Smallest bodied AF 35mm slr?

Gerry M · Jul 27, 2011

What is/are the smallest bodied 35mm slr with autofocus?

F/1.4 · Jul 27, 2011

Smallest I know of is the Nikon N55.

Vonder · Jul 27, 2011

Most of the big 4 (Canon Nikon Pentax and Minolta) made small AF SLRs. The smallest? Is that even relevant? Smallest means nothing here. The small cameras are all SMALL. They are small by design. Pick one. Pick a Minolta Maxxum 3, or a Nikon N75 or a... the list goes on and on.

If "small" is the only criterion, get a decent P&S camera. There are plenty of those too and take great pics.

Gerry M · Jul 27, 2011

Wolfeye said:
Most of the big 4 (Canon Nikon Pentax and Minolta) made small AF SLRs. The smallest? Is that even relevant? Smallest means nothing here. The small cameras are all SMALL. They are small by design. Pick one. Pick a Minolta Maxxum 3, or a Nikon N75 or a... the list goes on and on.

If "small" is the only criterion, get a decent P&S camera. There are plenty of those too and take great pics.

"Relevant?" Yes, it is to me.
To put my question in perspective, in 35mm slr's, I have/use/shoot: OM1, 2n, OM4T, XE-7, SRT101, 202, F100. Also, Rollei 35TE and a few P&S's. Also own/use ETRSi, Mamiya 7, Rolleicord Vb. Also some Nikon D's and Sony R1 + digi P&S's.
I was hoping that an slr autofocus body exists that, size wise, is closer to the OM's than the XE-7!
I hope that clarifies my question.

Rick A · Jul 27, 2011

I bought my wife an OM-77af, the body is small enough but the lenses more than make up for size. The 70-210af zoom is a freakin monster! The 35-70 is large diameter, and short(relatively). They are not only bulky, they weigh a ton compared to their manual focus counterparts. I'll stick to my manual focus cameras. If you want small auto focus, get a p&s zoom with that feature. Pentax, Fujifilm, and most all major manufacturers made them.

lxdude · Jul 27, 2011

The Pentax *ist is dinky. It might even be the tiny-ist.

Gerry M · Jul 27, 2011

Thanks to all for your input.

tomalophicon · Jul 27, 2011

Lol wolfeye, you so cranky.

That N75 you suggested looks great though.

brucemuir · Jul 27, 2011

tomalophicon said:
Lol wolfeye, you so cranky.

That N75 you suggested looks great though.

I had aan N65 many moons ago and it uses a rubber band to keep the back closed

zsas · Jul 27, 2011

Haaa!! Had a N65 but really loved it! Very nice hand-hold-ability and seemed very small, now that smallness goes away when you mount a lens. Hey Nikon folks - did Nikon ever make a AF pancake?

tomalophicon · Jul 27, 2011

brucemuir said:
I had aan N65 many moons ago and it uses a rubber band to keep the back closed

Is there anything the humble rubber band can't do????

brucemuir · Jul 27, 2011

zsas said:
Haaa!! Had a N65 but really loved it! Very nice hand-hold-ability and seemed very small, now that smallness goes away when you mount a lens. Hey Nikon folks - did Nikon ever make a AF pancake?

The Plastic Fantastic (that's what it's called in CanonLand) AF 50 1.8 is the closest thing I believe.
I'm pretty sure the 45 was only available in manual.

BobD · Jul 28, 2011

Some of the Olympus IS-series were pretty small. These were fixed-zoom lens 35mm SLRs.

darinwc · Jul 28, 2011

I think pentax made the smallest AF SLR.
That said, small can be too small. I prefer the AF slrs with a little more of a grip, such as the nikon N80. Its not the best at anything but it fits me fine.

daveandiputra · Jul 28, 2011

I think small is very relative, even for me (i think as an average size asian, i qualify as small ) the EOS rebel Xs feels to small and needed a battery holder just to make it right.
Add to that none of the zoom lenses are considered small, there's light zoom, but I don't think there's a small AF zoom.
So i guess if small is the question any of the entry level ( EOS rebel, up to n65, pentax *st, etc) paired with any of the 50mm 1.8 or 1.7 would be the one I choose ( that being said the likes of mid class body like elan7 and F80 is not larger and with better functions)

Andrew K · Jul 28, 2011

Pentax MZ-5/MZ-5N - small bodies - spot average metering(from memory), auto (aperture/shutter) and full match needle (well match LED) manual. I used a couple for a few years. Pentax 50/1.7 and the old F (early series) 70-210 are great/cheap lenses...

I went from using Canon New F1's to these, adn they were easy to change over to as they have actual shutter speed dials and aperture rings you can move....

F/1.4 · Jul 28, 2011

Nikon hasn't made any AF Pancakes, i'm not sure if there was enough room for the screwdrive coupling.

bblhed · Jul 28, 2011

Alright all you N65 haters out there, be nice, my 3 year old daughter has an N65 that I got for her with a plastic 28-100 zoom on it and she loves it. I think it has something to do with it weighing less than her Kodak Cameo Motor P&S, this weight difference puzzles me as well.

So put it in perspective, if you were a 3 year old girl that was only using an overweight P&S, or disposable cameras, you would love the N65 too. *L*

brucemuir · Jul 28, 2011

No hatin' here.
To add insult to injury when I bought that N65 body I got burned by one of the Brooklyn scammers.
Shows you how far we can come

Vonder · Jul 28, 2011

To clarify, small-EST doesn't matter. Small may matter, but if say, the Komica F72 and a half was

"The world's smallest EVER 35mm SLR, measuring 1/10oz LESS than our competitors!"

Would you rush out to buy it? Woo hoo! Look at me, I got THE SMALLEST 35mm SLR Ever!!! All I'm saying is any of the small SLRs are small, and the smallest isn't a selling point. That extra 1/10oz don't mean diddly. Or does it?

"Man, that bear wouldn't have caught him if he had been carrying the Komica F72 and a half. That extra 2/10oz did him in."

When I want a lightweight camera I take my N75. It's probably not THE smallest. But small. And like everyone has mentioned, you do need a lens on the camera. So small loses even more relevance.

LyleB · Jul 28, 2011

I like my N75. Very light, pretty small, takes great photos. Wouldn't use it to pound nails, but it's sturdy enough.

BetterSense · Jul 28, 2011

I have to agree that some of the Pentax AF 35mms are the smallest I have seen. Not the lightest--I don't see how something could me much lighter than the N75--but the smallest.

MattKing · Jul 28, 2011

The Canon EOS 300/Rebel 2000 is quite small, very light and incredibly cheap.

Even with the accessory BP200 battery pack.

j-dogg · Jul 28, 2011

Maxxum 4. I had one, thing could almost fit in my pocket without a lens.

wotalegend · Jul 28, 2011

This is one of those questions where everyone will give you a different answer based on their own experience and preference. So here is mine: I have a number of Nikon bodies. I think the smallest and lightest regardless of manual or auto focus is my F75 (N75 in the US) which is not bad considering that it contains a motor for "screw drive" auto focus. For light weight and size it matches the FM10 which is manual focus only. I think that the lightest and smallest auto focus lens I have is the 50/1.8 AF-D, although I also have a Voigtlander Ultron 40/2 which is even smaller and lighter and which I prefer to use on the F75 for its lightness, compactness and its slightly wide angle of view. However that lens is a bit of a hybrid design: it has the electronic bits to support matrix metering and changing aperture by the thumb wheel on the body, but it is manual focus. I have had the F75 since new in 2004, which was just about the end of its model run and it has been completely reliable in spite of being nearly 100% plastic construction.

Smallest bodied AF 35mm slr?

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