Epsio 115M - small but perfectly formed

Advantages: Lightweight, good range of features, easy to use, decent zoom, literally pocket sized, good quality photos
Disadvantages: A bit fiddly for big fingers, no film in pack, not weatherproof

...I recently purchased the Pentax 115M from unbeatable.co.uk - I was looking for a decent compact 35mm zoom camera and, not knowing that much about cameras, I looked for a site that carried recommendations. Unbeatable carried this info in the form of Which Camera Best Buy icons, so I knew it wouldn't be a complete dud buy... The price was very good too, being about £60 cheaper than high street prices at £148. The camera is small and lightweight, perhaps a little too small for large hands, as you have to be careful not to cover the flash with your finger as you use it. However, the picture quality is excellent, the best I have seen from a compact (I'm basing this on my limited use so far, all indoor flash photography - once I've taken some outdoor photos, I'll update this review.) Features are fairly standard include...

Pauley123 03.05.2001 · Read review
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Review of Pentax Espio 115M Compact Camera

No film P&S camera will ever have a longer zoom?

Advantages: tight compositions at long distances
Disadvantages: easy blur at 200mm;dim viewfinder;fat & ugly

...Been out of pixing, but dusted off my 35mm gear recently. Really fell for these new(for me)-fangled Point & Shoot cameras.Got this Pentax 200 for a lowly $31(someone gave it up to go digital?). This camera proves to me that people are jumping the digital gun. The image quality of this Pentax gives punchy, sharp 8X10 inch prints & beats 5mp digitals. For people who love image quality I can stop there. But some people need more convincing. Many digitals have only 3 power zooms going to equivalent 110mm & no other film P&S goes past 170mm. The 200mm focal length on this Pentax details distant scenes much better...if you can hold steady. The 200mm lens setting shakes more, making faster shutter speeds desirable. At the same time the 200mm setting makes the lens slow, forcing a slower shutter speed. You must either use ASA 400 film or have...

litesong 31.08.2004 (01.09.2004) · Read review
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Review of Pentax Espio 200 Compact Camera

Snazzy snapper

Advantages: Powerful zoom, ease of use, plenty of functions
Disadvantages: Bulky, sometimes the auto focus is out.

...The time had come, my compact camera had packed up on me and so it was time for a new one. Now I like photography but I?m no David Bailey so I wasn?t ready for a SLR camera but I did want a flexible camera for a wide range of shots, enter the Pentax Espio 200. The Espio 200 is a 35mm camera with electronic zoom lens from 48mm to 200mm. The camera itself is silver and black, has a flash that retracts when the camera is off and comes with strap, case and battery (CR-123A) as standard as well as the statutory 1 year warranty. Dimensions are 127.5mm (W) x 74.5mm (H) x 78mm (D) and weighs 11.3 oz without film and battery. It has a screw fitting on the base for the use of a tripod. The film Auto loads when you close the camera door and winds on when photos are taken and rewinds when the film is finished. To take a photo you depress...

ian.grist 11.11.2002 · Read review
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Review of Pentax Espio 200 Compact Camera

Does any other compact have this zoom?

Advantages: 200 mm zoom, good design and looks
Disadvantages: Pictures can on occasions lack sharpness, can be difficult to use

...I have owned Pentax zoom camera's for a number of years. I bought the Pentax 200 as a replacement for my previous camera which had been stolen on a holiday in the Alps. My previous Pentax Espio had had a 150mm zoom and I found for taking close up's of mountains and panorama's this wasn't sufficient so I was drawn to the 200mm zoom of this model. ----Style---- I was attracted to this model partially by its undeniably good styling... at least it looked the part! It looked and felt chunky and well built when compared to other similar offerings in Jessops. It was also on special offer at the time (just after Christmas 2002) for £200. The only slight downside was that this was one heavy camera 345g. After weighing up the pros and cons I found the pros for buying this camera massively outweighed the cons and I ended up...

newb00ts 06.01.2004 (11.01.2004) · Read review
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Review of Pentax Espio 200 Compact Camera

Pentax Optio MX digital camera/ camcorder

Advantages: Digital Camera and Camcorder in One!!
Disadvantages: Not many

...Brief description of the Pentax Optio MX: The Pentax Optio MX is a great, unique looking camera, if a little clunky. It is great for both amateurs and the more experienced alike. The camera itself is not in the usual 'box' style of most other digital cameras, it has a sleek silver body, with an arm on the right, which rotates 180 degrees. This is where the lithium-ion battery is stored. The 'take picture' button, is encased in zoom button, with the record button a little lower down, all neatly sitting on the shoulder of the handle. The LCD monitor display is on the cameras back, and can be flipped up 210 degrees and swivels 180 degrees, which is great for protecting it from damage. The flash is stored in the top of the camera, and can be erected by the push of a small button on the left hand side. Also on the side are the flash...

tigger67333 17.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of Pentax Optio MX

  Pentax produces pretty perfect pictures!

Advantages: Great build quality, easy to use and good picture quality.
Disadvantages: No image stabalisation and no wide angle capability in the lens.

...As I am sure most Ciao members will now know, I am a professional photographer but as well as taking pictures I also hold photography seminars at my local camera club and over the last few years I have become somewhat of a target for sales persons asking me to try out their latest digital cameras and give talks and written reviews on them. I figured a couple of years back if I was going to be testing out all these cameras and doing reviews anyway then I may as well be posting them on Ciao and Dooyoo and making some money for charity which as you well know is what I do now. The latest camera to be handed to me is the Pentax Optio M60 and as you read on you will find that this little digital camera is a real breath of fresh air. For months now I have been handed very expensive digital point and shoot cameras that claim to be able...

thebigc1690 28.04.2009 (17.05.2009) · Read review
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Review of Pentax Optio M60

wow!

Advantages: lovely long zoom; accurate focus and lighting
Disadvantages: no wide angle; quite bulky

...200 mm zoom lens in a compact? ?I want it? NOW!? was my immediate reaction. But does this combination really work? Or have the physical limitations of a compact camera been stretched a bit too far this time? Well, it works surprisingly well ? the passive autofocus does an excellent job, and the light meter gets it spot on nearly every time, even at 200mm. The zoom gives you lots of flexibility. Of course, one drawback is that if you try using the zoom in low light, you?re always going to need the flash or a tripod, but I?ve had very few photos not come out because of this. It?s also not small enough to fit in your pocket, but it is surprisingly light. The only other drawback is that the lens starts at 48 mm, which sometimes is not wide enough. For me, the pros outweigh the cons. If you want a compact you can take serious pictures with...

Murph 16.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Pentax Espio 200 Compact Camera

Pentax K1000

Advantages: Unlimited use
Disadvantages: Need to buy a flash separate

...In this age of high technology automatic electronic equipment it pays to take a step back to the simple things such as the Pentax K1000 camera. The fully manual 35mm SLR obviously requires complete user control but for the photographer who doesn’t want to be limited by a camera’s ability, this is the one for you. The only power needed is for the exposure meter from a small battery which is activated when the lens cap is removed. The built-in through-the-lens meter measures the average brightness of the ground glass at full aperture and then couples to the aperture, shutter and film speed settings. The shutter mechanism is completely manual meaning that the camera can still be used even when the battery is exhausted, with a little guess work for the exposure. The focal plane shutter extends from speeds B, 1 second to 1...

hakkved 09.03.2001 (07.03.2001) · Read review
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Review of Pentax K1000

Pentax K100D

Advantages: image quality,shake reduction, backwards lens compatibilty
Disadvantages: DSLR's are still too big

...REVIEW OF PENTAX K100D DIGITAL SLR BACKGROUND I've owned SLR's for 30 years starting with screw mount lenses and moving to Pentax K mount. In the last 5 years I became interested in digital photography owning a Canon A200 and Konica Minolta Dimage Z3. We've also got 5 other digital compacts in the household including new Samsung and Fuji 6MP models. The KM Z3 is a great camera with a 12 times optical zoom and anti shake sensor but I was a little disappointed with noise in the dark areas of some pictures. This could be kept to a reasonable level if ISO was fixed at 50 but this limits flexibility when the sun isn't shining. I'd thought about buying a digital SLR for some time but couldn't really justify the expense over what seemed to be minor benefits. However, when I discovered that the K100D would work with my old K mount...

bodyboarderdude 07.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Pentax K100D

Click with Pentax

Advantages: very little camera, very light, easy to carry
Disadvantages: not made to take pictures very close

...I can remember sometime ago when still a student doing Graphic Design course at University. Yes, I can remember that one of my subjects was photography and how hard was. One day my teacher turned to everybody saying that we were going to do our first test and wasn't theory but practising...about anything we wanted but had to be in the move. Photography is what you take from the moment that you have seen and freeze it in one click. You don't have any idea how hard was taking pictures of my german shepard playing with the ball.To me...my dog was playing but to him was just a matter of time to make a hole, yeah and than looking and saying in his language...now you have to buy another one, because this one already gone...how about that? I did use a Pentax PC-33, and a black and white film requested by the teacher. After 4 hours taking...

1234 22.12.2000 · Read review
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Review of Pentax PC 33 Compact Camera