Pentax MV – Kodak Ultramax 400

Pentax-M SMC 50mm f/2.0

This camera was bought solely to use with a couple of K-mount lens I already had. They came from my wife’s parents and we’d been using them with an adapter on our digital cameras since 2011. Coincidentally I first started taking photos with Pentax K-mount lenses on my brother’s ME Super back in high school. So shooting the Pentax MV ended up being a very enjoyable and smooth experience and gave me my highest hit rate thus far, 19 / 24. This is also the first roll to come out of the developing tank with colors and exposure as I had seen them. The compact and lightweight MV is a very simplified design compared to other Pentax SLRs, even simpler than the ME. It can only shoot in Aperture priority, 1/100 (flash sync) or B. It doesn’t tell you what the automatic shutter speed is, just red for over exposed, yellow for slow shutter speed, or green for correct exposure. There isn’t even exposure compensation (unless you use the ISO selector to fake this). These all sound like dealbreakers but in the end it’s super streamlined. The shooting experience revolves entirely around the lens – one hand turns the lens to focus or set the aperture, the other sits poised to snap the photo. The LEDs inside the viewfinder are bright and since there are no top panel controls there’s almost no need to look up while metering and framing the shot. It’s simple and enjoyable and sometimes I wonder why I use anything else. I also got it for $20, it uses modern batteries!

Hit Rate: 19/24 (79%)