Kodak is launching a new version of its popular half-frame camera, introducing the Ektar 35N which adds some extra features and some new retro-inspired designs.
The Kodak Ektar H35 has been one of the surprise camera launch successes in the last couple of years. This retro-styled camera shoots 35mm film using the almost-forgotted half-frame format that squeezed twice the number of exposures from a roll. With the cost of film having risen even faster than inflation, the idea that you get 72 exposures from a 36-exposure film is great for the cost-conscious – and as the camera is reusable, it is more environmentally friendly than ever-popular disposable cameras.
The new Kodak Ektar H35N's new features include a bulb setting, that lets you shoot long exposures with the camera. This is accompanied by the addition of a tripod socket in the base - to ensure that you can keep the camera steady when shooting exposures that are seconds long.
Also new is a built-in starburst filter, that allows you to create four-pointed stars from specular highlights in your image - and old-school effect that looks great when shooting candles or city lights after dark.
The lens has also had a slight improvement - it's a fixed 22mm two-element wide-angle. But the maximum aperture is now f/8 rather than f/9.5 - and is constructed with one glass element, rather than both being plastic.
The new version of the camera will come in six different colors. Three featured an attratively-retro ribbed front panel - that will be available in silver, black, or green. Alternatively, you can opt for a more psychedelic, glazed front panel - which will come in orange, pink, or blue.
Key features that remain the same include a built-in manually-selected flash, powered by a single AAA battery. Film advance and rewind are done manually, and the shutter speed is fixed at 1/100sec. It again weighs around 100g. Both cameras are made by retro camera specialists RETO Project, under license from Kodak.
The new Kodak Ektar 35N will go on sale in October priced at $64.99 – $15 more than the original Ektar 35 camera.
