CHOOSE AND REUSE
A TETENAL UK GUIDE

CHOOSE AND REUSE

How to pick the right 35mm Reusable Film Camera, whoever you are

Picking a camera for film photography can be more complicated than it seems at a first glance. If you haven’t had a film camera before, you might not know where to get them, the different types that exist, and which ones best suit your skill level. Adjusting manually for varying light levels can be a lot to manage, especially if you haven’t used a camera with full manual settings before or, if you simply don’t care for all the fuss — some of us just want decent photos!

While buying an older camera model can get you great results, there’s the chance that aging photographic gear malfunctions or breaks, leaving you with a camera that doesn’t work like you hoped, or an unwelcome repair bill.

Those starting out might want to avoid the initial investment and stress that buying a second hand film camera can sometimes incur, from figuring out if a camera you want works, to getting it serviced and repaired to extend its lifetime. While this is definitely a great long term approach to take, those who haven’t yet committed to film photography long-term will be reluctant to shell out more than they need to when getting started.

However, with a film photography renaissance firmly underway, a variety of disposable film cameras have been released by companies in the industry that make for a great entry point to the discipline, and to photography as a whole. To help you choose the best one for you or your customers, we have prepared a guide highlighting the key differences.

A TETENAL UK GUIDE

CHOOSE AND REUSE

How to pick the right Kodak 35mm Reusable Film Camera for you

Picking a camera for film photography can be more complicated than it seems at a first glance. If you haven’t had a film camera before, you might not know where to get them, the different types that exist, and which ones best suit your skill level. Adjusting manually for varying light levels can be a lot to manage, especially if you haven’t used a camera with full manual settings before or, if you simply don’t care for all the fuss — some of us just want decent photos!

While buying an older camera model can get you great results, there’s the chance that ageing photographic gear malfunctions or breaks, leaving you with a camera that doesn’t work like you hoped, or an unwelcome repair bill.

Those starting out might want to avoid the initial investment and stress that buying a second hand film camera can sometimes incur, from figuring out if a camera you want works, to getting it serviced and repaired to extend its lifetime. While this is definitely a great long term approach to take, those who haven’t yet committed to film photography long-term will be reluctant to shell out more than they need to when getting started.

However, with a film photography renaissance firmly underway, many of the affordable reusable film cameras produced by companies in the industry can be a great entry point to the discipline, and to photography as a whole. To help you choose the best one for you or your customers, we have prepared a guide highlighting the key difference between a few popular choices.

Kodak M35 & M38

The Kodak M35 is one of the most accessible 35mm cameras you can find, and for good reason! There’s no need to think about focusing, thanks to the focus free lens found on this camera. All you need worry about is giving it enough light. If it does start getting dark, and you want to give your camera some help, the M35’s powerful flash will allow you to get brilliant photos, even at night.

If that isn’t powerful enough, look to the Kodak M38, which houses a 30% more powerful flash than the M35 so your night time snaps can be clearer than ever. In addition, the M38 weighs just a tad more, which gives you added stability to prevent motion blur, and get even sharper details in your photos.

A simple, fixed lens reusable camera like the M35 or M38 thrives at shooting film on the go. As long as your subject is one metre away or further, you’ll have no trouble achieving focus. Just compose, click and continue with your day.

Kodak F9 Ultra from Tetenal
Kodak F9 Ultra from Tetenal

Kodak Ultra F9

Kodak F9 Ultra from Tetenal

The Kodak Ultra F9 adopts many features of the Kodak M35 and M38 and elevates them as part of a more premium product. Not only does the F9 feature nods to classic rangefinder style film cameras of the past, it’s weight further enhances stability when taking photos to ensure your final image is a sharp as possible.

As the name suggests, this reusable camera packs an F/9 lens that will deliver sharper, more punchy photos. In addition to this, the flash that you get in the Kodak Ultra F9 is just as powerful as that of the Kodak M38, giving you more freedom to focus on getting the right framing and angles for your photos and allowing you to go from night to day without thinking twice about having enough light.

Kodak Ektar H35

It’d be a shame not to include one of the newest and most unique camera’s in the Kodak Film Camera line.

The first thing you’ll probably notice about the Kodak Ektar H35 is its design, which is based on the Kodak Instamatic, a simple but iconic 60s film camera silhouette. This lends the H35 an unmistakable retro look that stands out for all the right reasons.

This reusable film camera also shoots half-frame photos instead of the full frame 35mm snaps many reusable cameras do, which means you get twice as many photos from your roll of film as you would from using a full-frame film camera.

Combine that with a powerful flash and an F/9.5 lens – the sharpest of the bunch – and you’ve got a very capable camera.

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