Compact Cameras

Compact film camera reviews – here you will find reviews and experiences covering all sorts of different types of compact film camera. These include point & shoot and advanced compact cameras, disposable cameras and scale focus cameras.

As with all the content on this website, if you find something of interest, you can find more similar products by clicking on the tags you will find at the bottom of the reviews.

Fuji Zoomdate 1300 – Is that a telephoto in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

By / / Point & Shoot / 10 Comments

Hi, fellow photography (and camera) nerds! Gaston W. here, reminiscing about a time when ‘zoom’ meant something on a camera, not an awkward work meeting. Today I’ll be recounting tales of my experiences and appreciation for the unpretentious Fuji Zoomdate 1300. It’s like having your own personal time machine to the 2000s, minus the questionable fashion choices and dial-up internet.  This little gem is an affordable zoom point and shoot that has accompanied me on numerous street photography adventures. With its focal length starting at 28mm and an unimposing demeanour, this compact camera has managed to capture some good looking images (I hope), despite a few quirks. Let’s delve into what makes this camera truly exceptional (and why it’s a fantastic alternative to the likes of the overpriced Yashica T4).

Durst Automatica – Overcoming Scale Focus Fears with an Italian Beauty

By / / Scale Focus / 10 Comments

My photographic journey took a new route recently. I had been scared of scale focus and viewfinder cameras for years – I mean how would one shoot people and portraits with a shallow depth of field without being able to critically adjust the focus on their eyes? Guessing exact distance isn’t something I’ve ever been confident with. And zone focusing isn’t anything I had ever tried before in anger though I knew how to set distance on a lens it seemed far easier to use something like a manual rangefinder or SLR for what I like to photograph – especially as my main interest is travel and with travel there’s people.

Canon Resized MultiTele

Canon Multi Tele – The Long Half-Life of a Canon Half-Frame Camera

By / / Point & Shoot / 1 Comment

The Kodak Ektar H35 half-frame camera captivated photographers in 2022 with its retro simplicity. The little plastic film camera is sourced from an overseas manufacturer, Reto, not Kodak, to capitalize on film’s resurgent popularity. The H35 offers one button and one shutter speed (1/100 sec.), but no control of aperture, DX coding, macro, or self-timer.
Offered in four colors, the H35 resembles a mash-up of an Instamatic, a Vivitar Wide & Slim, and a Canon Demi. If you squint. I’m fond of half-frame and quarter-frame cameras as a storytelling option, but I balked at the $49.99 (USD) price for a startlingly basic camera . Rooting through my film camera vault, I unearthed a Canon Sure-Shot Multi-Tele camera I’d purchased in 2003 for $44 via eBay.

minox IIIs_agfa_apx_25

So you want to get into Minox photography?

By / / Gear Theory, Point & Shoot, Processes, Tutorials & Guides / 16 Comments

Would it be a good move for you? I honestly don’t know. Would it? It all depends, I guess, on why you just  bought one (am I right?). Perhaps you found one in an old box of stuff? Out of curiosity? You had a Minox once and have a wish to revisit the gone years? Have you heard marvellous things about this little camera? The Minox and its place in the photography world lies, as they say, in the eye (or hands, as it were) of the beholder (the user).

Indeed, from what I have seen in the last 20+ yrs of using Minox 8×11 cameras, there aren’t two ways about it: you either love it or hate it. OK, perhaps there are some who stand in between the two, but truth of the matter is that Minox can be a somewhat demanding piece of photographic technology. I believe that the learning curve however is not that steep.

Olympus XA2

Olympus XA2 – A Brief Guide to my Every Day Carry Camera

By / / Point & Shoot, Scale Focus / 13 Comments

The Olympus XA2 is tiny, it is quick to turn on, it’s zone focus, and has a brilliant lens. In my humble opinion, it is the best EDC (every day carry) and travel camera, and a good first camera if you are starting with analog photography too.

This is my second XA2, I came across this blue XA2 in an Amsterdam thrift shop. I put a battery in to check if it works, and it did. I bought the camera for 50 Euros – what a steal. I don’t hoard expensive and rare cameras, I am not a collector. It was okay to let my GAS take over and fork over the cash for this camera. I had some Nikon SLR with me for vacation, this XA2 was a fun little bonus for the remainder of my trip. I popped in a roll of Portra 400  and proceeded to document my trip.

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