I didn’t intend this to happen but looking through some blogs on film cameras the other day made me think that a second film camera might not be a such bad idea just in case I have problems with the Zorki again.
Reading through various suggestions it seemed to me that a Pentax K1000 might be an ideal choice – it has proved to be popular with photography and art students and there are lots of excellent lenses available at not too stupid prices. I also liked that it would be a different style of camera to the Zorki, i.e. an SLR rather than a rangefinder. Checking the prices and availability on ebay however brought out my miserly streak, I’d rather spend my money on film, and so I started looking for something a little cheaper.
Enter the Pentax P30T – a quite capable camera from an unloved period in camera design, it came from a time when cameras were starting to be made of plastic rather than metal but before autofocus really came in. So, it’s made of plastic and doesn’t really have any style or character about it, it just doesn’t match up in carisma to the K1000 but it doesn’t weigh as much either. It also has an electronic shutter so needs a battery to work at all, but it’s a common battery that’s readily available. On the plus side, it can be used in fully auto mode, aperture priority, shutter priority or fully manual and comes with the standard Pentax bayonet mount. If you want fully auto mode you need to have Pentax-A lenses but if you want to have some control (which is the whole point, isn’t it) you can use almost any Pentax bayonet fit lens. Apart from the fact the film speed is DX coded and can’t be easily cheated except in fully manual mode, what’s not to like.
After a short hunt, I got one from ebay complete with a Pentax-A 28-80mm f3.5-4.5 zoom lens for just £15. But it turned out there was an issue. Despite being advertised as “in fully working order” occasionally the shutter cock/wind on interlock didn’t work meaning you could sometimes wind on two or three times before the shutter cocked. Not very economical on film! I emailed the seller several times over a period of two weeks asking for a refund on the grounds of ‘not being as described’ but got no reply from him at all. In the end, as the cost wasn’t large, I put it down to the lottery that ebay can occasionally be, at least the lens was OK so I hadn’t shelled out £15 for nothing. (I have since discovered the seller is no longer registered with ebay – I wonder why that might be?).
For my second attempt I bought a P30T body only from a different seller for the princely sum of £5.20. However, prior to shipping it to me, he emailed to say that he had found a crack in the baseplate which he had then glued and did I still want the camera as the repair looked a bit unsightly (he even sent me a photograph). As a sweetener he said he would add a strap for free and take £2 off the price. Needless to say I said yes.
Here are some pictures of the second camera.
The plastic body of the camera has a few scuffs and scapes here and there which gives it a well used appearance. The crack on the baseplate doesn’t look too good but is it secure and to be honest who’s going to see it other than myself. The important point to make here is that this camera was not bought as a collector’s piece to sit on a shelf and be admired. This is a camera that should be quite capable of providing good quality photographs that is going to get used in all conditions. I like to think I have saved it and given it a new life. If the worst happens and it gets broken then I’ll buy another one!
Once a battery was fitted it fired up properly and everything appears to be working well – again I need to put a film through it before I know how good it actually is. I’m not too sure I like the size and weight of the zoom lens so I might be on the lookout for a 50mm lens for it soon, but I’ll decide on that once I’ve put the camera through its paces.
I BOUGHT AN OLD FILM CAMERA 