Pentax MZ-3 Quartz Date1998

History

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.

Why It Matters

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.

Lenses & Accessories

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.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• The MZ-3 Quartz Date was used by the same enthusiast and advanced-amateur demographic as the base MZ-3 - photographers who valued dial-based exposure control in an autofocus SLR.
• The date-imprint function was used for travel documentation and event photography where timestamping individual frames was considered useful.
• No specific photographers are documented as having used this variant professionally.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Pentax MZ-3 - covers the MZ-3 family and variants
• Pentax Forums: MZ-3 - user buying guidance and variant identification