Step back in time

Lou's getting a haircut this morning so I thought I'd do the same and take the camera along to kill the other 2 hours until she has finished.

The Pentax MZ-M: Small but mighty.

But I'm not just taking any camera; I've got the Pentax MZ-M. Film camera. Fasten your seatbelts.

I dug it out a while ago when I gave the case it was in to a friend while he borrowed the old 10D and I always threaten to shoot off a few frames for old times' sake.

The first problem was that the battery indicator was flashing - having sat for a few years with no action, the CR2s had slowly died. First stop - WHSmith or somewhere similar to buy some new ones.

More easily said than done, evidently: AA, AAA, square 9v, CR123 and CR2032 but no CR2 in the Wickford branch. In Rayleigh, Martin's only had 'normal' batteries but thankfully there is a Boots nearby with a photographic section. £9.99 later, the MZ-M was alive.

I went to get my hair cut first then ventured into the woodland area of Rayleigh Mount, just off the high street. With a ISO400 film loaded, I knew I didn't need direct, bright sunshine for fast enough shutter speeds.

There were a number of things which struck me as I was shooting off a few (9) shots: the lack of control over ISO (fixed at 400 like I say), manual focus, which takes a bit of getting used to, and no screen on the back. Yes, after just about every photo I looked in vain at the blank back of the MZ-M, muttering "idiot" to myself each time.

A good exercise. Photos? Yeh, I'll get them developed eventually...