Useful combination

Press, 10 July 1985, Page 40

Useful combination

By

R.M.

The new Pentax A 3 camera presents a useful combination of automatic, semi-automatic and manual features. It offers a considerable degree of picturecontrol to the camera enthusiast while having also a point-focus-and-snap mode for the non-expert or anyone simply in a hurry for a shot. I recently “test-drove” an A 3 on loan from the distributors, lan R. Little, Ltd. The A 3 has four modes: programme, aperture priority, programmed autoflash and open exposure. In programme mode the camera selects both aperture and speed, while in aperturepriority mode the photographer sets the aperture. The autoflash mode operates fully automatically with a dedicated flash unit, but with other units its operation depends on the controls on the unit. A new dedicated flash unit for Pentax programmable cameras, the AF2OOSA, has just become available. It has a guide number of 20 with 100

ISO film. Any PK-mount lens may be fitted to the A 3, but the programme mode works only with KA-mount lenses. The camera has a built-in winder and is DX-compat-ible, meaning it can read the film-speed code now starting to be built into 35mm cassettes. It has a simpler layout of controls than its stable-fellows, the Super A and Program A. I managed a reasonably useful first film using the new camera, and satisfied myself that the controls did in fact work as asserted. The camera is light and easy to manage. As normally a user of a non-winder model I found the winder over-enthusiastic, especially with a cable-release, but this could well be through unfamiliarity. The camera is being distributed with a one-touch 35mm-70mm zoom lens of maximum aperture f 4 (f 5.6 at 70mm). The zoom, covering as it does the range modest wide-angle to modest telephoto, is of great usefulness for outside day-

light work, but for me its maximum paerture was too limiting with the 100 ISO film provided and would have even with 1000 ISO for many purposes. If I were buying this model I should want also a standard f 1.7 or f 1.4 lens. A feature of the zoom lens is its extremely short minimum focus distance of 25cm. I photographed a person’s face at this distance and got a very good result. The close-up was of necessity taken in aperturepriority mode because of the need to control depth of focus. The programme mode seems to work at between f 5.6 and fll. The backlight adjuster, giving ‘.5 stops only, would be adequate for most purpose. I should have preferred a wider range of possible adjustment, though of course this could be achieved, if more circuitously, by adjusting the film speed. The usual retail price of the A 3 with zoom lens is $1295, with standard lens $995.