Throwback Edit Version: I edited this in April 2024, checked links and converted it to the new WordPress format.

I had a week off work recently, hence the number of posts. This Pentax post almost never happened. I bought a lens and a camera from a junk bin, and loaded it up. Then, seven frames in the camera gave up the ghost. Nada, nothing. It rewound the film and it refused to play anymore. That meant I was left with a perfectly good lens and no camera body to attach it too. Should I buy a new body? Of course, why not? This time I went for an older model mainly because it looked so clean.

This camera had a nice weight and didn’t feel too plasticky even though that is what it was made of. There were two basic functions, programmed or manual. On manual you could change the aperture on the lens barrel and the speed using the + and -.

I couldn’t figure out how you knew if the manual was working, as in, it didn’t seem to tell you if you had it on the right settings for the available light. I had taken a few pictures then noticed a tiny, red – in the viewfinder. What was that? I started to move the aperture and the – became an “o” then eventually turned into +

Oh ok, now I get it. I took a few more shots in manual mode, making sure the O was visible. I have to say the symbols were quite small and could easily be missed. I then switched back to programmed mode.

The camera also had a built-in flash and a timer, plus a data back. There was nothing more to it. A simple camera, but with all the functions you might need. It seemed so much more pleasant than the overly complicated Nikon I had just tried. I used up the remained of the film at a great shrine I drove past while out wombling. The first few underexposed ones were taken before I figured out the -O+ symbols.

I really liked using this camera. It was quite a dull day, a bit drizzly, but I didn’t mind this camera getting wet at all due to how cheap it was. That might be a reason to keep it and it would definitely be one I could keep…if I didn’t already have 2 other SLRs that I liked. If only I could keep all the cameras I tried.