PentaxEspio 115

The Pentax Espio 115 comes out of the late 1990s — panorama switches, dated LCDs, and a few genuinely brilliant lenses hiding inside plastic shells. Catalogued as a autofocus compact, it pairs the Pentax 38–115mm f/4.6–10.8 with a 35mm film path. A bit of background: sold as the IQZoom 115 in North America.

Format

35mm

Year

1995

Lens

Pentax 38–115mm f/4.6–10.8

Min. focus

0.7 m

Flash

Built-in auto multi-mode

Battery

1× CR123A

The Pentax 38–115mm f/4.6–10.8 covers wide-to-short-tele in one barrel — one lens, no decisions, point and shoot. Standard 35mm keeps it compatible with whatever Kodak, Ilford, Fuji or CineStill stock you find on the shelf today. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.7 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. One thing worth knowing before you load a roll: one of Pentax's longer-zoom Espio compacts of the mid-'90s. Built for family events, holidays and anything where you'd rather reframe than walk.

The Pentax Espio 115 hasn't been swept up by the algorithm yet, which is the entire window — get one before the rest of the internet catches up.

• §1Sold as the IQZoom 115 in North America.
• §2One of Pentax's longer-zoom Espio compacts of the mid-'90s.