Not that compact, not that good looking. Those were the first things that came to my mind when I held the camera the first time but I was in need of a film camera for the summer and this one had all sorts of automation. I decided to take it.
I used this camera the whole summer — I took it to parties, road trips, festivals, and pretty much everywhere I went. The more I used it, the more I started to like it. It wasn't the smallest camera (125 × 76 × 46 mm) but it felt great in hand. You can get a firm grip, and shooting with one hand isn't a problem. The weight isn't a problem either — at 300 grams, you can wear this around your neck the whole day with no problems.
The Canon AF35M II has a 38 mm f/2.8-16 lens, which is quite bright for this type of camera. It’s sharp and I haven’t noticed any distortions in my photos. The AF35M II has a good lens and the best part is that there’s a built-in cover for it so the lens won’t get scratched. The lens cover also covers the auto meter system, so at the same time, it’s kind of an on/off button.
Almost everything is automated — light meter takes care of your exposure, there’s autofocus, the motor drive advances your film for you and rewinds when you say so. It takes pictures quite fast and shutter speeds from 1/8s to 1/500s get the job done in different conditions. One-eighth of a second gives you blurred images most of the time, but in my opinion, a blurred image is better than no image at all. There’s just only one thing which annoys me… the camera is loud! I once tried to use the camera discreetly, but as soon as I pushed the button, it was a secret no longer.
The only thing that isn't automated is the flash but there’s a chart to help you get your flash shots right. The good thing about this camera's flash is that you can decide when to use it. Some cameras tend to make that decision for you.
I know there’s are thousands of compact film cameras which are almost silent and with automated flash, but at the end of the day, my choice would still be my Canon AF35M II. After that summer, I realized that there was a special bond between me and this camera. All the flaws have become advantages. I don’t mind this camera being bulky and I can’t wait for the next time when I hear the loud KA-BOOM when I push the shutter button!
