Pentax IQ Zoom 130M Date 35mm Camera

I liked this camera. It took great photos.
I was soooo disappointed when the LCD stopped working after only 18 months! My last camera lasted 5 years. The warranty is only good for a year, and Pentax wants me to mail in the camera and then they will give me a price to fix it. I went to wolfcamera and they said it would be $140!
I'm about to have a baby any day, and now I have to find a good camera quick!

I had a very good picture taking Pentax 105 point-n-shoot bought sometime around 1992. It was large and black, but comfortable... and photos were very clear, very vibrant... everything was in focus. Pictures taken indoors in poorly lit conditions were adequately lit, with NO red eye. Even though the Pentax 105 had a red-eye reduction feature, I never needed it, because the camera simply took great pictures without it. Unfortunately, my old Pentax 105 recently quit working so off to the store to try some new models.

Figuring there must be new and better technology developments that have happened in photography the last 10 years, I was hopeful that it would be a matter of simply getting another Pentax point and shoot(in this case the Pentax IQ Zoom 130M Date) to achieve the same excellent, if not better, picture quality.

Boy was I disappointed. Yes, this camera has some very capable features. The pictures were clear and the colors vibrant. Pictures on max zoom were a bit grainy, but still in focus... I expected this. The user interface, buttons, and ergonomics are the best of the cameras I tried (Canon 115u, Olympus models, and Nikon). And the flash is better than many of the other point and shoot cameras out there because it more evenly disperses the light, somewhat reducing the bright-face/black-backgound effect common on other small point-n-shoot cameras. Unfortunately, the red eye on the photos produced with this camera is horrendous. I'm not just talking about a straight on shot. Even shots taken from an angle or to the side of the person produced the worst red eye I've ever seen in a camera. This problem comes from all camera makers' eternal quest to produce the smallest, most compact cameras on the market. In laymen's terms: the flash is located too darn close to the lens!!! This could be easily prevented if the camera had the lens located at least one inch further away from the lens. I compared my old Pentax to this new Pentax and the flash was roughly 1.5 inches further away from the lens on my older model than on this new model. Again I NEVER needed the red-eye reduction feature on my old model. Could I use the red-eye reduction on the new camera to prevent this problem? Sure, but here is how it works on the Pentax: a flash goes off, which dilates the pupils, than another flash goes off again and the picture is taken. Works great in theory. The problem with this scenario is that people think the first flash is the picture flash, so once it goes off people relax their smiles, people blink, etc. What you actually capture is people in their natural state after they think a picture has been taken. So get ready to have to inform people, "Now... there will be two flashes because I'm using red-eye reduction on you!" every freakin' time you take a picture of people.

I really wanted to like this camera but I returned it and will try others. Consequently, I tried the Nikon One Touch Zoom 90 QD because I noticed in the store the flash was located further away from the lense. When I compared the Nikon to my old Pentax... the distance between the lense and flash on the Nikon was approximately the same as on my old Pentax. So I took similar pictures with the Nikon (without red-eye reduction) that produced the devilish red eye in the Pentax IQ 130. When I got my pictures back from the Nikon One Touch 90, there was NO red-eye, thus proving my theory correct... by locating the flash further away from the lense, red-eye could be reduced! Unfortunately, I don't like the ergonomics and flash as well on the Nikon. Furthermore some shots which were well composed and should have turned out great came out blurred simply because my toddler moved a couple inches. I guess there are no perfect cameras. All in all, the Nikon One Touch 90 takes very clear pictures and you don't even need to utilize the red-eye reduction feature.

I guess there are no great point and shoot cameras anymore. Most cameras worked great a few years back. Now all these so called "new features" that they came out with the last 10 years have rendered point and shoot cameras about as good as the disposable kind.

I bought this camera for an up-coming trip to New Orleans. My decision was based on the reviews here on amazon.com. This is my first time using a Pentax.

I have shot one roll of film, trying different lighting situations, different zoom lengths, in-doors, out-doors, regular and panoramic mode.

I have always used Minolta professional cameras in the past. The quality of photos from this little camera is as good, if not better, than those from my Minolta equipment.

I am now ready to take on New Orleans in style and with a camera that is light-weight, easy to use, offers lots of useful features, and provides quality photographs, confident that I will be able to capture the beauty of the Big Easy with ease.

One note to the user complaining about black lines at the top/bottom of panoramic shots. The problem may be with your processor; it certainly isn't with the camera. While you do see, or appear to see, black lines when you look through the viewfinder with the camera in 'panoramic mode', my photographs were full size, great in their detail, and had no lines at top/bottom. If you are contemplating purchasing this item, don't let that deter you.

For the price, this is a great little picture-taker.

I purchased this camera one year ago and, although I am not an expert, have been very satisfied. If I spend a little more for the processing, the pictures are crisp and clear and fabulous. I have had no problems with any pictures being out of focus, which I have experienced in the past with other brands. I thought the battery would not last long given that the LCD always displays the date and number of exposures, but so far I have not had to replace it.

This is a superb camera. It takes excellent pictures and well worth the money. In fact, this camera beats some of the higher end Pentax, Minolta and Olympus cameras Ive tested. An excellent value!