside the USA), that mirror gear failure is an epidemic.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-16-2017, 12:56 AM
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As far as compacts go, I have kind of given up on them. There are millions of them out there but only a few that are worth burning film in and those command ridiculous prices. I would love a stylus epic, I used to have one that I paid $90 for new. They go for almost double that now. I mean they are good, but they are not that damn good!!!
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