The Mamiya ZM is very much a "no frills" SLR. It is constructed around an electronic shutter. While the ZM can be used as a manual camera (with shutter speeds ranging from 1/1000 s to 2 s), I usually relied on its automatic exposure (AE) mode: After pre-selecting the aperture, the camera would select the proper shutter speed. The separate AEL mode (Auto Exposure Lock) allows you to measure the most important part of your subject, lock the corresponding shutter speed by half-pressing the shutter, re-frame the image, and then actually take the image by fully pressing the shutter. Another method to correct AE values relies on over-/underexposure: the large "+/-" dial on the top left side of the camera allows you to dial-in +/- corrections of up to 2 EV. This was pretty useful for many a few situations, especially for backlight sceneries and snow landscapes.

This image shows how straightforward and clean the ZM was designed. Especially the rubber structure on the focus ring of the Sekor E-S lenses was twenty years "too early"! In addition, the Sekor E and EF lenses were small, lightweight and pretty good - at least if you were lucky to have gotten a good sample. Those Mamiya Z series SLRs certainly were budget cameras, and quality control may not always have been a top priority. Nevertheless I've enjoyed my ZM and the corresponding lenses tremendously - mainly while shooting girls and rock concerts, back then!

Here the ZM is show with the restyled Mamiya Sekor E 1.7/50mm "S" lens. Sadly, apart from a 2/50mm "S", this was the only lens ever upgraded to the modern design.