Video summary
The video explores whether expensive equipment or talent truly defines a photographer by testing an ancient Pentax Zoom 60X camera purchased for just seven dollars. The narrator acquired this thirty-year-old, budget version of the popular Flextar model because it was sold cheaply due to uncertainty about its functionality and lack of online hype. Despite initial skepticism regarding its age and condition, the camera powered on immediately with standard batteries, prompting a trip to the desert near Bakersfield to test its capabilities under real-world conditions using Kodak Ektachrome slide film. The experiment aimed to determine if such low-cost gear could produce work comparable to high-end equipment while also serving as a reality check for the creator's reliance on fancy technology.
During the shoot, several technical limitations and quirks of the vintage camera became apparent. The device struggled significantly with autofocus at its maximum 60mm zoom setting, resulting in soft and smeary images that were deemed unsuitable for serious use. Additionally, the narrator noted a tendency toward overexposure, likely because the manufacturer designed it primarily for color negative film rather than slide stock; pushing exposure on positive film caused colors to look washed out against the bright desert backdrop. While the camera was physically larger than typical point-and-shoot models and featured a convenient zoom rocker switch, its internal mechanisms eventually failed after only one roll of film due to an H2 error code, suggesting that decades-old circuit boards or mechanical parts were nearing their end-of-life.
After cursing at the malfunction, the photographer switched back to his reliable 4x5 large format camera equipped with Ilford Pan F test sheets for a few more shots before returning to the broken Pentax. Miraculously, after removing and reinserting the batteries, the camera resumed functioning without errors, allowing him to complete another full roll of thirty-six exposures. The remaining images were surprisingly decent given the circumstances, featuring vibrant colors in good light and compositions that presented themselves naturally. Although he admitted a preference for spending more on proven quality rather than risking cheap eBay finds, he concluded that useful work can indeed be made with bottom-of-the-barrel gear, proving that fancy equipment is not always the sole answer to creating great photography.
Ultimately, the narrator determined that the seven-dollar investment was well spent because it yielded several portfolio-worthy shots and provided a valuable lesson about the relationship between cost and reliability. He acknowledged that while he would have been happier hitting the dollar menu repeatedly if things had gone perfectly, the experience reinforced his belief in not always relying on expensive gear to achieve artistic goals. However, with the camera now hyped up by its successful performance despite its flaws, he plans to sell it for a profit and use those funds to purchase another Mamiya 6 medium format camera instead of buying cheap equipment again.
Read the full video transcript
Today's episode is sponsored by
Squarespace. Well, you guessed it. Cuz
it's the title of this video and
theoretically you're not illiterate. I
got this piece of for $7 to find
out if it's truly the gear or the talent
that makes the photographer. That's
right, it's time for another video from
the guy who shoots the most expensive
film stock in some of film photography's
most expensive cameras just to tell you
that all you need is a crisp $7 bill and
a dream. This Pentax Zoom 60X pictures
you to get your next to a literal pile
of cash. It was $7 because the seller
didn't know if it still worked and
[music] I'm assuming because it's old,
ugly, and
no one on YouTube, Reddit, or Feedburner
[music] has hyped it up yet. But I think
that there's still use and beauty in old
things. Says me, an old, ugly, unusable
thing. The reason that I pulled the
trigger on this is because I wanted to
get out there with it and see if I can
produce a [music] similar caliber of
work with something that only costs, I
guess, a fraction of what I normally
use. And of course, to see if I'm still
half the man that I pretend to be on
YouTube with all my fancy gear. Anyway,
I received the accursed machine in the
mail and I threw in some CR123A
batteries that I was saving in case I
got hungry and the camera booted right
up like normal. No hour-long firmware
updates. Because I'd be shooting a film
stock that's worth more than the camera
itself, I figured I might as well at the
very least try and do it the right way
with a filter. Kodak Ektachrome and an
81C filter go together like some
homemade borscht and vodka. Anyway, like
a thermite sticky bomb to a wall, I
slapped an adhesive filter adapter to
the front of the lens element and
I was off to the desert.
Well, I've returned to uh
wherever the hell this is to shoot a
review of a $7 camera. Let's get it
loaded.
Oh, yeah. [music]
Frame one.
There we go. It's having trouble locking
on focus, but quick restart seems to do
it.
>> [music]
>> Oh.
>> [music]
>> The photos not bad at all. This could
actually work.
I definitely think this camera leans a
little bit towards overexposure.
Probably because Pentax assumed you'd be
using color negative film instead of
monkeying around with slide film. The
rule of thumb for a color negative film
is to overexpose a little bit if you're
in doubt. Whereas when you do that on
color positive film, it kind of nerfs
the colors. Not that, you know, there's
a ton of color to derive from this
location anyway, except bleach and
desert waste.
>> [music]
>> So, this camera is a bit larger in hand
than the usual 35 mm point shoot you'd
expect. I think the selling point of
this particular camera was simply the
lens. It's a 38 to 60 mm zoom lens with
a zoom rocker up here on the body.
I actually like this photo. Simple
shapes and a good lighting.
It's hot as out here. We're out
like kind of near Bakersfield. All
right, so what have I learned so far
>> [music]
>> from this janky ass camera? At
full zoom, it seems to have trouble auto
focusing. I don't know what that's
about. Yeah, so photos taken at the 60
mm end of the focal length were not
great.
>> [music]
>> Just a little soft and smeary.
There were other similar models to this
camera that had an extended zoom range,
which was not uncommon for 1991, a bad
year for my mom, but I think this one
was more or less the budget version of
the fleet. Free of all that, you know,
titanium and exposure compensation crap
that only losers shoot with, am I right?
Anyway, 21 shots deep like a Friday
night in college. I was about to take
the banger of the century when something
[music] snapped internally.
So, yeah, I got the H2 error code up
top, which isn't good. A quick search on
AI told me that it could mean literally
anything. Thanks, AI. Most foreign
[music] posts on this topic say it's
probably just cheaper to scrap the body
and buy another one, but why would I do
[music] that? They'll probably also
the bucket. I tried rewinding it,
smacking it on things, and of course
crying, but nothing seemed to work.
Perhaps that's why this camera was $7.
It's over 30 years old, you know. The
internal [music] circuit boards or
hamster wheels probably are on their
final days. Mine didn't even last one
roll.
>> [music]
>> Anyway, after cursing whatever divine
entity made the universe, the Earth, and
this camera only to break down on me
after what I thought was the deal of the
century, we were back at this abandoned
hole in the middle of nowhere,
which still featured some of the most
heinous graffiti I've ever seen.
>> That's gross.
>> [sighs]
>> It's not that gross. All right, what's
good?
Nothing's good with me. Uh obviously, my
point shoot has been erroring out. At
least I have Pan F in 4x5, right? Cuz
[music] that just came out and is new.
Oh, there's bird on this.
Oi.
Yeah, so luckily, the old tried-and-true
method came in clutch. Never just bring
one film camera. [music] I had also
packed my 4x5 with me and some Ilford
Pan F sheets yet to be released. At the
time, these [music] were test sheets.
So, I decided to make use of the good
light and shoot up like many people here
before us.
And the photos, they were pretty good, I
think. Though, apparently not good
enough for Ilford to use in the launch,
so that's it. I'm quitting photography.
But at least there was some eventual
positive news. Guess what camera decided
to unfuck itself?
>> Really?
>> Well, I guess it works again now.
I hate this thing. I took the batteries
out, took a shot, and it was able to
advance. It didn't give me the error. I
don't know. It's also on back on like
frame one.
The man. So, with some light still
left, I grabbed the camera that was
quickly becoming my own moral enemy on
this earth and shot the rest of the
roll. Take a good hard look, buddy.
>> [music]
>> That's all you.
>> [music]
>> In a weird way, I kind of feel like, you
know, every shot that this thing lets me
take is like it's like a small victory.
I don't know if the next shot's going to
get
I don't know if that H2 error is going
to show itself again.
All I know is that kids go cuckoo for
Cocoa Puffs.
The rest of the photos, not bad,
actually. The light was quite good and
the compositions more or less presented
themselves handsomely.
This shot [music] is insanely vibrant
and the doorway photo here is um a
personal favorite as well.
Well, you hear that?
That's a good sign. I thought I was uh
potentially double exposing, but I just
finished the roll.
Got a full 36 exposures, I think. I'm
really curious uh to see what those
shots look like.
I guess this is why I don't buy cheap
cameras off eBay.
You get what you pay for sometimes.
But don't get caught paying for a
second-rate website. Your work deserves
the best through today's sponsor,
Squarespace. In all likelihood, you've
heard of the industry's best website
builder, Squarespace, before, but you
know the team behind the website
building powerhouse recently implemented
a bunch of tools that utilize
groundbreaking AI to custom build your
dream website that'll take your personal
enterprises to the next level. Tools
like Blueprint AI, which utilize
groundbreaking artificial intelligence
to not only perfect, but personalize
your new website through a series of
prompts [music] designed to create a
solid base for your new online hub. Are
you a photographer like me looking to
show off your work and ultimately take
it a step further and sell prints or
[music] even one-of-ones of your
photography? That's great. You can now
use AI to power things like product and
video descriptions as well as email
campaigns. It's designed [music] to take
some of that load off when crafting your
new website workspace to allocate other
resources like time and critical
thinking to other more important
components of your online presence. If
you're looking to go a more direct route
and offer in-person advice sessions or
portfolio reviews, Squarespace now
features Acuity Scheduling to make the
act of keeping a detailed schedule quite
simple for both you [music] and your
clients. And with invoice support to
keep things on track, you can start the
flow of economy back to you. So, what
are you waiting for? If you're ready to
build a website, you can start a free
trial today at
squarespace.com/grainydays.
[music] And if you use the code
grainydays at checkout, you can get 10%
off your first purchase.
So, was it a $7 well spent or would I
have been happier hitting the dollar
menu seven times? Well, I'd say I got a
few shots that are worth considering for
the portfolio out of it. So, yeah, I
think it probably was a $7 well spent.
And I learned a valuable lesson from it.
That lesson being you'll pay for things
I suck.
That lesson actually being maybe it's a
good idea to spend a little more on
something of proven quality rather than
literally the cheapest hunk of plastic
you can find on eBay. Sure, a good deal
is a good deal, but I think after all
this, it stands to reason that useful
work can be made with something from the
bottom of the barrel and that, you know,
fancy gear isn't always the answer.
But it sure is nice. Anyway, now this
camera's hyped up, I'm going to go sell
it on eBay for a ton of cash and buy
another M6.