Name of product:
Pentax MZ-50 film camera, Pentax E-20 compact digital, and Pentax *ist DSLRApproximate date of purchase:
2000-2008My Review
Please note that I live in Australia, and your mileage may vary. I've had mixed results with Canon, but they've ultimately left me wanting.
My first SLR was a Pentax MZ-50 film camera, circa 2000. I took some great photos with it. The exposure meter was dead accurate, and the Sigma glass was more than adequate for my requirements.
Since my journey to becoming a professional photographer, I've owned a range of compacts and SLRs including Minoltas, Pentax *ists, Sony Alphas, and now Canon. If it had just been my experience with the *ist and the MZ-50, I would have been happy to be a Pentax man. However...
My wife and I bought a Pentax E-20 for her to use. I have never owned a worse camera. The color balance was way out, it was grainy, I believe the flash was faulty, and so on.
I'd only had, at that time, positive experiences with Pentax. When I realised how poor the E-20 was by comparison I wrote a letter of complaint to Pentax. After all, I'd converted a few people to Pentax by recommendation, and I wanted to know they were doing a good job.
Note here that I know the E-20 is a budget camera, but cameras retailing for around the same price in the same generation, were far better. The camera was OBVIOUSLY faulty.
My letter of complaint was brutally honest. Their poor product had not only cost me money, but also family photos that could have been better, and my reputation having recommended their brand. Sent to the customer services department, it was about 1,500 words long. I got an e-mail back, anonymously, that said only "thanks," with no capitalization.
I did what any insanely angry person would do when confronted with being ignored by the people they patronize. I e-mailed the head of the importation company, not only about my grievances with my camera, but also with being fobbed off by the customer service department.
He was understanding, but he made excuses, rather than acknowlege that they could possibly sell a faulty camera. In the end, he offered me an entry level DSLR at cost, but at that stage I'd already decided to go professional. The next week, I went out and bought $10,000 worth of Canon hardware.
Two out of three Pentax cameras I've owned were good, which is still not a great success rate. More important to me though, as a professional, is good customer support and services. I shouldn't have had to go to the head of the importing company.
Camera "pros"
MZ-50 FILM CAMERA
Easy to use
Rugged
Not too many useless functions
Batteries last a long time
Best entry level film SLR ever
*ist DSLR CAMERA
Same as above
E20 DIGITAL CAMERA
Oops - nothing good to say
Camera "cons"
Customer service is abysmal
One out of the three Pentax cameras I've owned was faulty
Poor quality compacts, poor flash distance
Did I note the customer service was abysmal?
