Harlee
Well-known
Today I received a mint Pentax IQ160 P&S camera purchased on Ebay for the grand price of $.80. Yep, eighty cents! Anyone out there have any experience with one? I'm quite impressed with the inst. booklet that came with it. The lens is quite slow, F4 - F12, but the shutter speed is from 2 sec. to 1/400 sec. I just loaded it up with Fuji 400 to see what it'll do.
farlymac
PF McFarland
Harlee, here is an example from my set on Flickr:
180855-R1-26-11_1 'I Don't Care About What The Groundhog Said, I'm Coming Out Now' by br1078phot, on Flickr
The rest are at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/sets/72157626052526927/
It's a nice camera, but it has it's limitations. Mine is a bit off on exposures, and seems to not handle infinity focus very well. At least, that is my perception. I wouldn't say it is indictive of all the IQ 160's, but I won't be using mine again unless I need to.
PF
180855-R1-26-11_1 'I Don't Care About What The Groundhog Said, I'm Coming Out Now' by br1078phot, on Flickr
The rest are at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/sets/72157626052526927/
It's a nice camera, but it has it's limitations. Mine is a bit off on exposures, and seems to not handle infinity focus very well. At least, that is my perception. I wouldn't say it is indictive of all the IQ 160's, but I won't be using mine again unless I need to.
PF
Harlee
Well-known
Your Flickr shots all look pretty good, including the infinity ones. I got my roll back the other day and while the shots are acceptable, nothing outstanding. I'll put some in as they are on my other computer. I'm debating on whether or not to take it to Ukraine with me next week for a workout, along with several others, both AF and MF RFs.
farlymac
PF McFarland
Well, one thing about those pics is they were processed and scanned at Walmart, so they aren't the best in the world. Maybe that's why I wasn't impressed. And the film is way out of date, so that couldn't help.
It's an easy enough camera to handle, and has some nice features, though the one thing I didn't try was the 'Panorama' mode. I mean, all you need to do is shoot it at the wide setting, and crop from there. Did yours come with the original strap? It has that little knob to make getting into the battery chamber easier, and starting a mid-roll rewind. That's a good thing I have been seeing on some of the later p&s models. But the viewfinder diopter setting is the tops.
They could have made the camera a little less 'chunky', but I can't complain for a freebie. Have fun in the FSU, and let us see some pics when you get back. Maybe you can pick up some good used Kiev's or Zorki's while you are over there.
PF
It's an easy enough camera to handle, and has some nice features, though the one thing I didn't try was the 'Panorama' mode. I mean, all you need to do is shoot it at the wide setting, and crop from there. Did yours come with the original strap? It has that little knob to make getting into the battery chamber easier, and starting a mid-roll rewind. That's a good thing I have been seeing on some of the later p&s models. But the viewfinder diopter setting is the tops.
They could have made the camera a little less 'chunky', but I can't complain for a freebie. Have fun in the FSU, and let us see some pics when you get back. Maybe you can pick up some good used Kiev's or Zorki's while you are over there.
PF
farlymac
PF McFarland
Somebody, help me Please! I bought another Pentax today. Cost a whole buck ninety-five. It's the Zoom90WR. Only reason I got it was it still has the remote control with it. I haven't cleaned it up or tested it yet, so am looking forward to seeing if it works.
I've really got to stay away from Goodwill.
PF
I've really got to stay away from Goodwill.
PF
Harlee
Well-known
What do you need help with? I'm not familiar with the zoom90WR, but generally speaking Pentax makes so pretty good machines. Is this a Japanese or Chinese make? Last year I picked up a mint Olympus XA with flash for around $3.50. Still have it and it works perfectly.
farlymac
PF McFarland
Harlee, I'm having trouble with the GAS (Gear Aquisition Syndrome). The cameras themselves are no problem.
The Zoom90WR is a weather resistant model, with sealed switches on all the controls, and a gasket on the battery and film bays. Japanese made. Interesting looking unit, with the remote control designed to slide into a holding bay on the side of the camera. Works from the front or back of the camera. Like I said, I've got other things in the works right now, so I'll have to leave this one till later to see if it works.
Have a great trip!
PF
The Zoom90WR is a weather resistant model, with sealed switches on all the controls, and a gasket on the battery and film bays. Japanese made. Interesting looking unit, with the remote control designed to slide into a holding bay on the side of the camera. Works from the front or back of the camera. Like I said, I've got other things in the works right now, so I'll have to leave this one till later to see if it works.
Have a great trip!
PF
David Hughes
David Hughes
Try their ESPIO mini or ESPIO 928M next...
Regards, David
Regards, David
farlymac
PF McFarland
David, I see that would be the IQ928 here in the US. I'll keep an eye out for one, as the 28-90mm zoom is to me the perfect range to have when doing festivals and such.
PF
PF
Steve M.
Veteran
My friend, if you're worried about GAS leading you to buy $2 cameras, all I can say is I'd swap places w/ you any day!
By the way, looks like a neat little camera. I hope you're gonna buy some of that $1 C41 B&W film for it on the auction site. It's a great film, and if you learn to process it yourself your photography coats per image would be amazingly cheap.
By the way, looks like a neat little camera. I hope you're gonna buy some of that $1 C41 B&W film for it on the auction site. It's a great film, and if you learn to process it yourself your photography coats per image would be amazingly cheap.
farlymac
PF McFarland
Steve M., it's not the cost of the cameras, it's the accumulating mass of plastic taking up space in the apartment. I'm kind of a techno-geek when it comes to the way p&s's are put together. And it's cool to find a camera with many features you would not expect to see on a consumer model. But then I never paid much attention to them when they were new, so sometimes it's exciting to find such high-end product languishing on the shelf. And I'm trying to find a good carry anytime model that would suit my needs.
Right now, just for something to do, I'm in the middle of testing four cameras with 35mm lenses (well, one of them is a 33mm). I know from reading, and my own experience, that this is the most popular focal length of rangefinder photographers. So I put the lowly p&s's to the grind to see which one performs the best. I'll post results later.
PF
Right now, just for something to do, I'm in the middle of testing four cameras with 35mm lenses (well, one of them is a 33mm). I know from reading, and my own experience, that this is the most popular focal length of rangefinder photographers. So I put the lowly p&s's to the grind to see which one performs the best. I'll post results later.
PF