How can I get more consistent exposure with a Pentax PZ-10 film camera?
Asked 1/14/2011
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I moved from a Pentax K1000 to a Pentax PZ-10 and I’m having trouble getting reliable exposures. With the K1000 I used a separate light meter, but the PZ-10’s controls and metering are less intuitive to me, and the manual I found is hard to read.
Because this is film, I’d prefer to avoid heavy bracketing. What’s the best way to work with the PZ-10’s metering and exposure controls to improve consistency?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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Hmmm. I'm not sure the PZ10 is really an upgrade. I've only seen the same scanned manual, but it looks like the camera is rather limited in control. It has:
Program AE mode, which seems to use a 6-segment matrix (in contrast, modern Pentax dSLRs use a 77-segment matrix). You can press the "hyper" button followed by the
+/-buttons to adjust EV, but it's going to take some practice (and exposed film) to get a feel for what the camera "wants" to do in any given situation. And there appears to be no indication of metering at all in this mode (the indicators in the viewfinder are used to show whether EV compensation is active)."Metered Manual", which is limited by
- the metering only showing + or -, not any indication of how much
- only using spot metering, which isn't right for most situations (and without any range in the +/- indicators, it's hard to use to measure a whole scene).
and
- "HyperManual", which is a horrible name for a miserable approximation of Aperture Priority mode -- you set the aperture on the lens, and then press the Hyper button to set the shutter speed to match the (presumably, 6-segment) meter reading.
So, I guess the best thing to do is hold on to that third-party meter and use the manual mode. Or watch Craig's List for another K1000 to come by. :)
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
15y ago
0
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The PZ-10 can be harder to predict than a fully manual camera. Based on the available information, it offers two main approaches:
- Program AE: This uses segmented/matrix metering. It’s probably the easiest mode for general shooting. You can use the hyper button plus +/- to apply exposure compensation when a scene may fool the meter.
- Metered Manual: This appears to be quite limited, because the display only shows plus or minus rather than how far off you are, and it uses spot metering, which is not ideal for many everyday scenes.
So for most situations, start with Program AE and learn when to apply a little exposure compensation. Expect a learning curve, especially with film, since you won’t get immediate feedback.
If you already trust your third-party meter, it may still be useful as a reference while you learn how the PZ-10 responds. In short: rely mainly on Program AE, use compensation when needed, and avoid expecting the camera’s manual metering mode to behave like the K1000.
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