Affinity for 35mm Point-&-Shoot Cameras

 

In today's blog I want to share my thoughts about 35mm compact film cameras. A few months ago, with no particular reasons whatsoever, I have formed a strong affinity for 35mm compact point-&-shoot film cameras. It's not that I had never used point-&-shoot cameras before. In fact I do already owned two and they are Vivitar PN2011 and Horizon Perfekt panorama swing lens camera. If you're interested to find out the photos I made with these 2 cameras, simply do a search on the top left corner of this blog site.

Well it seems I have "poisoned" myself with G.A.S. aka Gear Acquisition Syndrome. In case some of you do not know what G.A.S. is all about, here's a simple definition.

It's a strain of addictive retail therapy commonly associated with photographers. It involves purchasing gear at a rate that's higher than needed and often distracts from the activity the gear is intended for.

I must say my addiction is merely mild. I'm not extremely addicted to any specific gears, neither film nor digital. I'm still rational enough and able to consider all the relevant criteria like, if this photography tool works in my favours for street photography. No doubt those old school vintage designs are certainly attractive. It's more of the camera's functions than appearance that matter. The availability of these cameras in the local market is another. Of course you can get your desired model over at eBay or Etsy.

These point-&-shoot cameras were once the most dominating products in the global consumer market and their retail prices were affordable that almost every domestic household back in the 70s all the way through the 90s, would owned at least one set, either for family home or vacation photo-taking. When the digital technology took over, its  popularity along with film photography eventually declined.

In recent years, point-&-shoot cameras have gained back its popularity. For certain brands and high-end camera models, the market resale price has had gone up ridiculously high. As all camera manufacturers have already ventured into digital format, all these vintage point-&-shoot cameras had ceased production. Neither are there spare parts for repair should the camera break down.

So you see, I'm not the impulsive type of consumer. But to hands on and shoot with the desired cameras, is purely an enjoyment. Yes I have a few cameras in mind that I want to own and shoot with. With those high price tags, I can still purchase, shoot with it for some time and then sell it at a slightly lower resale price. Or I can use it until it's dead and keep it as a collectible for display.

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I bought a Yashica Minitec AF (pictured above). This camera is really compact and it feels good in my hands. Super easy to operate. The only downside is its slow focusing time, even after I half-pressed the shutter button to focus and fully pressed to take the shot, there's a delay of about 1-3 seconds. Well, shooting still objects like architectural buildings, and people posing for photos, would be ideal.

As I bought it from our local Carousell seller, who has a large collection of compact point-&-shoot cameras and willing to sell them off for reasonable prices. Fortunately I bargained for SGD $30 as the built-in flash is dead. Well it doesn't matter to me as I don't use flash often for street photography. Without a user manual, I searched online and just couldn't find the correct specifications until I came across one on Flickr, and I assume the specifications are accurate.

Release Date: 1992
Camera Type: 35mm Lens shutter camera
Lens: Kyocera Lens 32mm f/3.5, 4 elements in 3 groups
Focus: Active infrared auto-focus with a provision for shooting distance scenarios (manual settings to inf) and a focus lock.
Focusing Range: 1.2 m ~ infinity
Shutter: Programmed electronic shutter ... unverified but looks like 1/60 sec. ~ 1/200 sec.
Viewfinder: Albada-type, green light - focusing completed signal, red light - flash ready signal.
Film Speed Range: ISO 100/200 or 400 (DX-code system)
Flash: Auto / On /red eye 1.2-3.2m effective range with ISO100 film.

Other Features: Automatic film loading, Automatic film advance, Automatic film rewind with mid-roll rewind facility, Self-timer - 10s.
Power Source: two AA-type batteries (alkaline or manganese)
Dimensions: 118 mm X 64 mm X 43 mm
Weight: 180 g (without batteries)

Overall, I do enjoy using this camera and will continue to shoot with it. Will share the street photos on this blog site from time to time. So do subscribe for new updates. Thank you for reading this blog. Have a great week ahead! Cheers!