Hi Doug,
Thanks for the review, I think we pretty much know all the specs now but the
big questions is, is it worth $1000? It seems a tad expensive for the specs
but does it make up for it in build and feel?
Yours
Paul
----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Brewer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2001 3:40 PM
Subject: yet another MZ-S first look
> Spent a couple of hours examining the MZ-S this afternoon, and thought I'd
share a few impressions with you. First, here's Ed Sullivan: "Tonight we
have a rilly big shoe."
>
> Thank you, thank you. Now, on to the camera. Some points in no particular
order.
>
> 1.) It's =small=. Sure, I read the specs, but I was still surprised. To
put the features this camera has into a package this small, those guys at
Pentax did their homework. I can see that I would need to have the battery
pack/grip attached semi-permanently, to have a good grip on it. For
reference, I have the grip strap on my PZ-1p and a winder on my LX because
they improve the holdability for me.
>
> 2.) It was also lighter than I expected, and yet...
>
> 3.) It is well put together. I was especially impressed with the way the
back fits to the body. There are a series of ridges-- I believe there are
two on the body and one on the door, but I may have that backwards-- that go
together to form a seal. The one ridge fits between the two. Very well done.
I also noticed a foam square around the inside of the film window. That
could be a common thing on cameras, but I don't recall ever seeing it
before. The magnesium shell feels solid. I squeezed it and there was no give
whatsoever. It feels like it should be around for a while.
>
> 4.) For Alan Chan, I examined the finder window and, for the life of me, I
couldn't determine if it was glass or plastic. My money is on glass, though.
It's that kind of camera.
>
> 5.) Okay, the controls. It took me all of five or ten seconds to get the
feel of total control. To leave it in program mode, set the lens to A (if
the lens has the A setting). To move to Av priority, take it off of A. Then,
if you want to go to full manual, shift the shutter speed by turning the
dial. If the lens is still set at a preferred f/stop, you can go back to Av
priority by touching the green button on the front. To run in Tv priority,
just leave the lens on A and turn the dial to select your shutter speed.
It's incredibly simple.
>
> 5a.) The Hold button seems to be a mystery around here. It's for the
shutter speed. If you set a shutter speed you want to stay with, you just
use the hold button. If you then turn the control dial, the shutter speed
doesn't change and "HOLD" flashes on the LCD. I forgot to check if there's
is also on indication on the viewfinder.
>
> 5b.) The DOF preview is right there at your index finger. Way cool. You
just put your finger on it and sort of pull it. It's more like a little
slide action. For those of you, like me, who are accustomed to =pushing= DOF
previews, this takes a little getting used to. I must have turned the camera
off five times trying to activate the DOF preview. Once I got the hang of
it, though, I thought it was pretty cool.
>
> 5c.) Selecting the AF points is simple as well. Using the middle finger of
my left hand, I slid the switch up, then turned the control dial until the
point I wanted lit up at the bottom of the viewfinder. To return to letting
the camera choose the sensor, I just clicked the selector switch back down.
>
> 5d.) I was a trifle disappointed that the exposure compensation system of
the PZ-1p is not on this camera. It's a really great feature of the PZ-1p.
Fortunately, using the exp comp dial on the MZ-S is a breeze. I was able to
do it with just my left thumb; push in the lock release and turn the dial in
the same motion. The over/under indicator off the right side of the
viewfinder stays invisible until comp is used (and, I assume, though didn't
check, when you're using metered manual), which I liked.
>
> Which brings us to
>
> 6.) The viewfinder seemed bright to me, and well placed. By that I mean
that there is almost a tunnel effect there. The viewfinder is surrounded my
a bit of black all the way around, and none of the indicators inside intrude
on the viewfinder itself. I even dug out my glasses to have a look and I was
able to see all of the viewfinder and the indicators with minimal effort. I
should note here that I =never= wear my glasses while photographing, but I
was curious how people who wear glasses all the time would see the
viewfinder.
>
> 7.) The AF is quick and decisive. To test it, I used my FA*80-200/2.8
(keeping an eye on that focus scale window in case it decided to leap off
the lens), and it had no trouble with either the camera-selected or
user-selected sensors. I got it to hunt, but really, it was a tough scene,
some thin branches with a brightly colored BP station in the background, and
I was using a single sensor. To be fair, since not everybody has a
80-200/2.8, I also mounted the new 24-90 on there and pointed it around the
place. Though the viewfinder was noticeably darker, the camera seemed to
handle it just fine.
>
> 8.) The AF button on the back (this could be numbered 5e, if you're
scoring at home, or even if you're by yourself) is a nice touch. I'd have to
really work with it for a while to be comfortable using it, as I'm
accustomed to the shutter-button-half-press method, which the MZ-S also has.
>
> 9) The shutter has a distinct "snick" sound, much less clunky than the
PZ-1p shutter. The action is positive and certain, and I noticed very little
lag between pushing the release and the shutter firing. It was very
responsive.
>
> 10.) The rear-angled top plate is pure genius, and anyone who has ever had
to tilt a PZ-1p backwards to look at the LCD screen, I'm sure, would agree.
The controls are clear in their intent, simple in execution, and there is
absolutely no clutter.
>
> Did I find anything I didn't like about the camera? I mentioned earlier
being disappointed that the exp comp from the PZ-1p wasn't on there. I don't
know if anyone else noticed this, but the advance side strap lug felt a
little bit awkwardly placed to me. Again, I'm used to my PZ-1p, and it could
be that the shutter release on the MZ-S is not quite as far out in front as
it is on the PZ-1p, making the lug feel a little low. After handling the
camera a bit longer, it didn't seem as awkward, so it may not have been that
bad.
>
> I guess that's all I can think of right now. I'd be glad to tackle any
follow up questions.
>
> Doug
>
> --
> Douglas Forrest Brewer
> Ashwood Lake Photography
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://www.alphoto.com
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