Two cameras worth getting distracted by

 


As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, my OM1 usage was interrupted by a spate of buying, trying, and often selling again, a series of inexpensive point and shoot cameras. This hunt also led me to one of the smallest cameras I have owned, and which I am sure will go to quite a few places where a bigger camera might not get taken.

Pictured above on the right is the winner of the "cheap shove it in a bag on a day out" award. The Pentax Pino 35 produces surprisingly good images with very little to get wrong. Set the film speed, set the aperture according to the weather symbol, and click. The shutter speed is fixed at 1/125, and the focus is fixed at 5ft and beyond. It works without batteries, but if you add 2xAA, you get a flash and a "low light" warning light in the viewfinder, useful if you forget to take the lens cap off. These can be picked up on a well known auction site for £10-£20, and I recommend them for those days out where you don't want to take something big and valuable.

Abandoned boat, taken with the Pentax Pino35

The camera on the left is something a little more expensive (usually £70-£100), but ideal for putting in a coat pocket. The Balda CA35 is very similar to all of those tiny Minox cameras with a lens which pops out as you unfold the front, mainly because they share the same designer. It also appears under other names - Balda Mini35, the Voigtlander Vito C and the Revue 35XE, all essentially the same camera. The exposure is automatic, and the focus ring is linked to a display in the viewfinder with the usual distance graphics, from head & shoulders to mountains. 

It is very slightly smaller than the Olympus XA series, a couple of which have been my pocket cameras for several years, and like those, there is a clip on flash unit if you need it. The results from this have been pretty good in my humble opinion, and this is definitely another one worth looking out for if you want something which can be taken anywhere.
Young tractor driver, taken with a Balda CA35
I tell myself that my point&shoot hunting days are over - these two cameras will cover all eventualities, but I know that charity shop windows are never far away...


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