photo credit: JSKLEEI give you the Pentax Espio 120SW, now I have always lusted for an el primo fixed lens 28mm of the standard of a Ricoh GR1 or Minolta TC-1, but as it would not be used often enough the challenge was to locate a 28mm with zoom of comparable image quality for a modest price.
Firstly the 120sw was the Technical Image Press Associations Compact Camera of the Year in 2001 (former notable winners in this category being the Contax TVSIII). This was enough reason for me to investigate further.
http://www.tipa.com/english/awards-search.php?searchType=byYear&searchValue=2001Upon removing the camera from its box a pleasant surprise was the cold feel of the aluminium body, though this does not stretch to the back cover being plastic. I was also impressed with the curvaceous shape of the lens housing holding a 6 element bottle in 5 groups and though being very lightweight (190 grams) it had a solid feel when held.
A quick look feature wise it was nice to see a sliding diopter and the facility to mount a tripod but the big surprise was a Panorama Mode located on its base also.
Operation through the main switch selects: On - Timer - Remote.
While the Exposure Mode Button on this point and shoot are: Auto - Auto Red Eye - Daylight Sync (Flash On) - Slow Speed Shutter (Flash Off) - Bulb-Sync (Flash) - Bulb-Sync (Flash Off) - Slow Speed Sync (Flash On).
The Focus Button selects between Infinity Landscape and Spot Focus giving you all you have to work with other than the usual lamp indicators for low light and the subject being too near.
These operations are fast enough for me and the LCD panel even automatically lights up under low light conditions.
Tech spec wise the lens has a range of 0.5 metres to infinity and a telephoto of 120mm, while the Espio 105SW has a telephoto of 105mm.
Now this little compact will not have the kudos of certain 28mm primes, but for the price of a pack of Polaroid film or thereabouts, I cannot complain and its results for me are very acceptable.
Film: El cheapo Boots 200 Colour Reversal
RON ARAD LOUNGER: FUJI IMAGE TRANSFER
