I find this to be a fascinating debate but sadly lack the understanding of the economics involved to contribute on that level.
However, I'd like to comment on the above quote:
I'm not sure that the comparison is totally fair, the two cameras are very different and generations apart in terms of technology but take the same photo with each and I doubt that anyone would know which was which.
The Z1-P was never really supposed to be a 'professional' tool and was meant to be affordable to keen amateurs. Most people will never use half of the Z1's features let alone the higher winder and shutter-speeds of the Canon or be able to afford the Canon accessories needed.
Most of the features that we now think the Z1 lacks didn't really exist in any camera at the time that the Z1 was released and it was considered as overkill then.
-do you recall that the Z1 was delayed due to copyright conflicts with the Minolta Dynax 7xi?
The Z1/Z1-P is over-specified for most people and what it does ie. takes photos, it does extremely well and the only feature that I think it lacks is multi-point AF (which many users tend to switch off anyway) and the viewfinder image could have been better.
I'm sure that a brand new Z1-P (if you can find one today), would be cheaper than an EOS1-v.

I think you are probably right Kim and the same could perhaps be said of Olympus. My father was a devotee of the OM series and no one can deny the quality of their manual slr outfits but they never really shone in the AF market. Like Pentax, they produce an extensive range of compacts and digitals but the range of 35mm slr's is limited and expensive.
Maybe market forces will dictate a change of policies or maybe they won't and digital will reign supreme but it would be sad to see the demise of such companies, in particular Asahi Pentax who have been so innovative in the field of 35mm photography for so many years.
Perhaps we've reached the peak of 35mm camera development and it's time to move on and hopefully Pentax can keep up.

I recall a magazine article from a few years ago when the Canon EOS300 was compared to the Minolta Dynax 8000. The writer commented that cameras such as these were approximately 98% accurate in terms of exposure and focussing and that no camera could ever be 100% - so it was about as good as it could get.
We've progressed a little since then but the sentiment was true and I guess it's time for 35mm to stand aside but I'd like to see Pentax produce a range of multi-format cameras capable of using both film and digital technologies at affordable high street prices.

Let's wait and see, shall we?
It's perfectly obvious that film will be around for years to come, 'old-fashioned' 110 and medium format films are still available as are traditional papers and studio equipment. Digital is great but already we are seeing adverts for printers where they say we are longing for pictures that we can 'hold' and pass around.
I have a digital but most of the pictures are stored either on the SD card, PC hard drive or CD rom - I've printed very few!
You know, it's far easier to send a film to be processed and have a decent, complete set of prints returned that can be shown to everyone than to do it yourself.
Like it or not, most photos are simple snapshots, they record a specific scene or event, they are not masterpieces or works of art and usually receive a "nice" comment when shown to aunt Hilda!
Sure, you could send away your memory card but then, apart from in-camera editing, what would be the point of digital?
Thanks to companies like Pentax, there are millions of 35mm cameras out there (I've got seven........or is it eight?), it seemed every couple of months that a new Espio with an extra couple of mm added to it's zoom range was released and the market was absolutely saturated.
Now there's digital and even mobile-camera-phones but I don't believe that they'll replace film - not for a long while, because people want to see photos, real photos and not everybody has access to a computer or the time and inclination to produce their own prints or create web-sites.
For many, I believe the novelty of digital will begin to wear off and they'll resume using film once again.
Did Polaroid instant film put photo labs out of business?
Did APS over shadow 35mm?
Was it the Titanic or the Olympic?
........NO, NO and who knows? but I bet we'll see traditional film for a long time and new cameras to use it

Personally, I wouldn't try it again on a camera until you've freed it by hand.
Try gently turning the AF coupler (with a small watchmaker's type screwdriver) back and forth to see if that frees it. You could try turning the focussing ring but it would be quite easy then to strain an internal mechanism.
Might be best to get a reputable dealer to take a look at it!

Might it not be possible to use a tool such as a Dremel to reform the coin slot?

You're welcome, manual courtesy of forum member Kim Coxon!

http://www.pentax-manuals.com./manuals/af/pentax_mz-5n_manual_s.pdf

password: Pentax

I've had a quick look but can't see any reference to zoom effects, so they may not be available for the MZ-5N but you do have 3-speed power-zoom.

Looked again, page 10 shows no zoom effects available - sorry!

It might be interesting however to take a look at the Z1-P manual for full details - just for reference

These are for setting the focal lengths to be used with zoom clip and image size tracking etc.
What camera will you be using? - the zoom effects available vary somewhat!

This lens is an absolute cracker, better in fact than it's manual zoom successor and probably the best auto-zoom in the Pentax range for the Z series cameras.

If you don't have a camera manual, you can download a pdf version and that will tell you how to use the lens' functions.

........well I hope there's a few pictures then!

Dedicated guns are normally easy to use and fairly self explanatory, they synchronize the flash output to the shutter speed of the camera and the amount of light delivered is either measured by the sensor on the gun or within the camera - depends how sophisticated the combination is.
Either way, you should find it easy to achieve decent results - leave everything set to auto and see how you get on with standard shots.
You may have settings that enable you to reduce the flash output manually ie. 1/2, 1/4 or even 1/16 of full power and you can use these for fill-in and close-up work where a less powerful burst is required.

A local camera store ie. Jessops, may suggest an alternative brand of gun that is of a similar spec. - perhaps you could get a manual for that instead (just a thought).

Glad you managed to get one, I had tried looking for you but came up blank.