The new Kodak Ektar H35 is actually made by analog camera company Reto, which has licensed the Kodak brand name for this camera. It’s a no-frills point and shoot camera in true Kodak tradition and comes in a choice of four colors.
The half frame format is a historical oddity. It uses the same 35mm film as regular cameras, but instead of capturing an image horizontally it captures two smaller, vertical images in the same space.
This means negatives half the size and, we suspect, some difficulties in finding labs that can carry out half-frame developing and print processing. Retopro turns this obstacle into an opportunity, however, suggesting all sorts of creative ‘twin picture’ ideas for capturing two images side by side.
You can shoot half-frame pictures in a horizontal format too, but it would mean turning the camera through 90 degrees and holding it vertically.
Reto Kodak Ektar H35 details
The Kodak Ektar H35 is a pretty simple camera with few controls and an extremely tempting price tag of just $49.99 (about £40/AU$70). At that price it stacks up well against rival analog golden-oldies from Lomography.
It comes in four colors: Sand, Sage, Brown and Black. The lens is a simple two-element 22mm f/9.5 plastic optic and power comes from a single AAA battery, which powers a built-in flash. This is activated by a ring around the lens.
You don’t get any control over the flash, nor indeed exposure, so it’s a real point and shoot and wind on job. You can also get hard film cases in various colors for carrying five or ten 35mm film cassettes, but at $25 and upwards, these cost half as much as the camera itself.
You will be able to buy the Ektar H35 direct from the Retopro website, but there are distributors around the world if you’d prefer to buy locally. You will have to wait until the end of June 2022 before the cameras start shipping, though.
