I have just obtained a secondhand Pentax MZ-S 35mm single-lens reflex camera in excellent shape. It was the top-of-the-line model of Pentax's MZ/ZX series introduced in 2001 and discontinued in 2006. The camera features an autofocus system based on six linear CCD sensors, on-film data recording and an MTF autoexposure mode which chooses the aperture for maximum sharpness based on information provided by the AF lens.
The on-film data recording imprints the exposure mode, metering method, shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation on the negative outside the actual photo area and acts as EXIF data and is something that will turn out to be very valuable for me.
Am I mad to spend money on a 35mm camera in this day and digital age? As you know I still am very much committed to black and white on film and I intend to invest more effort in that direction. The only 35mm camera that Pentax currently have in their catalogue is the Pentax *ist (not to be confused with the Pentax *ist D series DSLRs) which is a nice camera but not the high-end 35mm camera the MZ-S is. In my opinion, Pentax will never release another high-end 35mm camera so I figured that the time was now to pick one up.
