Pentax MG


The Pentax MG was a product of Asahi Optical Co later called Pentax Corporation, introduced in 1981 and produced until 1984. It was a replacement of the MV and MV1 cameras as entry level 35mm semi-automatic camera.
The Pentax MG was a manual focus, aperture priority camera, with no manual settings of speeds. The Pentax MG had an electronic focal plane shutter from 1s to 1/1000, synchronized at 1/100. The shutter curtains were metal and had a vertical movement. However, if the batteries fail the camera still operated at 1/100s or B, thus the selector around the release button had three positions: Auto, 100X and B. The exposure meter is center-weighted TTL type with open aperture measuring for Pentax M compatible lenses. The Pentax MG can use any Pentax K-mount and can still be used with current Pentax lenses. There was a self-timer and a hot shoe with an additional contact for dedicated Pentax flash units. The Pentax MG used 2 SR-44 batteries or equivalent to power it.
The Pentax MG had a 0.87x viewfinder, covering 92% of the field. The finder screen was fixed, with a split image and a microprism ring in the center. The shutter speed chosen by the camera was displayed in the finder by LEDs, which also indicated over/under exposure or slow speeds and the possibility of shaking. However the aperture was not displayed. The camera also had an exposure compensation from +2 to -2 EV.
The body resembles that of the M-Family of cameras such as the ME, MX, MV, etc. and as such was compatible with the external Winder ME or the later Winder ME II. The Pentax MG could use the Dial Data ME databack with an adaptor to slide in the hot shoe, or it could make direct use of the Digital Data M databack. The Pentax MG was available in chrome or black finish.