Pentax IQ Zoom 130M Date 35mm Camera

Pentax IQ Zoom 130M Date 35mm Camera
Manufacturer: Pentax
Product Type: Photography

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Product Description
At about the height of a normal roll of film, the Pentax IQ Zoom 130M Date camera is extremely compact and lightweight, yet it packs a powerful 38-130mm, 3.4x zoom lens for close, detailed pictures. The zoom macro feature lets you get even closer for amazing photographs of flowers, insects, and other small subjects. For those times when the standard print format doesn't fit your scene, you can switch to panorama mode and ensure that you capture the entire sweeping landscape, and that no one gets left out of a large group shot.

The IQ Zoom 130M takes the guesswork out of framing your shot with its actual-image viewfinder; it shows you the image size in relation to your zoom setting, giving you a precise preview of your finished photo, while the adjustable diopter lets you set the viewfinder image to your personal eyesight requirements. A high-precision, passive five-point autofocus system ensures clean, sharp images every time, even if you're shooting from a distance or through a window. The spot autofocus setting keeps your subject in focus, whether it is off in the background or other subjects are in the foreground.

The built-in flash has several modes so you can pick the setting that best suits the lighting conditions of your scene; chose from flash-on, flash-off (museum mode), slow shutter sync (sunset mode), bulb sync with or without flash for special effects, and bulb (evening mode) for great pictures in any lighting condition. The backlight compensation feature uses the available natural lighting, instead of the flash, to improve the balance of light between your subject and the background. To help reduce the distracting red-eye effect that a flash often causes, the IQ Zoom 130M has a red-eye reduction feature that keeps your subject's eyes clear and natural-looking. When the six-segment multipattern metering system is combined with the built-in flash, you get a flawless exposure whatever the lighting conditions.

The Pentax IQ Zoom 130M also has a fail-safe film transport system that loads and advances your film automatically. The 10-second self-timer gives you plenty of time to join the shot. The time/date stamp lets you print the date or day and time on your images, if you want, so you'll never forget when you shot the roll of film. An easy-to-read external LCD panel shows you the settings for the exposure counter, date indication, zooming lever, battery exhaustion warning, flash-on, flash-off, slow shutter, bulb, infinity landscape, spot AF, self-timer, and red-eye reduction.

Average customer rating:

LCD stopped working after 18 months!!
Disappointed
Great value for the money...
great little point and shoot!
Best Camera I've owned

Pentax IQ Zoom 130M Date 35mm Camera

Manufacturer: Pentax
ProductGroup: Photography
Binding: Electronics

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Accessories:

FujiFilm Super HQ 200 Speed 48 exp Film (2 Pack)
Samsonite Worldproof 1.2 Blue/Black Compact Camera Pouch with Pocket

Product Features:

Powerful 38-130mm, 3.4x zoom lens for close, detailed pictures
Actual image viewfinder
Fail-safe film loading that loads and advances the film automatically
Six-segment multipattern metering system and built-in flash
Easy-to-read external LCD panel for quick check camera settings

ASIN: B00005B2CU

Amazon.com Product Description

At about the height of a normal roll of film, the Pentax IQ Zoom 130M Date camera is extremely compact and lightweight, yet it packs a powerful 38-130mm, 3.4x zoom lens for close, detailed pictures. The zoom macro feature lets you get even closer for amazing photographs of flowers, insects, and other small subjects. For those times when the standard print format doesn't fit your scene, you can switch to panorama mode and ensure that you capture the entire sweeping landscape, and that no one gets left out of a large group shot.

Customer Reviews:

LCD stopped working after 18 months!!.......2005-05-28

I liked this camera. It took great photos.
I was soooo disappointed when the LCD stopped working after only 18 months! My last camera lasted 5 years. The warranty is only good for a year, and Pentax wants me to mail in the camera and then they will give me a price to fix it. I went to wolfcamera and they said it would be $140!
I'm about to have a baby any day, and now I have to find a good camera quick!

Disappointed.......2004-01-27

I had a very good picture taking Pentax 105 point-n-shoot bought sometime around 1992. It was large and black, but comfortable... and photos were very clear, very vibrant... everything was in focus. Pictures taken indoors in poorly lit conditions were adequately lit, with NO red eye. Even though the Pentax 105 had a red-eye reduction feature, I never needed it, because the camera simply took great pictures without it. Unfortunately, my old Pentax 105 recently quit working so off to the store to try some new models.

Figuring there must be new and better technology developments that have happened in photography the last 10 years, I was hopeful that it would be a matter of simply getting another Pentax point and shoot(in this case the Pentax IQ Zoom 130M Date) to achieve the same excellent, if not better, picture quality.

Boy was I disappointed. Yes, this camera has some very capable features. The pictures were clear and the colors vibrant. Pictures on max zoom were a bit grainy, but still in focus... I expected this. The user interface, buttons, and ergonomics are the best of the cameras I tried (Canon 115u, Olympus models, and Nikon). And the flash is better than many of the other point and shoot cameras out there because it more evenly disperses the light, somewhat reducing the bright-face/black-backgound effect common on other small point-n-shoot cameras. Unfortunately, the red eye on the photos produced with this camera is horrendous. I'm not just talking about a straight on shot. Even shots taken from an angle or to the side of the person produced the worst red eye I've ever seen in a camera. This problem comes from all camera makers' eternal quest to produce the smallest, most compact cameras on the market. In laymen's terms: the flash is located too darn close to the lens!!! This could be easily prevented if the camera had the lens located at least one inch further away from the lens. I compared my old Pentax to this new Pentax and the flash was roughly 1.5 inches further away from the lens on my older model than on this new model. Again I NEVER needed the red-eye reduction feature on my old model. Could I use the red-eye reduction on the new camera to prevent this problem? Sure, but here is how it works on the Pentax: a flash goes off, which dilates the pupils, than another flash goes off again and the picture is taken. Works great in theory. The problem with this scenario is that people think the first flash is the picture flash, so once it goes off people relax their smiles, people blink, etc. What you actually capture is people in their natural state after they think a picture has been taken. So get ready to have to inform people, "Now... there will be two flashes because I'm using red-eye reduction on you!" every freakin' time you take a picture of people.

I really wanted to like this camera but I returned it and will try others. Consequently, I tried the Nikon One Touch Zoom 90 QD because I noticed in the store the flash was located further away from the lense. When I compared the Nikon to my old Pentax... the distance between the lense and flash on the Nikon was approximately the same as on my old Pentax. So I took similar pictures with the Nikon (without red-eye reduction) that produced the devilish red eye in the Pentax IQ 130. When I got my pictures back from the Nikon One Touch 90, there was NO red-eye, thus proving my theory correct... by locating the flash further away from the lense, red-eye could be reduced! Unfortunately, I don't like the ergonomics and flash as well on the Nikon. Furthermore some shots which were well composed and should have turned out great came out blurred simply because my toddler moved a couple inches. I guess there are no perfect cameras. All in all, the Nikon One Touch 90 takes very clear pictures and you don't even need to utilize the red-eye reduction feature.

I guess there are no great point and shoot cameras anymore. Most cameras worked great a few years back. Now all these so called "new features" that they came out with the last 10 years have rendered point and shoot cameras about as good as the disposable kind.

Great value for the money..........2003-07-25

I bought this camera for an up-coming trip to New Orleans. My decision was based on the reviews here on amazon.com. This is my first time using a Pentax.

I have shot one roll of film, trying different lighting situations, different zoom lengths, in-doors, out-doors, regular and panoramic mode.

I have always used Minolta professional cameras in the past. The quality of photos from this little camera is as good, if not better, than those from my Minolta equipment.

I am now ready to take on New Orleans in style and with a camera that is light-weight, easy to use, offers lots of useful features, and provides quality photographs, confident that I will be able to capture the beauty of the Big Easy with ease.

One note to the user complaining about black lines at the top/bottom of panoramic shots. The problem may be with your processor; it certainly isn't with the camera. While you do see, or appear to see, black lines when you look through the viewfinder with the camera in 'panoramic mode', my photographs were full size, great in their detail, and had no lines at top/bottom. If you are contemplating purchasing this item, don't let that deter you.

For the price, this is a great little picture-taker.

great little point and shoot!.......2003-07-24

I purchased this camera one year ago and, although I am not an expert, have been very satisfied. If I spend a little more for the processing, the pictures are crisp and clear and fabulous. I have had no problems with any pictures being out of focus, which I have experienced in the past with other brands. I thought the battery would not last long given that the LCD always displays the date and number of exposures, but so far I have not had to replace it.

Best Camera I've owned.......2003-07-08

This is a superb camera. It takes excellent pictures and well worth the money. In fact, this camera beats some of the higher end Pentax, Minolta and Olympus cameras Ive tested. An excellent value!

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