All cameras are film tested unless new and sealed in packaging. Any repairs or modifications will be described. If it runs on batteries, they will be included.
(There’s more in the lab, drop by!)
Cameras
Canon Sure Shot 115u Date – $135
38-115mm(!) f/4.6 zoom lens covering a wide-normal to telephoto range.
Passive autofocus (external 3-point phase detection sensor).
Shutter: 1/440~2 sec.
Programmed auto-exposure. Remembers your flash preference even after power-off.
Reads film DX codes. Accepts 25~3200 speed 35mm film.
Self timer modes, LCD frame counter and information display.
Runs on a CR2 battery.
Auto-load, motor advance (1 fps) and motor rewind.
Strap included.
Date stamp capability.
Canon Snappy Q / Canon Sketchbook (a.k.a. The Sunfish) – $45
35mm f/4.5 Normal-wide lens. (Fixed focus)
Shutter: Fixed at 1/70(!) second. Not a typo. Pan and track to capture moving subjects in sharp detail with blurred and flowing backgrounds.
Programmed auto-exposure.
Rated for 100~400 ASA 35mm film, but nothing stops you from loading faster or slower film.
Automatic flash, can be forced off. Easy to trick into “flash always on” mode. Cover the light sensor with a finger, half-press the shutter button, and watch in horror as your sunfish pops a red rocket.
A mechanical self-timer lever, for some reason.
Drop-in loading, motor advance and motor rewind.
Takes 2 AA batteries.
Has a switch that allows you to shoot through the textured lens cover, which doubles as a “sketchbook filter.” It’s fun in spirit, even if it doesn’t really look that good.
Comes with lanyard strap.
Dreamlike rendering. This is probably one of the strangest cameras Canon has ever made. They were just churning out EOS cameras and sober brick-shaped automatics around this time like everybody else, when they broke rhythm and released this goofy surrealist lump of a camera.
Nikon Zoom-Touch 400 AF – $55
35-70mm f/3.5 zoom lens, covering “standard wide” to “short telephoto.”
Shutter: Exact range unspecified, but appears to be 1/500~1/3 second.
Programmed auto-exposure.
Active auto focus (IR beam).
Flash modes, self-timer, infinity lock mode.
Reads film DX codes. Rated for 100, 200, 400, and 1000 speed films.
Drop-in loading, motor advance and motor rewind.
Takes a CR-P2 battery.
Manual, strap, and panoramic frame mask included.
The paper specs aren’t terribly impressive, but Nikon compacts tended offer higher performance in exchange for extra bulk. This tiny robotic contraption can handily replace the classic “3 lenses and flash setup” rangefinder setup of ye olde days. Now you can fill the empty space in your camera bag with snacks and whatever else you want.
Minox 35 EL – $150 (Professionally overhauled) Last one!
35mm f/2.8 Normal-wide lens.
Shutter: 1/500 sec. max speed, slowest shutter speed between1~30 seconds depending on film ASA setting. Shutter button threaded for cable release.
Aperture priority auto-exposure. You set the aperture, camera sets shutter speed.
Film speed (ASA 25~800) set by selector wheel on bottom plate.
Hot shoe connection for flash.
Takes a PX27 battery.
Detachable back. Manual load, manual rewind.
This is a seriously tiny device, just about the size of a deck of playing cards or a pack of cigarettes. Design-wise it’s about as small as a camera like this can possibly get. Just disappears in the pocket of your jeans. Certainly there are smaller 35mm film cameras, but those other ones take weird film or require you to do some janky nonsense with weird and rare (read: expensive) cassettes.
Minox C – $200
Uses 8×11 Minox cartridge microfilm. Sold and developed at Mayfield Photo Lab!
15mm f/3.5, fixed aperture. Manual focus from infinity down to 8 inches. Equates to a roughly 40mm wide-normal field of view.
Shutter speeds from 1/15 second to 1/1000 (in manual mode). Slower speeds are only available in Auto mode.
Programmed auto-exposure with easy manual override.
Viewfinder frame-lines are connected to the focusing dial, and will automatically shift for parallax correction.
AE system rated for 6~400 speed film. Use manual mode for film speeds beyond this range.
Has freewheeling mechanism. Can be opened and closed without wasting a shot, unlike older versions.
Accepts a single PX27 battery.
Designed to be a pocketable low-hassle camera that anyone could use, the inventor of the Minox was disappointed to see inventory being snatched up for state and corporate espionage for much of the 20th century. The Minox is now completely obsolete in our modern day as a spying tool, meaning it can finally be used as its creator intended: dropped in a pocket and forgotten until drawn for a candid snapshot, or close-ups of desserts, loved ones, flowers, and cool bugs. A fully automatic/manual film camera that takes up the same pocket footprint as a vape.