For a compact camera, this Pentax is massive! Plus it takes two CR123 batteries…TWO!
For that reason alone I initially did not like this camera from 1991.
There was a found film inside and I blasted through it, just trying to lighten my load. I took it to Huddersfield quickly finished it off with the industrial landscape.
Nothing special and that film was poor too. My feeling for this camera just took a bigger plummet. I started writing this blog almost immediately and while doing so I found the manual.
In the manual I saw these two pages…
Look at all those settings! Bulb, bulb with synchro flash, Multi Exposure, Dual Frame Self Timer, backlight compensation…no wonder this camera needs two batteries. I think I better give this camera another chance.
Of course I did play with all the buttons on the camera and did see the symbols, but it is easy to forget them when you have already formed an opinion about something. Changing your mind after a bad first impression is very hard to do, hence all the advice against it during interviews etc.
I loaded a fresher Kodak 200 and decided to focus on the colour red meaning I would carry the camera with me, despite the size, and have something of red in each photo.
That was until I got bored and the rain came down and I just wanted to get rid of the damn thing. The first impression stuck. Here are some shots from the next roll.
As you can see I went to the UCI finishing line in Harrogate, in fact I was a volunteer up two of the main climbs during terrible weather. Today, I am coughing from a cold as a result of a very rainy weekend in a tent. Worth it? Maybe, but I would prefer to be working. The whole week wasn’t the best advertisement for the Yorkshire area in terms of weather, which was a shame as it really is gorgeous. For the UCI I volunteered for the location of Lofthouse, little did I know there were two places with that name in Yorkshire. The one I volunteered for was a couple of hours from my house. So this roll has both Lofthouses on it, I bet that doesn’t happen often.
I also took the camera to Blackpool, hence the deckchairs and that is it, experiment over. I do not like this camera 🙁
Very good review and photos. I purchased one of these beasties at a 2nd hand store for a couple of bucks, loaded it with batteries and Kodak color film and promptly forgot about it. It’s been sitting on a shelf for nearly 2 years. Now the film is expired and the batteries are dead. It’s so big and heavy that it’s virtually the same as a small 35mm SLR. I shall probably take it to a thrift store as I honestly don’t see myself using it. Thanks for the review.
I think it is a marmite kind of camera. Someone else might love the buttons and heft. But not me. It is sharp though, you might as well finish the film 🙂