Asahi Pentax Camera - An Old Classic

July 02, 2011

I've completely jumped into digital photography head-first and I must admit that it's fun and rewarding. But I feel like I never really learned the basics of photography the way people used to learn things. In the age of fully automatic exposuring systems and the instant gratification of digital images where we can see the results immediately, there surely still must be a lot to be said about manual film photography. It's an art that is spoken of nostalgically and often-times passionately. There's nothing quite like the anticipation of waiting for your roll of film to be developed and seeing the results of your work.

(my dad's old Asahi Pentax camera)

My dad used to take a lot of photos of us with an assortment of cameras he had bought in Japan. Recently I dug out an old Asahi Pentax camera that had been picking up dust in the basement. Not knowing if it was still functional I took it to the local camera shop to get it checked out. Back when my dad was still using film he would always go to L & L Camera. The owner, Lenny, has been a celebrated photographer who had served in the military and traveled the world. His son, Lenny Jr, greeted me and began to delve into the mechanics of the Pentax camera. Soon after, Roger, who has a lot of film photography experience, began teaching me the basics of photography. He would say, "the depth of field is the range of focus your lens is capable of." He would then go on to the finer points of how the aperture and shutter speed related to each other. Having already learned this lesson through my own work with digital photography I allowed him to indulge me on the basics. I felt like he was passing on his wisdom to me and I appreciated the fact that he spent so much time explaining things to me.

(top view)

I left L & L Camera enthusiastically with five rolls of film and a mission. I wanted to take everything I learned about photography over the years and try my hand at manual film photography. The Pentax camera and the 50mm f1.4 lens that was attached to it takes very beautiful photos. It has a retro look that cannot be reproduced with a digital camera. Looking back over all of our family albums, the photos really take me back to another time and place. I had the perfect subject: my nephew, Bay. I set the aperture at 8 and shutter speed at 1/125 as recommended by Roger. Then I just snapped away from every angle I could think of. The manual lens took some getting used to. It's very hard to tell when it's in focus under low light conditions. It may just be my eyes but after some time fidgeting with the focus I got a pretty good handle on it. Babies are quite unpredictable in their facial expressions so I waited patiently for Bay to turn my way and look at me. I was hoping he would crack a smile like he does sometimes but I was not so lucky.

The body of the Pentax camera is mostly solid metal which gives it a sturdy feel. A nob at the top left adjusts the shutter speed, while on the opposite side there is a nob that adjusts the ISO. The 50mm lens also has a very solid feel to it. It has rings to adjust the aperture and focus. The aperture ring snaps into place when I hit any specific f-stop. The manual focus rings feels very smooth. It gives the impression that you have control over the focus to the n-th degree. I can see why hardcore film photographers prefer these kinds of cameras - you tell the camera what to do, not the other way around. The camera doesn't compensate one way or the other. It does exactly what you set it up to do. It requires more thought and the fact that you're limited to the number of photos on the film keeps you from wasting your shots.

I am eagerly awaiting the development of the first roll of film that I shot with. Although film photography is inconvenient and rather expensive to develop I am hoping the rewards will greatly outweigh the costs. Photos to come...