Pentax UC-1 (Espio Mini) Point and Shoot Film Camera Review – The Little Lens that Could

Pentax UC-1 (Espio Mini) Point and Shoot Film Camera Review – The Little Lens that Could

1863 1048 Jeb Inge

Brand loyalty can be a beautiful thing. Take an old friend of mine for example – she was head-over-heels in love with her Pentax K-5. She loved taking photos, even if she wasn’t in love with photography. You wouldn’t call her a photographer, but while her friends all used their phones on road trips, she brandished her K-5. Something about that camera made her love the name Pentax. 

Pentax has been creating loyal customers for decades by producing exemplary cameras and lenses that often have basic operation with price points lower than those of their bigger competitors. Conversely to those other companies, Pentax’s primary focus was more often on the amateur or beginner and secondarily on the professional. The Pentax K1000 is as ubiquitous on lists of best cameras for 35mm beginners as it is in junk shops and flea markets. Even in the medium format arena, Pentax’s 645 would serve as a more automatic entry point to larger negatives, while professionals were still content with the Pentax 67. 

The company’s history in the digital market speaks even more to its dedication to consumers. They’ve released thirty-two different models in their K-Mount DSLR line, but only one full-frame model. It took them until 2016 to release the K1, and true to form, it boasted a feature-saturated spec sheet that belied its modest price point.

What’s a Pentax UC-1?

We could assume that a company so dedicated to providing the average customer with a simple but top-notch camera would be the ultimate player in the point-and-shoot boom of the 1980s and ‘90s. But that’s not exactly what happened. 

Companies like Olympus pioneered the compact movement in the late 1970s and continued to lead the pack for decades. Their formula for success was to produce tiny cameras fitted with outstanding prime lenses. 

Pentax took a different route – their PC and Espio camera lines were alternatively barren of features or focused on zoom technology while willingly sacrificing image quality. Sure, you could buy one of the countless IQ-Zoom cameras for the price of a six pack, but you’d wish you’d went for the six-pack when you got your images developed.

Pentax did eventually release a camera to cut through the din of its many loud and slow compact zooms. Released in 1994, the Pentax UC-1 (or Espio Mini outside the U.S.) seemed to follow the same path as the Olympus Mju and Yashica T-series cameras. It’s compact, lightweight, easy to use and boasts an impressive prime lens.

Those four features have catapulted the Yashica and Olympus cameras to hype beast status that’s seen their prices skyrocket in a manner reminiscent of the last decade’s housing market. The price of the UC-1 lags slightly behind an Mju II or T4, but it’s easy to imagine it catching up. The skeptic in me has long thought these types of cameras are extremely overvalued, and receiving a Pentax UC-1 for review gave me the opportunity to put that notion to the test.

As a point-and-shoot, the Pentax UC-1 is a strict fundamentalist. Its spec sheet is spartan and its creative controls almost non-existent. Everything about the camera seems designed for ease of use and speedy snapping. Just pop in a roll of film, close the back and it advances to the first frame. ISO is set by the camera automatically through the magic of DX coding, and all the photographer has to do is push the shutter button. 

If you’re someone in 1996 not worried about the finer points of creative photography (which is most people in any year) then the UC-1 would have been an excellent choice. Taking it out to parties? Don’t forget to push the red eye reduction button. On a vacation with the kids at the Grand Canyon? Slide the “panorama” lever and you’ll get a dramatic landscape portrait. It’s this market Pentax sought for this camera, and anyone buying it for such a purpose wouldn’t have been disappointed.

But what about someone who identifies as a photographer – or who at least wants more than just snapshots from their camera? After putting the UC-1 through its paces, I can report that the camera would give such photographers mixed feelings. 

The Positives

The UC-1’s 32mm f/3.5 lens (3 elements in 3 groups) is truly outstanding. Everything that compact shooters love about their favorite cameras is here as well; tack sharpness, low distortion, strong contrast and just the right amount of vignetting. There’s some softness wide open, but I found the vignetting actually helped mitigate it nicely. While it doesn’t have the SMC badge that adorns Pentax’s top lenses, the coating on this lens is no slouch. I saw resolution from the lens that could hang with the Yashica and Olympus cameras, while not reaching the level of a Contax T3 or Minolta TC-1.

Two things that worried me, autofocus and the light meter, turned out to be worry-free. The UC-1’s phase-matching autofocus system was remarkably fast. The camera uses the center brackets as its focus zone. A green light in the viewfinder lets the photographer know focus has been achieved and blinks when the camera can’t find the subject. Even though I was trying to fool it, the green light only blinked when it was extremely dark or when I was using the sky to meter.

I’m used to shooting with questionable autofocus systems and even seem to gravitate toward them. So I was less worried about that as I was the camera’s metering. ISO is set using the camera’s automatic and unchangeable DX code reader with a range from 25-3200 (cartridges without coding are automatically set to ISO 25.) 

In the camera’s daylight-synchro metering mode, the light meter ranges from EV 9-17 at ISO 100, which is hilariously bad compared to the Mju II’s range of 1-17. But the UC-1 also has a “slow shutter” mode, which expands the range to EV 2.6-17. Despite the weirdness of the two exposure modes, I was generally happy with all of my exposures. The roll of Kodak Tri-X specifically was shot at sunset and in challenging lighting situations. I wanted to see how the camera would handle the challenge, and it exceeded my expectations.

You can’t talk about the UC-1’s advantages without mentioning its size and weight. At only 5.4 ounces, it’s one of the lightest cameras I’ve ever used. Even with its CR123 battery and a loaded roll of film, it’s hard to imagine something so light and toy-like would produce memorable images. That and the camera’s pocket ability make it an easy choice as a daily carry camera. 

But it’s not without its faults, many of them typical to this kind of camera.

The Negatives

I understand that simplicity of use is a core tenet of point-and-shoot photography. But would it have killed Pentax (or other manufacturers) to have included an adjustable ISO feature on the camera? With the exception of some black-and-white films I almost never shoot film at its box speed, so that inflexibility is a real negative for me.

The camera’s shutter is also a point of concern, as well as a bit of an oddity. The shutter is electro-magnetically released and has a range of 1/400th of a second to 2 seconds. But it also has a bulb setting that can last from 1/2 of a second to 5 minutes. I would gladly sacrifice the bulb setting I will never use for a faster maximum shutter speed. With 1/400th being the fastest speed and without ISO control, film selection can be important to avoid under-exposure.

The location of the viewfinder was a common annoyance while shooting the camera. While the inside of the viewfinder is rather nice, with lights for focus and flash confirmation and LCD central brackets and close-focusing cropping, its location in the center of the camera took a while to get used to. That’s a subjective and aesthetic complaint, but I complain nonetheless.

The camera’s weight is a distinct advantage for the Pentax UC-1, but its build quality is not. Especially at its lightest, without battery or film, the camera feels brittle to hold. I know that it wouldn’t take much to break the Pentax UC-1, evidenced further by the paint on the body. The UC-1 came in black, silver and champagne. Mine is of the champagne variety, which unfortunately is the type most prone to wear and tear. The previous owner obviously liked to hold the camera in the bottom left corner while shooting, because the paint in that area has all worn off in a thumb-sized smear. Because of this, the slightly tougher black variation sells for a higher price. But if you think the lens is what really matters, save a few bucks and toast to the champagne version. At least no one will steal it. 

Lastly – and most trivially – the panorama setting. This is a dumb gimmick that many makers of the times used to sell cameras. I’m legitimately curious whether it ever served a useful purpose before Photoshop put it in the ground for good. 

The Consumer Report

If the final image is the only measuring stick for a camera, then the Pentax UC-1 is a good camera. I really enjoyed the images I got from this camera. I think the lens is great and it makes shooting photographs as easy as that can be.

But we can’t escape the tired question – what is the real value of a point-and-shoot film camera in 2018? Is the Pentax UC-1 worth buying?

According to the current market, UC-1’s can be bought anywhere from $120 to $220, more if it’s the black-coated version. Weirdly, the Espio Mini badging will make the price go up another hundred dollars, even though it’s the same camera. 

Would I pay $200 for one? Would I pay that much for a camera without any ISO control, with a relatively slow shutter, and with a nervous build quality? Probably not. This type of camera, despite its lens, doesn’t make me want to shell out that much money. But for shooters who value compactness and image style more than longevity and creative control, the UC-1 may be a good choice.

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Jeb Inge

Jeb Inge is a Berlin-based photographer and writer. He has previously worked in journalism, public history and public relations.

All stories by:Jeb Inge
14 comments
  • I wanted one of these for years–from when they were new, though at the time I couldn’t spare the $ for one. About 2004 or ’05, I found one being sold as NOS and bought it.
    And used it mostly happily until early this year. Need some cash and so it went.
    That said, I will likely be looking for another.

    I very much preferred the UC-1 to the Olympus Stylus. I found them both very similar functionally and the results with both were generally good to excellent.
    BUT, I found that, for me, the “boxier” shape of the UC-1 was just a better fit for me.

    I didn’t really notice nor mind the VF placement; I’m a left eye photographer so mashing my nose against the back of a camera was/is par for the course.
    The single biggest annoyance about this camera (and most other P&S cameras, in fact) was the flash. At night I mostly wanted the flash off and in daylight I mostly wanted the flash on for fill. Either is doable but I had to remember to set what I wanted every, single. time. THAT was bothersome.

    The DX coding was rarely an issue for me, I almost always had Kodak BW400CN loaded and I shot a lot of that film and box speed worked well for me.
    But, that does remind me of an older product that should, I think, come back. There used to be DX code stickers/labels available so you could either code blank cassettes (if you were bulk rolling) or re-code commercial rolls. I recall that Porter’s here in the US had sheets for sale with , I think, speeds from 25 to 1600 you could buy.

    Of all the fixed lens, compact P&S cameras, the UC-1 is still my favorite.

    Thanks for another great overview!

  • I got one of these for dirt cheap a few years back, and was only able to put two rolls of film through before the camera died. Some sort of sensor issue with the film winder and back plate made it so that it was rewinding film at random times. I liked what I got out of it though!

    • That’s the gambit with the point and shoots. Especially with the cheap ones, you never quite know if it’s about to go out on you.

  • I think no single point and shoot camera is worth the money being asked these days, especially considering they can die at any moment with little to no possibility of being fixed. Regarding the dx, i use a bit of black tape and a sharp knife to hack it to my desired ISO. Nice review and pictures!

  • I have the UC-1 (my 2nd) and the seals have gone bad around the lens, so I get circular light leaks on every shot. Is there any way to fix that? If there were, I’d still be using it over any of the dozen or more P&S compacts I’ve picked up at garage sales and whatnot. I always loved the lens.

    • Aside from disassembling the camera and replacing the seals, I can’t see how you would fix that problem. But it could be an interesting DIY project!

  • Great review, that photo with the balloons is truly excellent. Cheers!

  • One of my favorite compact. Doesn’t get Leica Minilux E02 error. Not crazy expensive as Contax T3/T2. Although it doesn’t have metal body nor manual options like Minolta TC-1 or Nikon 28Ti, but it’s one of the lightest!

    The lens is sharp enough, color is amazing. The only real complain is the viewfinder. It’s small, dark and it gets scratched easily. LED inside of the viewfinder could age quickly over time.

    But for this camera.. It’s sure a winner at it’s price range. Same performance you are looking at comparison to Yashica T5, but at 1/5 of the cost.

  • These -were- fun cameras to fool around with about 5-10 years ago. Now prices are insane. Up to $40? Okay. $200+? No way. And that includes top tier. I’ve had many a point-n-shoot over the years. Several Ricohs. Guess what? They all break. The Yashica T3 had a good (not “great”) lens but it practically exploded when I dropped it. The Nikon L35AF the battery door died. Two of the three Ricohs motor went. The Oly XA (rangefinder) I really liked but the finder was dim and that thing was just TOO small, gave it away. The only one I kept is the Pentax PC35AF (which I removed the annoying beeper). THAT’s a nice point-n-shooter. 35/2.8 lens, compact, solid build. Cool as heck looking too. I don’t use it too much but don’t mind owning it. Problem is, these day, film has to be mailed out. 5-10 years ago I there were several places in walking distance to drop off a roll. Sadly, all out of business and I’m simply not as into it now to develop my own. Still, when I have the film itch, it’s the little Pentax for me.

  • Thanks for your very fair review. I’ve had a Espio Mini for a few years and can concur with pretty much everything you say. I’ve a bunch of DX code labels i use to adjust the EI of a given film. That plus its ability to focus and AE lock with the half press of the shutter button means at least some control over exposure if not SS and aperture combination. It’s just so light and easy to carry with fast enough AF. The lens is good with softness at extreme corners. It just seems capable of turning out great photos again and again. I’m currently partial to having Lomo 800 loaded as it and the Mini give great colours. Pretty much all P&S are overpriced (in 2020). It’s pretty bonkers that Contax T2 will cost as much as a Leica M3 etc. Maybe one day one or two of the old players will re-enter the compact P&S market given the premium they could charge.

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Jeb Inge

Jeb Inge is a Berlin-based photographer and writer. He has previously worked in journalism, public history and public relations.

All stories by:Jeb Inge