Pentax ZX-L

I just realized I have never really done a proper blog review of my “not-so-new-anymore” Pentax ZX-L. I got this camera back in early February and have been shooting pretty regularly with it. It has in fact become my “go to” 35mm SLR. I have mentioned it in a couple blog posts but never actually done a blog post on it so here I am to correct that oversight.

I can understand why I forgot to review this camera because like the ZX-7, the ZX-L just kind of came into my life and made itself at home like it had been there all along. There actually is very little difference between the ZX-L and the ZX-7, which I blogged about in my April 7^th, 2013 post, but those little differences are just enough to make the ZX-L my favorite. Not that I no longer like the ZX-7, quite the contrary. In fact the ZX-7 has a couple things I like better about it but overall I think the ZX-L definitely has the edge.

Like all of my Pentax cameras (except the ZX-30) all of my lenses will work on the ZX-L without the need for any kind of adapter. Even the old manual legacy lenses will work although obviously the onboard exposure computer cannot set the aperture or focus the lenses. That must be done manually.

Like the ZX-7, the ZX-L will offer a focus confirmation “beep” and LED indication in the viewfinder if you want it, and I almost always want it. One of the banes of my old age is that my vision isn’t quite what it once was making manual focusing a bit challenging at times. Like all AF systems it is not 100% but it is nice to have that confirmation beep or signal to give me a second opinion as to whether or not I have the image in focus.

The ZX-L has a 1/4000s shutter speed where the ZX-7 only goes up to 1/2000s. It also has P-TTL flash capability and a depth of field preview, both missing on the earlier ZX-7 but otherwise they are nearly identical so everything I said about the ZX-7 in my earlier blog post applies here as well.

The Sigma 28 to 80 macro-zoom that came on my ZX-L is a pleasure to use. I’ve never been much of a macro fan and the macro photos I have taken so far haven’t done much to amaze me but the lens is otherwise a good solid performer. I still prefer and want to get back to using my primes but I can see why the 28 to 80 zoom became the most widely used lens for the casual photographer in the final decade of 35mm film’s dominance.

The bottom line is I love everything about this camera which was one of the last 35mm SLR’s Pentax came out with. I can only imagine how great things might be for film shooters if digital hadn’t taken over when it did and they had kept improving and perfecting film technology.