Pentax A3000, a Review

July 24, 2020

Pentax A3000, a Review

Welcome to my very first camera review, it’s about the Pentax A3000 -a versatile point and shoot SLR made for entry level users! It is an aperture priority camera which means that the camera will automatically select a shutter speed according to your aperture selection and its interpretation of the light according to its light meter. It is also an SLR which means you are able to switch between selected lenses at your disposal.

As an aperture priority point and shoot SLR, there are some major pro’s and con’s:

Pentax A3000 PROS:

Super light!
Simple settings: There are only a few dials and buttons to play around with.
Fast: all you need to worry about is the manual focus and the aperture settings.
Cheap! Your local thrift store probably has one of these and they should be affordable at $20-$50 range.
Battery operated film advance: you can shoot uninterrupted without having to manually advance the film.
Lock mode: vital to keep you from accidentally hitting the shutter button!
Able to attach external flash!
Self timer.
1.5 stop back light.
Bulb mode and flash/force 1/60th second mode.

Pentax A3000 CONS:

Plastic body: double edge blade as it provides it’s super accessible light weight; but also make it vulnerable for damage. It’s very common for these plastic point and shoots or SLR’s to get broken by impact. Aesthetic or physical function wounds can be mended via the magic of gaffer tape but internal damages such as film advance jam may occur.

Aperture priority: not having full control of the shutter speed forces you to shoot a certain way. Especially when shooting against the light; as the camera naturally balances against it, usually you will get an underexposed shot. This can either be good or bad; but most of the time you would want full control of the situation than rather be at the mercy of the camera.
Shutter range of 1/30th to 1/1000th.
Manual focus -not really a con, though is it?

Pentax A3000 TRICKS/TIPS:

Under exposed shots: not sure if it’s just my camera but I feel majority of my shots come out a bit under exposed. A simple trick for this is to trick the camera into thinking it’s darker than it is by changing your film ISO speed. For example, if you’re shooting 400 ISO film, you can set the ISO dial to 200 on your camera. Contrary, maybe your camera is overexposing the shots: do the opposite.
Controlling shutter speed with aperture: this only really works during optimum light scenarios where if you want to shoot at a high speed you can do so by opening up your aperture. It comes with its limits.
Using the 1/60th flash mode at night: this will help avoid the blur you will get during night when the camera automatically tries to shoot at 1/30th second. To be fair, probably still come out blurry and dark. Still a good trick if you’re shooting at night with very little light source.

Overall Impression:

Pentax A3000 is one of my go-to camera’s due to it’s flexible mobility -light and fast. I can walk or ride my bike around the city without the strain my Nikon F4 usually gives me, and removing the shutter control offers faster shoot on the go. Of course, having full manual control is always better but for a casual stroll around the city, I love the A3000. As long as the light situation is flexible, you can control the camera’s automatic shutter selection to your advantage. I highly recommend it to anyone whether new or a veteran as it has much to offer -and for such an affordable price range, there’s nothing to lose!