Review: Nikon L35AF

The Nikon L35AF (Pikaichi) is a nice little camera, if a bit dated. It came out in the 80’s and is a pretty nice point and shoot camera. It has a lot of features, such as auto rewind, auto zone focus, and a built in flash. I picked up a L35AF from KEH for a bit over $270. After running a few rolls of film through it, I came to a conclusion as to how I felt about it.

Nikon L35AF Shooting Kodak 400tx

I love the shot above. It’s a real favorite of mine. The camera correctly auto focused and auto exposed to give me the image above. However, a balanced exposure isn’t always the ideal.

Nikon L35AF + Red filter shooting Kodak 400tx

I like the fact that the lens is threaded to take filters. In the above shot, I added a red filter to get more contrast in the sky.

Above is a problem. While it might look interesting from a creative aspect, this wasn’t intentional. This is the problem I struggle with this camera. The camera’s minimum focus distance is a bit large (2.6'). Nearly 3 feet are required to get that focus.

Stepping back 3 feet, gives the zone focus capability, but it also brings in more of the shot that may change the appeal of the shot. I suppose it could be cropped out later, but that’s where we go.

The real problem with the Auto Focus on this camera is that it doesn’t give an indication of “too close.” This has led to a ton of missed shots or soft focus.

Nikon L35AF shooting Kodak Ektar 100

The lens is sharp. I’d say it’s very sharp… or maybe I should say detailed. We get all the details, such as the tree above, without the common digital sharpening artificats and the sky is pure, without digital banding. Dynamic Range of film is more natural when compared to the digital variation.

For a quick point and shoot it works really well… you just need to make sure you stand back at least 3 feet!

Pros

• The camera lens is very sharp, rendering a ton of detail
• The camera comes with a built in flash
• It will auto focus to a zone
• Has auto rewind of the film
• Small and light footprint

Cons

• There’s no indication if the subject is too close to focus
• The minimum focus distance is around 3 feet
• Lacking manual overrides