Clear Pentax PZ-1 Camera

I've been organizing all my camera gear and came across this PZ-1 wrapped up in a felt pouch. Since it has some historical significance, I thought some of you might like to see it.

In the film days, and to a lesser extent today, manufacturers produced a very limited quantity of see-through or clear samples of a new SLR. They were used by sales and marketing folks when visiting the press and key dealers. The idea behind these samples was to show off all the new technology that was inside. These samples were typically built by hand and extremely expensive to produce and therefore limited to only a few units for each sales region.

I was given this PZ-1 sample quite a few years ago by a sales person who had used it during dealer meetings when the camera was launched in 1991. The camera works fine, but you wouldn't want to shoot film with it due to the slight fogging problem you'd encounter.