Pentax PZ20: A modern, classic film camera?
I could not resist the red barn with its window wide open. Scanned and post processed with Luminar Neo photo editing package. (see below for details)
PZ20 and Luminar Neo take simplicity to creative new heights
The PZ20 is a simplified camera wrapped up in fine heritage and capable of some serious professional work.
But, what the heck was Pentax thinking when they released this workhorse in 1993?
A that time, film photography was in a good place. Digital was still a distant dream and camera manufacturers were working hard to encourage beginner photographers, who were comfortable using point-and-shoot cameras, to graduate to 35mm SLRs.
The PZ20 has the look of a modern digital SLR.
First Pentax released the truly dumbed down but still capable PZ10. Then they introduced the Pentax PZ20. Both were considered stepping stones from simple point-and-shoots to just slightly more complicated but very capable and impressive SLRs complete with a host of interchangeable lenses and packed with modern features capable of making professional-calibre images.
If the professionally-spec’d Pentax PZ1-P was the ultimate camera for wanna-be professionals, the PZ20 was the little sister who could stand alongside her big brother and get the job done with a whole lot less fuss. In truth, the big brother is probably much more capable, but the learning curve for average photographers was off the charts, and the results, well they were pretty much the same for most average users.
Click on the link for my full review of the Pentax PZ1-P.
“If a camera is nothing more than a conduit to capture a properly exposed image, which can then be scanned and manipulated beyond our wildest dreams in 1992, then the PZ20 and cameras like it, are a steal.”
Pentax, like other camera manufacturers at the time, took a professionally-spec’d camera, dumbed it down and said “go take great pictures for a fraction of the cost of your big brother.”
Dit it work? Well, it sure worked for a while as SLR camera sales soared along with film. The film era was doing just fine, thank-you.
Screech owl just hanging out
A heavily cropped image shot with the Pentax PZ20 on Kodak 200 and post processed with Luminar Neo.
The days of beautifully crafted, all-metal cameras might have ended for all but the highest-end cameras, but as everyone knew from The Graduate, “plastics were the future.”
And we’re not talking cheap plastics like the type that often followed in cameras after the PZ line of cameras. These plastics were meant to last, with a feeling of quality that continues with many of today’s better digital offerings.
“Post processing to this extent was literally non-existent when the PZ20 was manufactured, but the digital age has re-imagined the possibilities of these cameras.”
Is the PZ20 still good in 2025?
Okay, but what about this PZ20. Are they any good in 2025?
Damn right they are.
Why, for example, would anyone buy a Pentax Monochrome digital camera when you can buy a PZ20 for under $50 and eat up B&W film like it was 1960?
For the Monochrome lovers out there, I know they’re great cameras and capable of some lovely B&W images, but unless you’re shooting professionally, the PZ line of cameras, a couple rolls of Ilford, a high quality scanner and top-notch photo editing software like Luminar Neo, gets the job done.
Click here for my post on the Pentax Monochrome camera.
But we’re not just talking B&W. I loaded my PZ20 with some off-the-shelf Kodak 200ASA colour film and took it, along with my digital cameras, to see how it measures up.
The results: Pretty damn nice.
“Take a simplified SLR like the Pentax PZ20 and team it with Luminar Neo – an Ai-based post processing program ideal for beginners – and you have the perfect combination of simplicity and creative possibility.”
Now, I like to think that post processing had a lot to do with the results. Negative film is very forgiving so getting the image on film and converting it to digital with a simple scanner, opens a world of possibilities not available in the early ‘90s.
Post processing software opens doors no-one could dream about in 1993 when the PZ20 was introduced. In those days, everything had to be done in-camera when the image was captured. Today, for many of us, that is just the beginning of the process.
Take a simplified SLR like the Pentax PZ20 and team it with Luminar Neo – an Ai-based post processing program ideal for beginners – and you have the perfect combination of simplicity and creative possibility.
And, if a camera is nothing more than a conduit to capture a properly exposed image, which can then be scanned and manipulated beyond our wildest dreams in 1992, then the PZ10 and cameras like it, are a steal.
I think I paid $20 Cdn for mine. For American readers, that’s probably, like the cost of a roll or two of film. And it’s mint and came with an electronic shutter release to boot.
It takes all the Pentax lenses but is really at home with the M and A series of lenses and the F and FA series of autofocus lenses.
As one Pentax enthusiast wrote on Pentax Forums: “If you shoot film-only, this can be a fantastic main camera. On the other hand, if you also have a Pentax DSLR, this camera can also be a fantastic companion, if your lenses are full-frame you can use them even if they do not have an aperture ring (which is the case in most modern lenses).
The autofocus is fast and accurate. It has Hyper Manual and Hyper Program modes in addition to the usual Av, Tv, M, B and P modes. It also has many other fully automatic modes. In manual mode it has spot metering. Actually, it has many functions of more advanced (and heavier) cameras.”
Another reviewer wrote: “Using it, it's actually more enjoyable then it's bigger brother (PZ1-P). Less settings to scroll through, I don't even mind the lack of second control wheel.”
He went on to explain: AF confirmation works too with M, K, A glass. Focus screens are not inter-changeable, but plenty bright enough… . The info screen inside the viewfinder on the right of mine is crap and hard to read, no matter, the meter is present on the top lcd and that works nicely to get the exposure close. Using M42, M, K's glass it's less of a worry as you only have to pay attention to the shutter values….”
Redwing in early morning light
Early spring image of a Redwing blackbird post processed with Luminar Neo photo imaging software.
One user explains that, although the PZ20 lacks AE Exposure lock, it has Hyper Manual and Hyper Program modes which can be used in a similar way. And, unlike the big brother PZ1-P, the PZ20 does not have two dials (one for aperture and the other for shutter speed), instead it has a button to chose which parameter to modify and a rocker switch to change these values.
This is a simplified explanation but the camera certainly gives us the control most of us need to capture a properly exposed, in-focus image.
I’m not really one for the details, you can get them all over the web, but here is a spec sheet from Pentax Forums that may help those inclined.
Thanks to Pentax Forums for the PZ20 digital Spec sheet.
Once we get the images, unlike life in the early ‘90s when we were more or less stuck with what the camera produced, the magic really begins.
I’d love to show you hundreds of images I’ve shot with the camera, but frankly I’ve only put through one roll to date. Many more to follow, including some B&W.
One roll, however, is enough for me to draw some conclusions.
Like I said, the magic begins when the digital images are in front of me and I get to work exploring the creative potential.
Creating presets with Luminar Neo
After some work on the image below, I decided to create a preset to use on all the other images of the abandoned antique truck. The preset helped to create a unified effect for the entire series of images.
For more posts on Luminar Neo click here for a Walk in the woods with Luminar Neo, and here for the question: Can Luminar Neo stand on its own as an image processing package?
The same preset was used on the red-barn-and-window image at the top of the page.
Abandoned truck takes on a mystical look after being post processed with Luminar Neo.
Luminar Neo goes to work on abandoned antique
Above are a few images from that first roll. Below are a few more of my abandoned roadside antique truck that are given a stylized look through post processing entirely with Luminar Neo photo editing software.
The software provides all the necessary tools that other professional photo editing programs provide, but with the addition of some truly exceptional Ai tools that make photo editing – even for the beginner – much simpler than the traditional post processing programs.
Here are just a few examples from the combination of the Pentax PZ20 film camera and Luminar Neo.
Exploring this abandoned truck with a creative eye and the PZ20 helped me to focus on details, which were later manipulated in Luminar Neo photo editing program to create these stylized results.
Luminar Neo, a Ukraine-based photo editing program, allows the photographer to literally have fun adjusting the effects of the filters until they find the perfect setting. For these images, a “mystical” module was called upon to give the images a soft, glowing effect that I thought worked well for the subject.
The front grill shows the GMC logo together with the peeling paint and lovely rusty colours.
Post processing to this extent was literally non-existent when the PZ20 was manufactured, but the digital age has re-imagined the possibilities of these cameras. Many young photographers who have discovered the joys of Lomography are experimenting with cheap film cameras and lenses, but there is no need to resort to the cheapest new film cameras when high-end film cameras and modern software is capable of creating magical images. For images made with the PZ20 by Lomography’s talented creators, you can go here.
Searching out details like this door handle on the truck provided a focus of interest. I later emphasized the details and vibrant colours through post processing after the film was scanned into a digital image.
If you are interested in purchasing Luminar Neo, and exploring the program’s creative possibilities, please consider using the code FernsFeathers at checkout to receive a 10 per cent discount. By using this code, I receive a small percentage of the proceeds, at no additional cost to you, which helps me to continue producing articles for readers.
The program is already a great value, whether you buy it outright or pay on the monthly plan. In addition, you would be helping a Ukrainian-based company in Kiev that we all know is experiencing extremely difficult conditions.
If you are interested in exploring Luminar Neo’s creative possibilities, please consider using my 10 per cent off discount code “FernsFeathers”.
• Looking for a slick new camera strap for your classic camera? I just ordered one of these beautiful braided straps for under $10 Canadian from Temu.
