Ken wrote: I believe Pål is right on this account. I remember reading a Japanese magazine article where Pentax designers were discussing the process of designing the MZ-S, wherein they said that one of the most difficult tasks was to keep the power consumption within a limit (it's still a battery eater :-). Shutter unit was capable for 1/8000 but there was a huge (probably exponential) difference in the shutter charge between 1/6000 and 1/8000 and Pentax decided to tune down the shutter to 1/6000, thus effectively increasing the durability. I do not believe that Pentax aimed at increasing the shutter durability but it was rather the side benefit of minimizing the power consumption.
REPLY: True. Pentax wanted to make a very compact, well made camera (pretty much what the PDML wanted them to do) and therefore had limitations in the use of power source. The MZ-S batteries lasts for about 30 rolls. A doubling of power consumption would have been unacceptable. Larger batteries would have meant a larger camera; something close to the Z-1p. Interestingly, the Z-1p and the Nikon F(N)90 use the very same shutter unit. For all we know the F100 and MZ-S may share shutters as well. I'm not saying it is like this, just that it could very well be. The MZ-S was developed from the MD-S, an $8000 full frame digital camera targeted at Pentax professional users. The main intended market was Pentax MF users who may use the MD-S with MF lenses as an alternative to a digital back for MF. Since then Pentax strategy in DSLR has changed: now they target the entry level DSLR segment with the *ist D and will make medium format digital solutions for the professional segment. Pål
