On Sat, Jul 10, 2010 at 7:34 AM, Luiz Felipe <luiz.fel...@techmit.com.br> wrote:
> Christine, the Mx is very close to a DSLR killer - when it comes to size and 
> viewfinder. Even the full format DSLRs have problems matching the Mx finder, 
> due to light losses in the mirror to allow for AF and fancy metering. True, a 
> modern focusing screen can shine here, but the moment you give the same 
> upgrade the Mx the results from the oldie shoud improve too...

Not to be overly contentious, but the Pentax MX viewfinder had for me
the same issues I had with the Olympus OM1 and Nikon FM series
viewfinders: too much magnification, not enough eye point distance for
me wearing my glasses. I had to work to see the whole frame and find
the metering information and camera settings. The high-eye point
viewfinder on my Nikon F3/T, Olympus E-1, Panasonic G1 is FAR superior
... I can see the whole image at a glance, as well as all the
in-viewfinder exposure settings and metering indicators, with no
strain. And the G1 finder is perfectly visible in light levels that
leave the MX with a 50mm f/1.4 lens like looking into a black hole.

I hear this kind of praise of old 35mm SLR viewfinders all the time. I
think it's mostly just wistful fondness for things past. Brightness
and magnification are only two components to what makes a top notch
viewfinder for a camera ... they're important, for sure, but they're
not the entire world.

The Pentax MX body, however, was perhaps one of the very nicest Pentax
35mm SLRs. Simple, mechanical, direct and to the point like the Nikon
FM2n. Modest in size, well finished. If I had found myself shooting
any 35mm film, I might have kept mine even with one lens.

-- 
Godfrey
  godfreydigiorgi.posterous.com

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