First introduced in 1995 by Pentax the 738 was part of the Espio IQZoom series. made in china with its brothers the 736S and G it was full of useful features that a compact user would need when shooting in any scenario. The automatic functions of the camera coupled with it's fairly sharp lens made it a very standard compact .
This camera is perfect for street shooting on a bright day, anything with low light will need a tripod. The auto focusing is fairly quick and accurate and the lens produces sharp images, the camera is small and quite the companion. The design of the camera is debated but I think it embodies it's robustness in its bold 90s edges and curves, it fits the hand quite comfortably and is heavy enough to give you something to stabilise. Using this camera is a breeze, the automatic features take good care of the exposure and allow you to focus on the situation and what shot you want to get. "The absolute standard of mid 90's compact put into one camera" is more of a miracle than a mundane statement, the 90's and before were prime times for the compact camera as they evolved and managed to capture the photographer's attention in addition to the target audience, family. Photographers saw great things in the small bodies of these cameras, and good job they did because I bloody love them.
The 738 wasn't and isn't a camera that stands out from the crowd, the lens isn't amazing, it's not small enough to fit in your pocket and the zoom feature on the lens will destroy any picture you take while using it. A few more gripes I have with the camera is that every time it is turned on the flash will be set to automatic and the camera leans on it's flash quite heavily when on auto. The rear door of the camera has a tendency to snap off, I unfortunately discovered this after ordering a replacement from ebay only to find that it was already broken on arrival, typical!
That being said I would really recommend this camera to anyone who is shooting street photography and hasn't picked up a compact yet, it is an entry into the wonderful world of 35 mm compact. A completely different way to shoot street that will change the way you go about taking candid pictures.
I love this little camera, being one of my first 35 mm compacts found in a charity shop for around £5, I thought it was going to be disappointing. To my surprise this wasn't the case, after a test roll I began to understand how to manipulate the back-lit feature and different modes that the camera offered to get the photographs I wanted from it. A lot of compact cameras that use 35 mm are almost like a Chinese puzzle box, you need to find it's sweet spot and expose it. The 738 was quite a simple one to work out, due to the lowest aperture being 4.8 it's only viable shooting in good sunlight and the zoom is never to be used.
Specifications
- Lens: Pentax power zoom 38-70mm f/4.8-8.5
- Film speed settings: DX- coded with ISO rating 25-1600
- Shutter: automatic; 1/320 - 1/3 sec. Bulb.
- Focus: 0.6m - infinity. infared active autofocusing with lock focus.
- Manual loading, automatic advancing and rewinding of film
- Built-in flash, recharge time: 5 seconds
- Electronic self-timer
- Power: One CR 123 A
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