The top and bottom covers were plastic, but the camera had a solid feel, and it was compact and relatively light weight. The protruding grip makes one-hand shooting easy. The film advance and the zoom lens were smooth in operation. The shutter worked at all speeds. The Hikari is a great camera.
Let me explain.
At home with the camera I inserted some new batteries and the meter came to life and seemed to be working properly; exposure is set manually, and a green LED glows when you've got it right. I was pleased to discover when I looked up the camera on line that it accepts Pentax K-mount lenses. It also features a shutter speed range from 1 sec. to 1/2000, a self timer, a double-exposure selector and a depth of focus preview button (which was lacking in the Pentax K-1000). The Hikari was marketed under several names including the Vivitar V3800N, the Promaster 2500PK Super and the Phoenix DC303N. I shot a quick roll of Kentmere 100 to test the camera, and it performed flawlessly.
I'm withholding judgment on the Hikari macro-zoom lens. Most of the shots made with it looked ok, but a few were not sharp. That may just have been some focusing error by me; the max f3.5 aperture does not provide a very bright view. I' m looking forward now to using some of my excellent K-mount Pentax lenses with the camera. Perhaps due to my long experience with the Pentax Spotmatic I am most comfortable with cameras that let me have the final say about aperture and speed settings.
