Over the past few months, I’ve been searching for a replacement for my much-loved Contax TVS II, which sadly broke beyond economical repair. That camera had been a loyal handy compact, robust, and with a zoom that suited my way of seeing. Replacing it like-for-like has been tricky; prices are very high, and good condition examples are few and far between, and most require importing from Japan.
In the meantime, I’ve been testing alternatives. After some research (and a few false starts), I landed on the Pentax ESPIO 125, a low cost compact zoom that seemed to tick the right boxes for something I could take on walks, bike rides, and days when I don’t want to carry a heavy kit bag or risk expensive gear.
A couple of weeks ago I loaded it with a roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 and took it for a walk around the Lickey Hills, a local country park I know well. This was always going to be a shakedown roll: testing exposure, sharpness, and how the camera handled in practice.
The results? Surprisingly good. In fact, better than I expected. The negatives came out crisp and well-exposed, with none of the softness or inconsistency you sometimes risk with compacts of this era.
The frame I chose to Print from that walk , a tangle of light, bark, and ferns, is still drying as I write this, but it already feels worthy of a frame - sharp, contrasty, and full of life.
Lickey Hills - Trees in the sunlight.
Do I still miss my Contax? Absolutely. There’s something about that design and lens that no other compact has quite matched for me. But for now, this Pentax will more than meet my needs. It’s light, reliable, and discreet. The kind of camera I can throw in a jacket pocket and know it’ll deliver.
Maybe that’s the real value here: a tool that keeps me shooting, keeps me walking, and keeps me printing. The Contax will always be something I want to replace, but the Pentax is proving itself a worthy ytake anywhere point and shoot in the meantime.