My first serious camera was a Pentax ZX-M film camera. I got it when I got into Photography about twelve years ago. Back then digital wasn't really around in terms of being available to most people. As a full time worker and student I just wanted the most affordable camera I could get.
The ZX-M replaced a previous film camera called K1000. As I understand it that model was very popular with students and people starting out in Photography for its ease of use and the variety of lenses you could use with it.
As opposed to the fully manual K1000, the ZX-M features an electronic shutter. An external LCD panel that indicates exposure mode, ISO reading, film status, battery status and film frame number. It has a through the lens metering system and the film is advanced automatically by a built in motor. When Dx-coded film cartridges are used the camera will set the film speed automatically. The body also has a mid-roll rewind button in case you want to take the film out before you take all the exposures.
The body has a socket to trigger the camera remotely using an electronic cable release. There is also a threaded socket at the bottom for use with a tripod or monopod.
My interest in photography started as I was taking painting classes and at some point I wanted to photograph my own work. I thought I would buy the camera take the beginning class in Photography and I would be set. Then my interest in taking pictures of other subjects grew and that's how I got started.
The ZX-M camera was the most affordable camera I could get. You could change lenses and it had both manual and automatic modes. Before purchasing the camera I asked the class instructor what to look for when getting one. His advise proved very useful because I didn't go and buy something really expensive just because it had more features I wouldn't need.
The simplicity of the camera made things much easier for me. I'm not a technical person and just reading through the manual and Photography books was very overwhelming. This days most cameras are digital and in my opinion have a lot more features that make them harder to figure out. Either all the features are automatic and you don't really know how you got the image or there are so many hidden menus and features that it can get frustrating to figure out every feature. I'm the kind of person that reads the manuals to get familiar with all the camera's capabilities and the manuals for digital cameras are massive.
One of the major advantages of the ZX-M is the backwards compatibility with other lenses. It features a KA2 lens mount and it is compatible with KAF2-, KAF- and K-mount lenses. Some of these lenses are decades old and will work with the camera. Affordable lenses can be easily found in the internet or camera shops.
This company only has a small amount of flash units but the film cameras will be compatible with any of those units as far as I know. There are also a few units from other companies that will be compatible with the camera.
The camera takes two 3V Lithium batteries (CR2) or equivalent.
If we were at a time when film was more popular than digital I would recommend this camera to anyone starting out. Price, ease of use and the large amount of lenses available to use with the camera made it a great value for me.
Specifications for Pentax ZX-M film camera
The next pictures are different views from the ZX-M model I own.
For more information in how to use the camera you can visit my Photography Youtube Channel called floresmartphoto where I have a few videos for the ZX-M camera.
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