The vintage film Pentax Zoom 280p and Pentax MX-1: What do they have in common? Remote Codes!

Yes, I very recently acquired a Pentax MX-1. Yes, it does not have a viewfinder. And yes, it has a small sensor. Yet it's image quality from the first impressions I have from it, is beyond its apparent small package and this was the selling point for me along with sturdiness and handling. This camera seems to be a great travel and street shooter. I will at some point put it through its paces and write a little review. But I digress a little. The reason why I have made this post was because when I came home with the camera, my vintage charity shop purchased Pentax Zoom 280p that has a remote, popped to mind. It's a great film compact, with a great 28-80 zoom lens, Bulb mode with or without flash and sturdy.  In fact, a great classic film companion to the MX-1. It is in great shape and I bought it for a song (£4). Going straight to the point, it got me thinking about how often do manufacturers change remote codes. Pentax sells two types of remote for the MX-1, one waterproof and one not , the latter very basic. Both are priced at £24.99. So, I set out on a little experiment today and found that the remote works on both cameras with exactly the same functions! The remote of the Zoom 280p has a release button and a zoom button that works perfectly in the same way with the vintage Zoom 280p as well as the modern MX-1. So, save yourself some money if you already have a Zoom 280p and intend to use the MX-1 on a tripod. If you don't have a Zoom 280p, look for one, save yourself some money and get a great compact film camera with the all necessary remote for tripod work with the MX-1. Here's a short video I have made of the experiment:

Enjoy!

Until next time,

Luis