20 Most Recent Pentax MZ-50 35mm SLR Camera Questions & Answers

Well, I'm not a camera repairman, but it sounds to me (and probably to you too) that the electronics are damaged or perhaps there's dust in the contacts inside. I also have an MZ-50. There's so many electronics involved and they don't age so gracefully. I would consider buying another one off eBay or you can get a ZX-30 (same as MZ-30) for $75 from Blue Moon Camera & Machine with a 1 year warranty (parts and labor). The best way would be, in my opinion, to get a manual, mechanical camera from the 1970s and put a good lens on it. Those seem to last forever. No electronics to worry about. Advance and rewind the film manually. You can use a digital camera as a light meter to set the aperture and shutter speed. I'm thinking of going this route when my MZ-50 finally conks out.

sean baker,
If the camera was working when you stored it and the shutter fires occasionally, it's probably battery corrosion. Clean the contacts with a pencil eraser,or contact cleaner tool.
What kind of camera ?

You may download the manual from http://butkus.org/chinon/pentax/pentax_mz-50/pentax_mz-50.htm

After you remove the bottom cover on these, there is a steel plate. Under the plate is a phase switch which needs to be cleaned. You have to de-solder several flex circuits to get the plate off, and when the plate is removed there is a loose spring (if memory serves me correctly, I haven't done one of these in years). Also, the black button you push to free the flash has lips on the inside that have a strong spring attached, and the lips break off. They can fall into the gearing on the bottom

Some batches of the ZX50 were produced that only put out 2.6V instead of the 3.0V printed on the label. Check your battery with a volt ohm meter if you have one to ensure it is putting out the full 3.0 volts. If not replace with a different brand of battery. Hope that helps,Bax

Sorry, but it's utterly worthless.

It's a cheaply made, all plastic, 35mm SLR lookalike which cost a couple of dollars to make (if that) and is then put in an impressive looking box to be either given away by catalogue companies or sold to unsuspecting and unknowledgeable buyers at fairs, car boot sales or on auction websites, usually with a false claim that it's a "professional" camera which usually sells for hundreds of £'s.

The charity shop I volunteer for gets dozens of these or similar Olympia models every year and it actually costs us money to get rid of them as they end up in our bins.

Sorry to disappoint you. Just give it to a youngster to muck about with (although it's definitely not safe as a toddlers toy) or chuck it in the recycling bin.

You can download the instruction manual from
http://butkus.org/chinon/pentax/pentax_mz-50/pentax_mz-50.htm

Hello and Welcome to FixYa!
I've uploaded the manual in 3 parts, you can download them for free from the links given below, I hope after reading it the cam will be handy for you. If in case you are still in trouble about something specific do ask. We are here to help.
Concerned, Nooh

Manual Part 1
Manual Part 2
Manual Part 3

I encounter a similiar problem need a expert to chec it usually the retainers of mirror may got bend while interchanging your lens.

Yes.

Just a guess, but it sounds like the shutter is stuck in the closed position. Maybe you can have the camera serviced. Try to find an online film enthusiast club, such as on Facebook and elsewhere. They might be able to direct you to where you can have your camera serviced. I can tell you that the cost of that camera is about $100 used, and repair might be the same price, so it might be better to buy another one off eBay. They have MZ-50 models for sale and lots of others. Film gear is cheap these days, but repair is not cheap. Better to buy another camera. I'm sorry about your problem and hope you can resolve it. If this was 10 years ago, you'd have a warranty and could have it fixed, but these days it's just easier to buy another camera and probably the same price or cheaper to buy another used/second-hand camera than to pay for repair. Good luck to you.

This camera takes a 3 volt Lithium battery. See this link.

Repair would be at least $139 from Blue Moon Camera. I would buy another MZ-50 (ZX-50 is the same) off eBay or you could buy a ZX-30 from Blue Moon Camera for $75 with 1 year warranty. They are professional.

http://www.bluemooncamera.com/services.php

No. If you want a digital SLR then the only way is to buy one. There's no quick cheap option to just fit a digital back to your current camera.

Used digital SLR's may be cheaper, but I recommend avoiding them: they're really complex pieces of equipment with lots to go wrong and few last longer than five years anyway. Owners with intermittently faulty examples will often just sell them to an unsuspecting buyer so they're always a huge gamble.

If you have a few Pentax lenses and would like to continue to use them, then Pentax digital SLR's still accept them but the smaller image sensor compared to 35mm means that your lenses will produce images which appear to be magnified by about 1.5x. You can save a lot of money by buying the near identical Samsung branded versions, or save a bit more and buy a "bridge camera" which has an electronic viewfinder and a superzoom lens permanently attached. Image quality is not as good, there's a limited aperture range, but they are more compact and convenient than carrying around a bulky SLR and a selection of lenses. Some, like the Olympus EP-1 and Panasonic GF-1 have interchangeable lenses and are halfway between an SLR and a bridge camera but they are definitely not cheap.

There is one other way to go digital and it's to do it the way I did: I still far prefer 35mm for it's reliability and build quality, plus the fact that equipment is often free or dirt cheap. Although I shoot film, I develop the negatives at home or take them to the local minilab where they do so for just £1 a roll. I then scan them using my flatbed scanner which has an excellent film scanner built in (Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, £48 second hand). I can then store the negatives safely away for archival purposes and have digital images to work with which are superior to any digital camera which I've had the chance to use. My only real expense is that I've had to invest £80 recently for a 1TB hard drive because I always scan my negs at the highest possible resolution.

Using 35mm gear means that I have no battery worries and can continue shooting in conditions that nobody else will risk their digital SLR in.

Just try to remember that the object is to take photos, it doesn't really matter what you use and it's really easy to make the mistake of thinking that "better" equipment will make you a better photographer. Usually it just means that you spend so long fiddling with all the settings and deciding that the weather is too risky for your expensive toy that you miss brilliant opportunities for great shots.

I hope that my reply has been of some assistance, if so please rate my answer.

Best thing to do is to go to the shop and ask. It shoudn't be too expensive, because it's pretty easy to fix with the right tools.

Try this: http://www.butkus.org/chinon/pentax/pentax_mz-50/pentax_mz-50.htm

Take out the film. It's rewinded and ready to be processed.
Put new film and it should work fine.

kirstyanne00,

open the film door and check the shutter blades. did you accidentally push the blades in when loading the film? if so take the camera to a camera repair shop, the technician may be able to reset the blades while you wait.
or send it to pentax repair center for an estimate cost to repair.

The post that holds the spring commonly breaks off. The top has to be removed to replace it - a $60 repair by an independent repair shop. I wouldn't recommend removing the top yourself unless you know how to discharge the 300Volt capacitor.

This sounds like mirror box motor problem ( see enclosed shot from our workshop ) : this cocks the shutter and controls mirror mechanism and when the drive dosnt work properly ( small nylon gear on the motor goes ) camera will develop the the sort of problems you describe.
Can be repaired but will cost $ 150-200 so it is relatively expensive repair.