Not identical mind you but nearly so.
I recently purchased a good condition Pentax MZ-30 to go with my MZ-6.
Over the last week I sold of all my Canon DSLR’s. If your’e wondering why its simple really, I was getting bored with the Canon even though they were both fine cameras in their own right, I just didnt seem to be getting the enjoyment out of using them that I had with my Fuji Cameras and my Pentax film cameras.
As I’m nearing retirement I have decided to save my hard earned dollars until I have actually retired. Hopefully by then I will have a better idea of what to buy, be it mirrorless or DSLR.
Until that time I intend to get back to my photographic roots, which is film. I like the slower pace of shooting film. You have to be more measured in your approach and try to make each shot count. If you only have a couple of rolls of 24 exposure film then you have a lot less leeway than you would with digital
I’m as guilty as the next person for blazing away at something of interest and letting the camera do a lot of the work without too much thought and while I usually get at least a few frames that rank as keepers I also wind up with hundreds of images that really only bloat my PC’s hard drives.
The reason for buying the MZ-30 which is the entry level model of the MZ line is because of the lens. The Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Lens. This version is made for Pentax film cameras but will work fine with Pentax FF and APS-c bodies. Especially the Pentax digital DSLR’s as they have IBIS as standard. There are stabilised versions for most of the other manufacturers and the digital version of this lens is really the slightly shorter 18-250 mm designed with APSC in mind.
Like all telephoto lenses of this quality they get a bit soft at the long end so stopping down is likely to help. It should be noted that this lens works better for film than as a cheap digital workhorse. You can still get nice images they may just be a little softer than most digital shooters would like.
Once I’v run a roll or two of film through the MZ-6 with this lens attached I will publish the results. Because the MZ-30 doesn’t have as many features as the considerably more advanced MZ-6 it will have the 28-90 firmly attached. As it also has a plastic lens mount on the camera body I didnt like the idea of having the big telephoto lens mounted on it. I’m probably worrying about nothing but I would rather err on the side of caution. I also think the MZ-6 is better suited for getting good results from the bigger lens.
In keeping with my ethos of using minimal dollars to continue my photographic journey the total cost including freight for the MZ-30 with the Tamron attached was $108.00 NZD. Money hopefully well spent.
And for those folk who think I have completely lost the plot…never fear I still have my trusty Fuji HS20 and my smartphone for the digital footprint.
Happy Snappin’
