Pentax MZ Series Cameras

It's 1996 and PENTAX start rolling out the new MZ series of cameras, which feature a new elegance of design and function. John Riley researches some of the latter film era camera models.

Posted: 30/04/2025 - 13:37

The year is 1996 and for the past four or five years my own photography has lain fallow. The manual focus cameras have been hardly used and the whole Z series have failed to inspire me. Other marques seemed as clunky as the Pentax Z cameras, and although I may look upon them now with a new sense of acceptance, at the time things were not clicking. Then sometime, somewhere, possibly in Liverpool, came a small exhibition and a camera fell into my hands and it lit up as it melded so beautifully with what I wanted a camera to be. That camera was the Pentax MZ-5. Suddenly all those clunky buttons and menu driven design options were gone and we had a small, sleek, gorgeous camera that brought back a shutter speed dial and all the other hands-on controls that made handling just so much better. Cash changed hands and the MZ-5 plus the new SMC Pentax-FA 28-70mm f/4 lens were mine. A new love affair with photography had begun, and we're still with it.

The K Mount

Let's repeat some notes about the K mount. There are a number of different levels of complexity as the original 1975 K mount was adapted to the electronic era, and then to AF lenses. The degree of compatibility is extraordinary, and as previously noted remains a tribute to the original sterling work done on the mount design, a co-operation between Pentax and Zeiss.

This completes the changes to the film cameras, with the exception of the *ist that we will get to later in this series of articles. Each mount change up to KAF2 adds electronic information but does not change mechanical connection, so all previous lenses can still be fully used without resorting to stop down manual operation. At this point there are no exceptions, and even screw mount lenses can be used via their adapter on the very latest film bodies.

The MZ Cameras

The MZ-5 is compact, light and reinstates all the dial style controls. There is no need for a mode switch as such, as the A setting on the shutter speed dial will offer Av if we set an aperture on the lens. If we set A on the dial plus A on the lens we have program mode. If we set a shutter speed on the dial and A on the lens we have TV mode. If we set an aperture on the lens and a shutter speed on the dial we have manual exposure. The on/off switch is around the shutter release button, probably the most effficient place for it. Exposure compensation is on a dial on the top plate on the left. Metering modes are selected with a switch. It is all very hands on and tactile and regains all the qualities that Pentax design had when it peaked with perhaps the ME and MX ranges.

What could possibly go wrong? From personal experience, nothing, and all the MZ cameras I have ownded have continued to function without problem. However, there are numerous reports that the fateful nylon cog in the mirror drive mechanism can fail and this applies to most if not all of the MZ series. To be fair, these cameras are also now quite old and other marques all have their issues. A lightly used mint example just might be fine and if so then it's a great camera to use. This view was shared as it was EISA's European Camera of the Year 96-97 and TIPA's SLR Camera of the Year 1996-1997.

The MZ-10 offers a slightly different approach, turning away from the shutter speed dial design and pentaprism finder and using the less expensive and lighter pentamirror and a mode dial driven system. The camera will now help the beginner with a plethora of aids and in that sense it could well appeal to those who are not so familiar with photography. It will also do the basics as well, but these are not the prime directive of its operational ethos.

The MZ-3 has a few tweaks to the MZ-5 specification, such as the addition of TTL Flash mode, a faster top speed and a raising of the height of the shuuter speed and exposure compensation dials. This is a photographer's camera, like the MZ-5, and is not aimed at the beginner with the green modes and other aids. It is arguable whether or not beginners features help in the learning of photography or not, but even complete novices may learn more from having to learn the basics. The MZ-3 is a beautiful design that builds upon the MZ-5 without detracting from it.

Introduced at the same time as the MZ-3, the SMC Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited lens is the first of Pentax's legendary line of Limited lenses. These are something special, with superb image rendering and the highest standards in hand finished manufacture.

A slight refresh of the MZ-5, the MZ-5N adds the larger dial controls of the MZ-3, electronic depth of field preview, quick-set memory lock and auto bracketing. In all other respects it is the MZ-5. Both models were on sale at the same time in 1997.

The MZ-50 was billed as possessing "innovative features for the family" and hence the "complications" of the dial operation are gone and the concept of picture modes includes green operation modes, predictive AF, a simplified viewfinder display and a reduced 2-segment AF system. The division of camera types and their intended audience is clear from the use of either the more expensive pentaprism of the less expensive and lighter pentamirror viewfinder.

Pentax have been pretty good at responding to users' requests over the years, witness the number of specialised cameras and ranges that have appeared, including the Auto 110 film cameras and the Q series, the K-3 III Monochrome, the K-01 mirrorless....some are long lived, some not so much. The MZ-M is the simplified, manual focus only, 35mm film camera that perhaps Pentax were hoping would fill the gap left by the ubiquitous K1000, mainstay of colleges everywhere. However, the all metal virtually indestructable K1000 looks a far cry from the plastic, light MZ-M. In reality, it offers everything an ME Super offered with the addition of motorised film transport, but it doesn't offer the quality construction and weight that are always reassuring.

With the MZ-7 we are back to control via modes and the large mode dial is on the left of the top plate. This is clearly the alternative line to the dial based MZ-5/MZ-3, with much more attention to "helping" the beginner along.

In terms of availability, probably the last of the line, a fairly plasticky feeling camera with a great deal of sophistication under the skin. The Pentax range is slightly uncomfortable at this stage, with some quite basic cameras on offer alongside some very expensive and sometimes unique accessories. For example, the MZ-6 was offered as part of the Dental Kit, all housed in an expensive attache case and worthy of a high end flagship camera body to go with it.

Here is the new flagship camera, with solid Magnesium alloy body, pentaprism finder and the one feature that dominated the reviews of the time, a slanted top panel. It's interesting what can be latched onto and the top panel not being flat enters the area of the clearly unthinkable, the requisite quirk from the Pentax designers. The MZ-S was expensive and unfortunately potentially inherits whatever defects the MZ range may be perceived to have. This is the dilemma with buying old, top of the range cameras from our current perspective. They may give good service, but if they fail then spares are thin on the ground and finding someone who wants to fix them can be equally elusive. Certainly the original part numbers may not be available, but alternatives could probably be used if we had the willingness to spend the time and cover the cost. This is not aimed specifically at the MZ-S, which is a fine camera, but at all high end cameras. These are now quite old cameras and more and more likely to require attention.

A low cost final camera in the MZ range, and we now have the concept of the "Crippled" KAF mount, without aperture coupler, so lenses without electronic contacts cannot stop down. This is something that progresses through to the next generation of Pentax cameras, and is something of a watershed in camera development for all marques as they struggle to master the imminent arrival of digital photography and the DSLR. In terms of manufacturing costs, doing away with complexities of the K mount and removing the apeture ring no doubt seemed attractive, and it is only now that the K-3 III has reinstated almost full control over the use of K lenses with plain, electronics-free mounts.

Conclusions

There are some superb MZ cameras from the design and handling point of view. Pentax came home to its ethos of small, efficient and elegant manufacture. There are some question marks over reliablility, but to be fair cameras of the same vintage from all marques are equally suspect in one way or another. I don't know if it can be borne out by the statistics but I have a feeling that the promise of greater reliability from electronics as opposed to manual cameras was an aspiration that did not turn out to be the case. Now, if a part is unavailable, the increasing tendency is not to be able to repair, with the exception of a few stalwart repair houses that have a greater willingness to fix things way beyond their original sell by date.

The next step in this progressing overview will be the *ist film camera, a stepping stone to the first DSLR, the *istD and the first affordable DSLR, the *istDS.

Further Reading

• Pentax Z Series Cameras
• Pentax F Series - Introduction of Auto Focus

stevejcoe stevejcoe

995 posts
18 years
Cornwall,
UK

Posted 02/05/2025 - 12:11 Link

I think that there is a real clash between the design concept, ergonomics, sophistication of the range and the plasticky feel and in some ways under engineered components. I found all of the range (excluding the MZS as I have never handled one) to be extremely well designed for use by experienced users and newcomers alike. For that Pentax should really be congratulated, but the entire range has an awful and in my mind justifiable reputation for reliability. The nylon gear gets most of the criticism , but their are also issues with the nylon cams in the shutter mechanism. The later MZ30, MZ50, MZ60 and MZM went further with plastic lens mounts, but the major change was the introduction of the crippled KAF mount on the 30,50 and 60. The MZ7 and MZ6 retained metal lens mounts and uncrippled KAF, the later introducing PTTL and several other flash modes, it is a pity that they are pentamirror and not pentaprism.

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