Pentax Programme A
My Pentax Programme A came along as what I envisioned to be a temporary substitute for my Minolta x700, when it suddenly fell ill and desperately required some TLC in the ICU. But that’s a love story for another day.
I wanted a similar camera that sat snug in the criteria of small, bold, and beautiful, and the Programme A has not disappointed.
Build and Aesthetic
As much as the Programme A is easy on the eye, with its incredible strategically placed accents of complimentary colour, it is packed with an equal greatness within its’ small, convenient structure.
Functionality and Convenience
The small, light build makes it convenient to swing around on your next adventure, whether it be to the local-but-lekker corner shop or the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Be sure to keep it set on Auto mode, in case you happen to stumble upon a rare trip of babbling goats. Your Programme A will be sure to capture your rarest moments with its built-in light meter, ensuring you never miss a fleeting moment, while simultaneously balancing out the incoming light for a perfectly exposed frame.
Now, in the case where you find yourself low on adventure, find adventure within the Programme A’s manual mode. It’s built-in light meter, coupled with its smart viewfinder, indicates the shutter speed and the corresponding exposure. However, bear in mind that the reflection of these values are only shown when a sufficient amount of light hits the illuminating window.
Unlike many other SLR’s, this particular Pentax model, controls the shutter speed through up and down knobs located on the top shelf, rather than the usual standard dial. The two dials it houses extends to the exposure you wish to add or subtract, as well as a dial for your various shooting modes. May I add the nifty lock feature. Particularly handy when accidental pressure on the shutter button may occur. What’s worse than a blank shot on film.
Additional Perks
Added perks that make this camera appreciable, but could be easily disregarded: the wrap around grip for a comfortable grasp in the hand and it comes fitted with a film roll window especially made for persons with a short memory span (Andrea in a nutshell); the ribbed patterning on the lens and dials create the perfect amount of friction between the component and your fingers; 10 sec self-timer for those old school selfies on a perfectly lonesome day; a very common but important feature is the film wind lever (the cranking sound never disappoints); and the depth of field review lever provides an indication of the extent of focus.
The Programme A is fully electronic, so be sure to travel with an extra set of batteries to avoid disappointment on your next little, big shoot day.