When I first wrote about the Pentax Espio, I mentioned “unpromising results,” kvetched a bit about Walgreens mailing off and then keeping my negatives, and then promised to write up a proper review once I put another roll through. Well, I did put another roll through it, a year ago, back when I first started developing my own film, but then never got around to (or forgot all about) writing up a review.
After that second roll, I shelved the Espio in favor of the LC-A and, later, the FG, but when I decided to start up a roll Thanksgiving morning, both of those cameras had film in them already, so I grabbed the Espio, loaded the CR 123A battery that I had pulled out of the camera back when I shelved it to keep the date counter from draining it unnecessarily, auto-loaded a roll of film in it,* and away I went, excited to have a zoom lens with even a small range, on an automatic exposure camera with “Full Macro” stamped on the front, and also excited to see how it would perform.
How did it do? Read on to find out… Continue reading “Return of the Espio: a brief review”