Hi everybody, My name is Aleksandar Kujucev and I'm Pentax user for 20 years - started with Spotmatic SP1000 as a kid. You can check my work at http://www.yurope.com/people/kujucev/ or http://kujucev.cjb.net
This is the first time I'm posting questions at pdml.net. Just got myself a secondhand MZ-S in absolute mint condition. But alas, no manual! I figured out almost everything by myself (kudos to Pentax for excellent user interface!!!) but I'm having problems with a) "pentax functions" (only got some general idea what they are from couple of PDF documents) and b) advanced flash techniques (I have an old AF280T for now). Does anybody now where I could find scanned or PDF manual on the web? I can't order it, since there are no Pentax representatives in my country. Some more questions: 1) When using manual focus A, K and M lenses I can't select other focusing points than central - is that normal? 2) When using old screw mount Takumars with original Pentax screw mount adapter, I don't have focus confirmation at all - why is that? I also tried (non Pentax) K mount macro bellows and lenses converted to K mount using T2 adapters, but they didn't offer focus confirmation either! On the other hand, russian Zenitar 2.8/16 K mount fisheye works! How on earth MZ-S decides what works and what doesn't, since all these mounts are all mechanical without any electrical contacts? The only difference is absence of aperture lever and coupler, on the bellows and the two adapters. Can I make my M42 Taks work? 3) When using manual focus A, K and M lenses there is some sort of focusing "latitude" - when rotating focusing ring, focus confirmation LED "signal" IMO stays on longer that it should. When I focus with my KX or my LX using microprism collar at 1 meter, the image is in focus only at 1 meter - with MZ-S i get focus still confirmed when I move focusing ring to the left. Only a little bit, but enough to make me worry if focusing was dead on accurate (especially with large apertures at close distance). I discovered that I should start focusing VERY SLOWLY from infinity mark and stop immediately when I get focus confirmation - this way I get identical result with my other Pentax bodies (mounted on a tripod, using the same lens of course). But what do I do when I can't focus very slowly? Is this normal? I also got a new FA 24-90 AL/IF zoom. Any experiences/comments on it? Some observations: I traded my old Canon EOS 50E (ElanIIE in USA i think) with 28-105 USM and battery pack (I was waiting way too long for decent metal Pentax AF body) for the MZ-S body. Compared to older, cheaper and out of production Canon camera, MZ-S AF system sucks! Well, maybe it is not that bad, but when you get used to something better... Is it so hard to get cross sensors in your flagship camera!?!? I miss the illuminated focusing squares on the viewscreen - very useful in low light, or on dark subjects. No red light AF assist beam on the body for low light, high ASA, no flash photography. AF is louder, hunts more and sometimes (rarely, but it happens) when it says it is in focus, it actually is way off (visible by naked eye in the viewfinder), something that never happened to me with Canon. The viewfinder was a big disapointment too - it is much smaller and even darker than my 25 years old KX! I have SP1000, K1000, KX, K2, MX, and two LX bodies and never had any experience with newer plasticky bodies. I needed some new camera body to replace old battered ones and continue to support large number of Pentax lenses that I acquired during the years. After many years, the MZ-S seemed to me to be the first Pentax camera that I could lay my hands on. Apart from AF system and viewfinder, it seems to be a great little camera with great design. I miss body seals that LX has. Of course that I would always like to buy a new LX2000 over it, but unfortunately it was never available to me! By the way, did Pentax resolve "sticky mirror syndrome" in later LX bodies? Mine might start to show signs of it, since the younger is some 10 years old. So it leaves me with me my KX, IMO the most reliable camera Pentax ever made, built like a tank, but with feel of high precision that it shares with its older brother Spotmatic. No fancy electronics and mirror dampers (just riveted metal stop instead) to fail due to old age, the only thing that can go wrong is the mirror box foam - it is undestroyable! My lenses? I have: 15/3.5 K 18/3.5 M 28/2.8 A 40/2.8 M 50/1.4 M 50/1.7 M 85/2.0 M 35-70/4.0 A ZOOM 100/4.0 M macro 135/3.5 M 55/2.0 SuperTakumar M42 24/3.5 SuperTakumar M42 16/2.8 Zenitar fisheye (russian) K mount 85/1.5 Helios (russian) M42 85/2.0 Jupiter (russian) M42 300/4.5 Tair (russian) M42 1000/10 MTO mirror lens (russian) M42 20/2.8 Flektogon Carl Zeiss Jena M42 135/3.5 Sonnar Carl Zeiss Jena M42 180/2.8 Sonnar Carl Zeiss Jena M42/Pentacon6 I also work with Hasselblad 500CM with 50CF, 80CF & 150CF lenses and Linhof Master Technika 4X5 with SuperAngulon 90 & SuperSymmar 150. So if you have any questions about any item above, just ask and I'll be glad to answer you! Whew, this is one very long post! Sorry! Since it is not my native language, I'm also sorry for my english. Happy New Year, Aleksandar _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
