Pentax ZX-M film SLR

Looking for an affordable, manual focus film slr? Today, we’ll take a look at the Pentax ZX-M – a lesser known film SLR from pentax released in the 90’s. This camera is the manual focus version of the Pentax ZX-5N and is the predecessor to the well loved Pentax K1000. Although not as rugged as the K1000 (this camera is made mostly out of plastic) the Pentax ZX-M offers more versatility and automation. Both cameras uses the pentax K mount offering lens compatibility even on modern pentax DSLR’s.

What attracted me most to this camera was its looks and ergonomics. Sleek, compact, and very easy to use. The grip was also a welcomed addition which made the handling of the Pentax ZX-M very comfortable. This camera closely resembles my Nikon F55 when it comes to looks, but is a bit sexier in my opinion because of its “boxier” design.

The Pentax ZX-M lets you shoot at full manual or aperture priority. I love that despite being a more modern film slr, it still features a lot of physical dials like the shutter speed and exposure compensation. Although the camera can read your film’s DX code, you can still override it and set ISO manually. The tiny lcd on top shows your exposure mode, frame number, and low battery warning.

The viewfinder isn’t that big but I never had any issue with it. You can still focus accurately using the split image and the display for shutter, aperture and exposure is illuminated. The camera uses 2x CR-2 batteries and the film rewind and wind-on is automatic.

Paired with my Pentax ZX-M is a standard kit lens from Chinon, the Auto Chinon Zomm MC 28-50mm f3.5-4.5. And as usual as a test roll, I used an expired Konica Centuria super 200 film shot at iso 50.

The photos did came out good and the camera did perform as it was suppose to. Sometimes its also good to have automations on a film camera specially when just taking daily snaps. Although at this point, I think I’ve had enough shooting expired film especially on cameras that I’m atleast 80% sure is working. Still, it was fun shooting the Pentax ZX-M and will definitely shoot a fresh roll soon.