PentaxZoom 105 Super

The Pentax Zoom 105 Super comes out of the early 1990s, when premium compacts and motorised zooms split the market in two. Catalogued as a autofocus compact, it pairs the Pentax 38–105mm f/4–7.8 with a 35mm film path. A bit of background: won the European Compact Camera of the Year 1990–91 — the sticker on this body is the original award badge.

Format

35mm

Year

1990

Lens

Pentax 38–105mm f/4–7.8

Min. focus

0.7 m

Flash

Built-in auto multi-mode

Battery

1× 2CR5

The Pentax 38–105mm f/4–7.8 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. It takes the chunky 2CR5 lithium pack — slightly harder to find than AAs, but a single cell lasts a great many rolls. 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: sold as the IQZoom 105 Super in North America; the 'Super' upgrade added slow-sync flash and a wider ISO range. Built for family events, holidays and anything where you'd rather reframe than walk.

The Pentax Zoom 105 Super hasn't been swept up by the algorithm yet, which is the entire window — get one before the rest of the internet catches up. Worth remembering: one of the first sub-$300 compacts to reach 105mm — Pentax essentially defined the long-zoom P&S category with this model.

• §1Won the European Compact Camera of the Year 1990–91 — the sticker on this body is the original award badge.
• §2Sold as the IQZoom 105 Super in North America; the 'Super' upgrade added slow-sync flash and a wider ISO range.
• §3One of the first sub-$300 compacts to reach 105mm — Pentax essentially defined the long-zoom P&S category with this model.