35mm SLR

The Lens mount of the MZ-S has (unlike some other manufacturers) stayed the "same" during the evolution from Manual Focus to Auto Focus. "Same" meaning you CAN mount MF lenses on the new AF bodies but you will not have AF and some metering functions as you would if you used a current AF lens.

A cute feature Pentax has added is the Lens Mount Index Lamp along side the Lens Mount Index Mark (Red dot on the chrome mount). It glows red when the Lens Unlock Button is depressed to aid in the mounting of a lens in lower light level.

Also of considerable note, The mount is metallic unlike some entry level cameras that use a chemical resin (plastic) mount.

The very top cover above the screw is the dust protector over the Cable Release Port. It accepts any of Pentax's 3 pin electronic cable releases: a .5 M or 3 M shutter release cable or the Release Timer Switch for interval and timer shooting.

The Button below the screw is the Flash Function Button used to control the mode of the flash unit(s).

The bottom switch is the Focus Mode Switch with 3 positions: Manual focus, and single or continuous AF modes.

The Focus Point Mode Switch is used to either allow the camera to select which of the six focus points are used in Automatic or in Select you hold the switch in "S" and rotate the command dial to select the focus point. When you release the switch, it returns to the Locked position locking in the point you selected.

Above the rubber eyepiece is the Diopter Adjustment slide control that allows the image to be corrected for less than perfect eyesight. My fingers would not fit into the allotted space (fat fingers) but it was too easy to slide up and remove the rubber eyepiece, then adjust the diopter and replace the rubber eyepiece.

The Pop-Up flash does elevate about 1 1/2 inches from parked position and about 3 1/4 inches above the center of lens which is better than some. The Guide Number is 12 (100 ISO in meters) or about GN 35 in feet giving you an exposure range of up to about 7 3/4 feet with the 24-90mm f/3.5 - 4.5 at 90mm. Not bad, most are worse, believe it or not (see Gregg's Conclusion - Page 3.)

The Hot Shoe, or where a "real flash" goes. It comes new covered with a slide and loose cover like most current SLR's. At least that's what I do with most removable covers.

A great feature is the pin hole in the mount (top left) that the Pentax flash will extend a pin into when tightened and prevent the infernal backing off of the flash causing loss of communication with the camera.

The outer locking dial is the Exposure Compensation Dial used to force over and under exposures to lighten or darken images. It allows you to force a change from the exposure the camera gives you to plus or minus 3 EV (Exposure Value or stops) in 1/2 stop increments.

Rotating it to the "PF" position provides access to the 19 Pentax Functions (i.e. custom functions). See the Pentax Brochure download at the bottom of this page.

Rotating the dial to the "D" setting facilitates the control of the imprinting of exposure Data between the sprocket holes on the edge of the film. This data includes consecutive roll numbering, ISO setting, imprint density setting, exposure control mode setting, metering mode setting, shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation value, and auto bracketing mode indication.

The inner dial is an Auto Bracketing Dial which is used to automatically fire a series of frames that have a 1/2 EV variant or 1 full stop (EV) variant. The number of frames to be bracketed and order can be varied in the Pentax Function to 2, 3 or 5 frames.

Right hand top main controls:

• Illuminated LCD Panel - Displays the current exposure mode, shutter speed, aperture, flash firing status, frame counter and other information.
• Select Dial - knurled wheel located around LCD Panel: Sets various modes and settings.
• Drive Switch - located top right: Sets the drive mode to single frame or continuous advance, multi-exposure or self timer mode.
• Metering Mode Switch - located below the drive switch: Sets the metering to multi-segment(6), spot (which can be set in Pentax Functions to follow the focus point) or center-weighted metering.
• LCD Illuminator Button - located below the metering switch: lites the LCD Panel (in case you couldn't figure that out).
• AE-L Button - located to the left of the Illuminator: locks the current exposure setting for 20 seconds.
• Hold Switch - located to the left of the AE-L: Prohibits the change of exposure mode and shutter speed by the select dial or exposure mode button.

Shutter release button encircled by the Off/On switch. The DOF (depth of field) Preview is the "Iris" looking symbol and when you hold the On switch to the right it electrically stops down the aperture to the setting you or the camera selected. This enables you to preview the amount of area that is in focus in front of and behind your subject.(Just in case you needed a Photo 101 review)

If the magic of how a camera auto sets the film speed enamors you, inside the camera's film cartridge compartment you can see the DX encoding contacts. They contact the film cartridge where it has the bare metal in funny little designs and complete a different circuit for each speed, i.e. DX ENCODING. Now you can sleep at night.

More seriously, the Shutter in the MZ-S is capable of going to a 1/6000th of a second and has a standard maximum flash sync speed of 1/180th. With the Pentax AF360FTZ Flash you have much faster speeds capable while on the shoe or in wireless mode with reduced flash distance coverage.

The QD (Quartz Data) Back facilitates the imprinting of date in the picture area if desired. It can be turned off.