Pentax Espio 838: manual and user guide

A Pentax autofocus compact with a 38-80 mm zoom. Its official PDF manual, then the essentials for using it.

Official Pentax PDF, which Pentax no longer publishes: the link opens the copy kept by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

Getting started

Battery It takes one 3 V CR123A (or DL-123A) lithium battery. With the camera off, open the cover under the body with the protruding part of the strap lug, insert the battery following the + and − signs, then close it until it clicks. If it’s in properly, the lens moves slightly and the motor runs for a few seconds.
Loading With the camera off, open the back with its lever. Put in the cartridge, pull the film leader to the mark, flat between the guides and with no slack, then close: the film advances by itself and “1” appears. If “E” blinks, the film is loaded wrongly: start again.
Sensitivity Nothing to set: it reads the DX code, from ISO 25 to 1600. A film without a DX code is exposed as ISO 25, and the manual says not to use one. It recommends colour negative film and ISO 400.
Your first photo Press the ON/OFF main switch: the lens extends to 38 mm and the display lights up. Frame with the zoom lever (right for telephoto, left for wide angle), put the AF frame on the subject and press halfway. When the green viewfinder lamp stays steady, press all the way: in low light, the flash fires by itself.
Rewinding After the last frame, the lens retracts and it rewinds by itself, in about 20 s for 24 exposures. Wait for “0” to blink before opening the back, in the shade. To rewind mid-roll, press the rewind button with the protruding part of the strap lug.

A 38-80 mm power zoom, f/4.8-9.5, sharp from 60 cm to infinity. For a subject outside the AF frame, aim at it and press halfway, reframe without lifting your finger, then press all the way.
Seven modes on the mode button: auto, flash on, slow shutter without flash (down to about 1/3 s), flash with slow shutter, backlight compensation (+1.5 EV), Bulb and Bulb with flash.
Bulb keeps the shutter open as long as you press: for fireworks and night shots, on a tripod.
A self-timer of about 10 s on the drive button: the lamp stays lit for 7 s, then blinks for the last 3 seconds. Press the main switch again to stop it.

Range with colour negative film: 0.6 to 3.8 m at 38 mm and 0.6 to 2.0 m at 80 mm with ISO 100. 0.6 to 7.7 m and 0.6 to 3.9 m with ISO 400.
It fires by itself in low light. In auto flash with ISO 400 film, the shutter speed is about 1/45 s. It recharges in about 5 s.
If the green lamp blinks, the flash is charging or the subject is too close: let go of the shutter button for a few seconds, or step back.
Red-eye reduction has its own button: the lamp on the front lights up about 1 s before the flash fires. Press the button again to cancel it.

Left on and unused for more than 3 minutes, it retracts the lens and switches off. Switched back on within the following hour, it picks up your settings again.
When the battery symbol appears, change the battery soon. If it blinks, nothing works any more. Expect about 15 rolls of 24 exposures, with flash on half the shots.
Don’t hold the lens: it moves in and out as you zoom, and the shutter button is locked while zooming. Don’t cover the AF window, the lens, the light sensor or the flash.
It isn’t waterproof and works from -10 to 50 °C. Clean the lens with a blower and a brush, never with thinners, alcohol or benzine.
If the display goes blank after a static discharge, press the main switch again or take the battery out and put it back.

Format: 135 film, 24 × 36 mm frames
Lens: 38-80 mm power zoom, f/4.8-9.5, 5 elements in 5 groups
Focusing: active infrared autofocus, from 0.60 m to infinity, focus lock at half-press
Shutter: programmed electronic, about 1/320 s to 1/3 s, bulb
Metering: programmed exposure, EV 10 to 17 at 38 mm, EV 11.5 to 18.5 at 80 mm (ISO 400, auto and flash on)
Sensitivity: ISO 25 to 1600 via DX code, non-coded film exposed as ISO 25
Flash: built-in, 0.6 to 7.7 m at 38 mm and 0.6 to 3.9 m at 80 mm with ISO 400, recharges in about 5 s
Viewfinder: 83% coverage, 0.38× to 0.69× magnification, green lamp
Power: 1 × 3 V CR123A lithium battery, about 15 rolls of 24 exposures (flash on half the shots)
Dimensions and weight: 134 × 74 × 51.5 mm and 245 g without battery, Date version: 134 × 74 × 55 mm and 250 g