Kodak Ektar H35 half frame camera review part deux!

[BHuij]

Almost thou persuadest me to buy a Kodak half frame. It would be a fun camera to have around for snapshots. But with the price and availability of consumer C-41 color films right now, maybe I'll wait until the used market has these for less than $50...

 

[Huss]

Almost thou persuadest me to buy a Kodak half frame. It would be a fun camera to have around for snapshots. But with the price and availability of consumer C-41 color films right now, maybe I'll wait until the used market has these for less than $50...

I'm not sure if these ever hit the used market. Plus I'd be very wary about how the previous owner handled it. The rewind mechanism feels very delicate...

 

[BHuij]

I'm not sure if these ever hit the used market. Plus I'd be very wary about how the previous owner handled it. The rewind mechanism feels very delicate...

Heh, that's a fair point. I'm just having a hard time swallowing the $50 price tag for such a cheaply made camera, even after seeing surprisingly good results.

 

[Huss]

Heh, that's a fair point. I'm just having a hard time swallowing the $50 price tag for such a cheaply made camera, even after seeing surprisingly good results.

I get that. I really wish it was $20-$30 but this is the reality we are in. I have to say while it is cheaply made, they put in a decent lens, it is completely free of light leaks, it is super light weight which actually makes it even nicer to have around and above all it is a boat load of fun to use. And it does look awesome.

$50? I bought a Nikon N75 w 28-80G lens for $30!! But if Nikon was selling that new, it would be $800+ now.

It is a very unusual feeling to pretty much have zero control over the outcome - apart from film selection. But in a way that is also what makes it so appealing, and so good to hand to friends, give as a gift etc. There is nothing remotely intimidating about it.

 

[BHuij]

I get that. I really wish it was $20-$30 but this is the reality we are in. I have to say while it is cheaply made, they put in a decent lens, it is completely free of light leaks, it is super light weight which actually makes it even nicer to have around and above all it is a boat load of fun to use. And it does look awesome.

$50? I bought a Nikon N75 w 28-80G lens for $30!! But if Nikon was selling that new, it would be $800+ now.

It is a very unusual feeling to pretty much have zero control over the outcome - apart from film selection. But in a way that is also what makes it so appealing, and so good to hand to friends, give as a gift etc. There is nothing remotely intimidating about it.

Yeah, I have been shooting various formats for something like 15 years now and gotten really used to just doing everything manually. A few months ago I got really curious about the hype around point & shoots that was spiking prices up on unexceptional cameras that used to be $5 on eBay. Part of me liked the idea of having a small, compact, but reasonably capable camera around with me all the time that I could use to at least produce a good 35mm negative if I stumbled onto a scene worth photographing. So I spent $80 ($80!) on a Pentax Espio. It had so few controls that I couldn't even tell the camera to override the automatic decision to turn the flash on if I didn't want flash (which is 99.9999% of the time). Although the negatives that came out of it were fine, I couldn't deal with the lack of creative control, so I sold it after a few rolls.

The only reason this camera appeals is because I know exactly what I'm getting into, and I'd want to have it around for snapshots, rather than "art."

 

[ciniframe]

The rewind and back looks identical to my Wide and Slim, as does the 22mm lens (tiny front element/large rear element). No surprise as Reto is also selling that model too. I would think if one were very careful with winding on and rewinding that it could last for some time. As for price? Yeah, seems a bit steep but a Holga with a built-in flash is $59.99 at B&H so.....maybe not so bad after all.
By the way, the Reto Wide and Slim, which does not have a flash, is available for $29.99 and is even 'in stock', while the half frame Kodak is not.

But, on the other hand, they also have a 'Kodak' reloadable 35mm with a flash and 31mm single element plastic lens for $23.99, but it does not look near as nice as the H35.

 

[Huss]

The rewind and back looks identical to my Wide and Slim, as does the 22mm lens (tiny front element/large rear element). No surprise as Reto is also selling that model too. I would think if one were very careful with winding on and rewinding that it could last for some time. As for price? Yeah, seems a bit steep but a Holga with a built-in flash is $59.99 at B&H so.....maybe not so bad after all.
By the way, the Reto Wide and Slim, which does not have a flash, is available for $29.99 and is even 'in stock', while the half frame Kodak is not.

But, on the other hand, they also have a 'Kodak' reloadable 35mm with a flash and 31mm single element plastic lens for $23.99, but it does not look near as nice as the H35.

The Kodak H35 is available at a lot of places, including Amazon with free next day shipping if you are a Prime member.
B&H is not the only shop on the planet...

The lens does seem to be the same as the Reto UW. The only difference seems to be the aperture size.

But if you want a half frame camera, this is the only game in town. New w/ warranty etc. That other Kodak camera is not a half frame.

 

[ciniframe]

The Kodak H35 is available at a lot of places, including Amazon with free next day shipping if you are a Prime member.
B&H is not the only shop on the planet...

The lens does seem to be the same as the Reto UW. The only difference seems to be the aperture size.

But if you want a half frame camera, this is the only game in town. New w/ warranty etc. That other Kodak camera is not a half frame.

Yeah, I know the other one is full frame, I was just addressing the price issue with ‘toy’ cameras. B&H has always been my goto to check prices and availability but with supply problems it seems not so much anymore. Today their site was completely out of both Kodak and Fuji 35mm color negative film, nothing! Amazon seems to have plenty, at $20 a roll for Gold 200.

 

[Huss]

Yeah, I know the other one is full frame, I was just addressing the price issue with ‘toy’ cameras. B&H has always been my goto to check prices and availability but with supply problems it seems not so much anymore. Today their site was completely out of both Kodak and Fuji 35mm color negative film, nothing! Amazon seems to have plenty, at $20 a roll for Gold 200.

If you want to buy colour film, Amazon is the last choice unless you want to be gouged. Even my local Riteaid drug store has Fuji C200 for $28 3pack 36 exp.
B&H really is the worst place to check availability of anything. They are always back ordered when stuff is available elsewhere. I think it's because so many bloggers/websites have the 'buy from B&H' link on their sites so they get that kickback, that has everyone going there.
When I bought my D850, and more recently Z7, B&H was back ordered for months. I got both cameras in 3 days from Roberts Camera, with a free extra battery thrown in!
My recent purchases of the CV 40 2.8 - Cameraquest as out of stock at B&H. Direct from TTA for my 28mm 5.6 in black as out of stock at B&H. I could go on....

How I now by film is literally google the film, click on the 'shopping' tab, and see who has it in stock and also see who has the best prices. There are plenty of places out there!

 

[ciniframe]

Thanks for the heads up Huss. I hate *HATE* shopping but at the same time don’t want to get overcharged.
I have actually bought a lens from the Pergear site, the 10mm pancake lens. It was pure chance, opened the site one morning, relaxing with my coffee. For some reason they had that lens in my mount for $45! Free shipping and they didn’t add sales tax. Couldn’t get my card out fast enough. Two days later I checked and the price was back to $79.
Now I check company sites on a regular basis. Sometimes they might have a great deal.

 

[BHuij]

Hahaha Amazon has 3 packs of Gold 200 135-36 for the low low price of $58. Even with a half frame that's more than a quarter a shot.

 

[Huss]

Hahaha Amazon has 3 packs of Gold 200 135-36 for the low low price of $58. Even with a half frame that's more than a quarter a shot.

What is interesting about Amazon is it seems to be mainly the colour film that has ridiculous prices. I've bought Ilford HP5 36 exp from them for about $7/roll, and they are by far the cheapest source for Shanghai 220 film.
But colour film? fughedaboutit

 

[Roger Cole]

Mine arrived today. Since I'm just getting back into photography my considerable stash of film is ALL outdated by 10 years or at least 8, though it has also all been cold stored - refrigerated for most of it, the E6 frozen. But given it's going to take a while to crank off 72 shots I'm waiting for my order of fresh XP 2 Super to arrive before loading it.

 

[BHuij]

Welp... I bit the bullet and ordered one from Amazon. The reviews there are pretty bad, it seems like maybe there are QC issues. People reporting film not advancing, flash not working, etc. Hard to suss out which of those are lemon cameras and which ones are just people not knowing how to use a camera. I'll keep my fingers crossed that mine shows up in working order

 

[Roger Cole]

Reading those reviews it was hard not to think many of the problems were what we used to call in computer desktop support PEBKAC errors - Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair, or also eye-dee-ten-tee errors: User=ID10T. Some do sound like QC, granted. Mine seems to work fine. I loaded a roll and so far have shot two exposures, one of which will be badly underexposed because I was relying on the flash and my kitchen lighting (from about 4' from him) to take a photo of my dog, and the red LED was lit so I thought it was charged. It wasn't. It gets really bright when it's finally fully charged. Second shot should be as ok as it's likely to get with that camera with little built in flash. We shall see. Seventy more exposures of XP2 to go!

 

[BHuij]

Yep, I work in an IT-adjacent data field and am very familiar with diagnosing PEBKAC and ID10T errors Excited to shoot mine.

 

[Huss]

Welp... I bit the bullet and ordered one from Amazon. The reviews there are pretty bad, it seems like maybe there are QC issues. People reporting film not advancing, flash not working, etc. Hard to suss out which of those are lemon cameras and which ones are just people not knowing how to use a camera. I'll keep my fingers crossed that mine shows up in working order

I mentioned early on on my review that the camera feels like it could be easily broken if someone was clumsy with it.
Unless you know the background of the AMZ reviewer, it's hard to tell how the fault originated.

I think this could be a good camera for a beginner, if an experienced user loaded it for them...

Looking at my shooting history on filmtrakr.com, I have so far shot 4 rolls through it - so almost 300 exposures - with no issues.

 

[shead]

I'm developing a roll of Eastman X2 that I ran through my new Ektar H35 tomorrow, I'll report back with results in a new thread. Love the feel and simplicity of this camera.

 

[chennn]

这个相机看起来很有趣.The sample looks good too

 

[xkaes]

But if you want a half frame camera, this is the only game in town.

Hardly.

http://www.subclub.org/shop/halframe.htm

 

[Huss]

Hardly.

http://www.subclub.org/shop/halframe.htm

What a surprise, spamming a thread w links to your website.

In your other thread that you created about a camera you got you refused to actually use it. I offered to test it so everyone could see what it could do. You refused. Instead just spamming threads.