¿*pentax zoom 105 R, anyone use it ?

[removed account4]

¿ Pentax IQ Zoom 105 R, anyone use it ?

we finally beat our yashick t4 into submission and it stopped working. we had it for 4 years and put i dunno maybe 300 rolls of film through it ...

our local repair shop diagnosed the problem as being with the zone focusing mechanism - it is sticking at close focus and not all the time, so sometimes the camera will focus, and sometimes not. it could be repaired, but the flash board would go next, and that would be another 100 bucks ...

we did manage to get a hold of a nice ps camera to use and think about buying - its ( as the title of this thread suggests ) a pentax (iq?)zoom 105-R. the price can't be beat ( 50bucks ) and the entire manual is free on the pentax website. it seems like a pretty good camera - exposure compensation, multi exposure, double ( or more ) exposure, intermit. exposure, even bulb.

years ago i had used the lower-end pentax ps that also had a zoom lens, and it really didn't float my boat, but this one seems OK .. ( or so i think ).

anyone use this camera, and have any pearls of wisdom ( like don't buy it, or this camera is great! ). i have a week to take it for a test drive

much thanks!

john

 

[Gerald Koch]

If you are only interested in a snapshot camera then this advice is not for you. About a year ago I picked up a Nikon N50 SLR for $80 which I would consider a far better buy than a P&S. For an extra $30 you get access to interchangeable lens. There are many good SLR's available at the present time at very affordable prices.

 

[removed account4]

thanks gerald -

yeah, this would only be for family snapshots &C.

just something to put a load of film through, and not have to deal with setting shutter speeds, fstops, focus ... oh, i guess i should have said "just something to put a load of film through and point and shoot"

i know slr's are cheep and abundant these days, and a lot of them are lame and for the most part breakdown and churn out bad photos ...

thanks again gerald

- john

 

[Gerald Koch]

The N50 is auto focus, auto exposure and it even loads and rewindsthe film.

 

[removed account4]

hmmmm

i'll have to check it out ... thanks!

-john

 

[Nige]

We have a Pentax IQ Zoom something (can't remember the focal length, but maybe it was the 130mm version) P&S that's maybe similar, or maybe not! Is the one you're looking at the older black plastic bodied ones or the new silver metal (look?) finish. Ours is the older style... think we bought it in '96 to take to England (in a move that I now regret, I didn't take my 'decent' cameras) for a year. It performed well, takes decent pics as long as you don't try zooming in on a dull English day (camera shake!) however, it and a relatives similar model (I think there's was the 120mm) both broke down with the same problem within days of each other (they were purchased about the same time but ours had 10 times more film thru it). The ribbon cable that runs up the lens fractured and when talking to the repair man, it was a common fault. I had it repaired and it's still working but we rarely use it. While it was being repaired I bought a Samsung P&S with a Schneider 35-70mm lens (also sold as a Rollie in parts of the some world) which was smaller and takes comparable pics. The Pentax now gets sent along to creche (day care) with the kids on birthdays, etc. The Samsung is now gathering dust as we're trying out a digi for p&s duties.

EDIT : The relatives got theirs fixed but it started playing up again a year or so later and they replaced it with the newer metal finish style one. It stuffed up also and now they have a Canon P&S. So I guess I couldn't recommend them

 

[removed account4]

thanks for your experience nige -

the same thing with the zoom happened with the other pentax we had. the gearing or belt or something like that had problems. luckily we were able to get a refund ...

-john