I have written about this camera before, but the example I tried didn’t work. Well, now I have an example that does work. So I deleted the original post as it didn’t really say anything other than…well, now that’s disappointing. And here we have a new post.

Holy moly this camera is heavy. I honestly think it might be the heaviest SLR I have ever tried. I didn’t even put on a big lens, just a Sigma 35-70mm, which I have to say is not wide enough or zoomy enough.

As you can see by the photo of the film door, there are a number of program settings. You can find all the technical details you might ever need here. There are some other reviews here and one reviewer compared the camera to a boat anchor. Basically, if you are in the middle of a forest taking nature shots and a bear decides to have a go…you have a perfect weapon of defense.

Introduced in 1994, it uses 4 AA batteries which is very handy…if you are in the middle of nowhere, you might not see a bear, but you might see a small shop and it might just have some of those. This reviewer also agrees with the excessive weight and the handiness of the batteries.

I took this camera and one film to Shibamata in Tokyo. You can read all about that place here. I finished off the film with a few shots of Koinobori near my house and an old wisteria tree at Ashikaga that had just finished blooming.

Wow, I think I might forgive this camera for the heaviness. The exposure choices are awesome. Plus the cheap, junk lens is super sharp. I love this setup. I will definitely use it again, once I get a back brace that is. The result of this coupling makes me remember why I love film. The colours are so vibrant, perfect for the koinobori of Children’s Day.

Keep or Sell: I want to keep it, but it is very heavy. Still, it is super.