PentaxEspio 738

Place the Pentax Espio 738 in context and you land in the last full decade of mass-market film, before APS and digital fought over the leftovers. Catalogued as a autofocus compact, it pairs the Pentax 38–70mm f/4.8–8.5 with a 35mm film path. Worth knowing up front: compact and pocketable take on the Espio formula with a modest 38–70mm zoom.

Format

35mm

Year

1996

Lens

Pentax 38–70mm f/4.8–8.5

Min. focus

0.6 m

Flash

Built-in auto multi-mode

Battery

1× CR123A

The Pentax 38–70mm f/4.8–8.5 is the convenience play: a single optical formula that handles groups, snapshots and tighter portraits without ever leaving your hand. Film supply is a non-issue: any 35mm cassette from any lab works. 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 0.6 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. Worth knowing in the field: sold as the IQZoom 70S in some markets. The zoom range covers the obvious bases: groups at the wide end, half-length portraits at the long end, no lens changes ever.

Quietly underrated, the Pentax Espio 738 is the kind of camera people brag about owning five years from now and ten times the price.

• §1Compact and pocketable take on the Espio formula with a modest 38–70mm zoom.
• §2Sold as the IQZoom 70S in some markets.