C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Pentax MZ-3 Quartz Date is a variant of the 1997 MZ-3 autofocus SLR, adding an integrated quartz date-imprinting function to the base body. Released approximately 1998, it shares all specifications with the standard MZ-3 - the shutter-speed and aperture dial interface, 6-zone evaluative metering, 3-point phase-detection autofocus, and Hyper-Program / Hyper-Manual exposure modes - while adding the ability to imprint date and time information directly onto the film frame during exposure. The variant was sold as the ZX-L Quartz Date in North America and the PZ-L Date in some other markets, following the same regional naming conventions applied to the base model.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The dial-control MZ-3 with an integrated quartz date-imprinting back — same tactile ergonomics, added datestamp capability.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Pentax KAF2 (K-mount, all generations) |
| Years | ~1998-2002 |
| Shutter | 30s - 1/4,000s + Bulb, electronic vertical metallic |
| Flash sync | ~1/125s |
| Meter | 6-zone evaluative + center spot, EV 1-21 |
| AF | 3-point (wide / central / spot) |
| Exposure modes | P, Av, Tv, M + Hyper-P, Hyper-M |
| Viewfinder | ~92% coverage, ~0.85x |
| Weight | ~455 g (body only) |
| Battery | 2x CR2 |
| Date back | Quartz date imprint (integrated) |
Pentax introduced quartz-date variants alongside or shortly after their standard models throughout the 1990s MZ/ZX line as a commercial practice. The date-imprinting function was a common consumer feature request in the late analogue era - cataloguing travel, family events, and time-sensitive documentation by burning date and time into the corner of each frame. The MZ-3 Quartz Date followed the base MZ-3 by roughly one product cycle, appearing around 1998.
The MZ-3 Quartz Date was discontinued alongside the rest of the MZ-3 family, approximately 2002, as Pentax concentrated remaining film-body development resources on the flagship MZ-S (2001) and began its pivot toward the *ist DS digital SLR series. The quartz date function, once a valued differentiator, had become effectively obsolete as digital capture made the film date back redundant.
The MZ-3 Quartz Date's significance is identical to that of the base MZ-3, with the addition of a period-appropriate datestamp function. For collectors and users, the distinction matters primarily in two directions: buyers who want clean frames will avoid the QD variant since the date circuit can be inadvertently activated; buyers who value documentation of when film was exposed may prefer it.
The dial-based interface of the MZ-3 - retained unchanged in the Quartz Date - remains the defining characteristic: full PASM exposure control accessible without a mode dial, through dedicated shutter-speed and aperture dials in the ergonomic tradition of the Pentax MX and LX. Hyper-Program allows instant manual override from program mode by rotating either dial, and Hyper-Manual allows switching to full manual without entering a separate mode. These control conventions gave the MZ-3 line a handling character distinct from the mode-dial SLRs dominant in the late 1990s.
KAF2 mount: full compatibility with K, KA, KAF, and KAF2 lenses. Screwdriver-driven AF with KAF lenses; older K and KA lenses operate in stop-down metering mode. Natural companions are the SMC Pentax-FA Limited primes (43/1.9, 77/1.8, 31/1.8 AL). The FGZ battery grip adds vertical-format shutter release. P-TTL flash is supported via the ISO hot shoe; recommended units are the AF540FGZ and AF360FGZ. Remote shutter release through the standard Pentax body socket is supported.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →Pentax MZ-3 Quartz Date
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