You'll find the manual here: http://www.pentaxusa.com/docstore/index.cfm?show=6
I myself have THREE PZ-20's. I love them. I love the feel, and the simplicity of the controls. The only thing that I would use that they lack are DOF and yep, a PC sync socket. I AM able to use them in AV, TV as well as manual, program etc, and know that I would miss the AV terribly, but overall, for a "two digit" camera, I really love it... I VERY rarely use the powerzoom function and to be honest, find it to be a pain in the you know what, too complex for me to fiddle with in the middle of a wedding etc.... You are very lucky to have inherited this body, right at a time that you needed it, and also very lucky that you have a family that cares about you enough to try and offer you the best that they can in a sad situation... Merry Christmas. tan. ----- Original Message ----- From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, December 22, 2003 5:59 AM Subject: PZ-10 User Manual? > One of my uncles died a couple months ago. I haven't been following > the matter of his estate, hadn't seen what he owned that I might want, > or anything like that (though I did voice an interest in a copy of > the hard disk from his computer, because he had collected a lot of > geneology information and had scanned many photos of family members). > But my mother and brother have been at least somewhat involved, and > the last time I went to Mom's house, I was given one of my uncle's > cameras, a PZ-10. My brother asked how badly I wanted the other one, > a Pentax point-and-shoot, because he wanted it for himself -- and > knowing I wouldn't use a point-and-shoot as often as other types of > cameras, I told him to hang on to it. > > So I've got this PZ-10, with a FA 28-80/3.5-4.7. So far I don't > like it all that much, but I'm still happy to accept it because at > the moment I'm feeling a bit underequipped in K-mount bodies, after > losing the KX to theft the day after Thanksgiving and the Super > Program and ME similarly several months earlier. So I've got a PZ-10. > What I don't have is a manual. > > I did take time to learn how to use autofocus before putting any > film in it. (This is my first autofocus camera other than a borrowed > point-and-shoot that I used briefly.) The first time I did try to > use it, I was glad that I'd spent the time getting used to it. But > I'm not feeling good about control over exposure, and I have not > figured out how to invoke any of the power-zoom functions described > in the marketing brochure that came with it. (Yeah, PZ might be a > gimmick, but I want to at least experiment with it since it's > here, just in case I actually have any use for it after all.) > > So far I'm seriously missing the level of control, and information, > that I had with the Super Program. In program mode, all I know is > whether the camera is asking for flash or not. Not having > shutter-priority feels odd, even though I didn't use that all that > often on the Super Program ... it just feels like an obvious mode > is _missing_. Not having the shutter speed in the viewfinder in > manual mode feels odd as well -- I find myself taking the camera > away from my eye to check whether I'm still at a hand-holdable > speed. And aperture-priority seems, as far as I can tell, to > consist of putting the camera in manual mode and pressing the > hyper button whenever I want the camera to set the speed. It > feels like I have two ways of using it -- full auto "push here > dummy", and slow-and-careful -- with no reasonably fast way of > working while still retaining control. This impression is probably > exaggerated because a) I'm not fully used to this camera yet, and > b) I've been spoiled by the Super Program, the K2, and even the > KX in terms of viewfinder information and convenience of controls. > (It doesn't help that the flash housing gets in my way when I set > the aperture.) On my first outing with it, I had a lot of backlit > situations, and I really wanted more information on what the camera > was choosing so I'd have a better idea how much to compensate, but > I was moving around enough to need to re-meter each shot. I found > myself having some fun with the autofocus, but really missing the > Super Program and being glad I'd brought the K2 along. I did try > using the zoom lens on the K2, but it's not the fastest lens to > manually focus. (It didn't help that my fingers kept going to > either the zoom ring or the ring with the display and writing on it > when I tried to reach for the focus ring. That's a matter of practice, > I guess.) So it looks like a very convenient "fun" camera, and > will come in handy when trap-focus is useful, but so far I don't > feel like I trust it enough for any situation where things Have To > Be Right. I haven't had it long, so maybe I'll trust it more as > I get used to it? We'll see. > > (Somebody recently advised avoiding Pentax cameras with two-digit > model numbers, right? That advice was probably meant for someone > with my tastes.) > > <whine> I want my DOF preview button! I want my PC flash socket! </whine> > > Uh, anyhow, I didn't mean to go into a lenghty review when I sat > down to write this. I was mostly just going to ask for some > instructions. I can probably do without a complete copy of the > manual, much of which will be details common to most cameras or > things I can figure out on my own, but I could use instructions > on how the PZ features work, any clues I'm overlooking regarding > the metering modes. (And when the minus-sign in the viewfinder > blinks after a flash picture, does that mean I was too far away? > Does the absence of that signal count as confirmation of sufficient > flash?) > > In other news, someone else gave me a brick. The slow shutter > speeds don't work reliably, so I'm not sure whether to trust the > high speeds. I'm tempted to run a roll of film through it just to > test the faster speeds, but I should probably try to find out how > much a CLA will cost first. I thought a rangefinder might come in > handy when I want something quieter than an SLR, but wow is that > Argus shutter loud -- it *rings* when it closes! > > -- Glenn >
