fotorama pc-500

I'm gearing up for some plastic point&shoot fun throughout summer. I'm going to be talking about them on my YouTube channel so subscribe to me there if you're interested.  The first is this faux-rugged thing from Japan - the Fotorama PC-500.  It's a basic, no frills point and shoot with a decent f/4 38mm focus-free lens.  It is fully automatic so you get no creative decisions to make apart from composition and whether or not to use flash.  It does however allow you to set the ASA (ISO) of 100, 200 or 400, so I suppose you could push and pull within those settings.

The lens itself made of glass, so it's relatively sharp, especially in good light.

I enjoyed shooting with the camera mainly because it looks and feels cool in the hands.  The shutter release action is a little quirky.  That, combined with the fact that the camera is so light, may cause blur when the camera selects a slow shutter speed - and it does often for whatever reason.   About 50% of the roll came out blurry - downward blur in the direction of shutter press.  I wouldn't use this camera in a park or anywhere with lots of green vegetation because it throws the light meter off completely, causing it to select the slowest possible speed.

Having said that, sometimes if there's an obvious subject, even in a green environment, it will expose correctly and give you semi-decent photos.  I think this camera is best for street/urban photography with lots of sunshine.