| Introduced: | 1934 |
| Type: | cartridge film |
| Typical Frame Sizes: | 36 x 24 mm |
| 24 x 18 mm | |
| Currently: | in production |
135 Film is a 35mm cartridge film standardized by Eastman Kodak in 1934. The film stock found inside 135 cartridges has been around for much longer, of course; Thomas Edison himself patented the perforated film in the late 19th century for use in his groundbreaking Kinetoscope motion picture device. Fortunately for us, Edison’s patent was invalidated in 1902 which allowed his design to be freely produced by anyone. After decades of experimentation, manufacturers slowly began designing proprietary 35mm film cartridges for their cameras. The original Leica I of 1925 came with reloadable brass canisters and Ansco debuted their Memo cartridge alongside their Memo camera just two years later. With that in mind, while this category is primarily for cameras that use Kodak’s 135 film cassette, it will also include those designed for other 35mm formats like Agfa’s Karat/Rapid cartridges and Univex #200 series film (with the obvious exception of 126 film).
Released in 1934 alongside the original Kodak Retina, Kodak’s 135 cartridge was specifically designed to function not only with its own 35mm camera, but also with the groundbreaking Leica II and Zeiss Ikon Contax. This compatibility combined with the fact that these cartridges came pre-loaded with film made the 135 format a surefire winner. However, while Kodak enjoyed some initial success with the Retina, it was actually the Argus A that convinced the American public to adopt 135 film. Faced with the choice between the Retina (a high end folding camera designed and built by Kodak’s subsidiary in Germany) and the Argus A (a relatively inexpensive, simple camera manufactured in Michigan), it’s no surprise that Americans overwhelmingly chose the latter. This winning streak was continued with the enormously popular Argus C3 which only strengthened America’s love affair with 135 film.
Over the following decades, 135 film became the global standard in small format photography for amateurs and professionals alike. There was quite an assortment of 135 film on offer: negative, slide, black and white, various color temperatures, a mix of lengths (most commonly 24 or 36 frames), and a wide range of film speeds were being produced by a number of companies all over the world. Real competition didn’t come along until 1963 when Kodak released 126 film but its emphasis on amateur photography (and amateur cameras) meant that it wasn’t a serious contender for long. In 1996, Kodak introduced the Advanced Photo System (commonly known as APS): a drop-in film cartridge that traded a slightly smaller frame size for convenience but it was soon overshadowed by digital photography. Amateurs soon began turning away from 135 film (and photographic film in general) as consumer grade digital cameras became better and cheaper. Soon, higher end models like digital SLRs began finding their way into the hands of professionals. Film sales collapsed seemingly overnight as the public embraced digital technology and while 135 film continued to be readily available, the market never recovered. There are, however, groups of dedicated purists who are attempting to bring analog photography back into mainstream culture.
In addition to the cameras already mentioned, notable 35mm models include the Nikon F (which convinced countless photojournalists to abandon rangefinders in favor of SLRs) and the amazingly compact Rollei 35, and the Yashica Electro 35 which was the first camera to feature full electronic automatic exposure. Unusual 35mm cameras include specialized panoramic shooters like the KMZ Horizon and the Hasselblad XPan, the hybrid TLR/rangefinder Bolsey Model C, the Yashica Dental Eye: a fixed lens SLR designed specifically for photographing teeth, the movie camera-inspired Durst Duca, and the tiny Concava Tessina spy camera.
McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown’s Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 2001-2002. (Grantsburg, WI, USA: Centennial Photo Service, 2001), p 152, 182, 364, 387, 417, 586, 714-715.
“135 film,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/135_film
“135 film,” Camera Wiki, http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/135_film
The Petri Racer is a fixed-lens rangefinder introduced by Petri Camera Company, Inc. (formerly known as Kuribayashi Shashin Kogyo K.K.) in 1966. Similar to other Petri cameras like the 2.8 Color Super, the Racer features the signature “GREEN-O-MATIC” viewfinder which visually sets it apart from other Japanese fixed-lens rangefinders.
The Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 is a variant of the very popular Yashica FX-3 which was introduced in 1979. With its mostly plastic body weighing in at only one pound, many photographers favored the FX-3 for its lightweight, compact design coupled with its ability to mount a wide range of exceptional optics including a superb lineup of legendary Carl Zeiss T* lenses.
The Bolsey Model C is a 35mm twin lens reflex camera based on the Bolsey Model B. While the Bolsey Corp. of America produced still cameras, its founder, Ukrainian-born Yakob Bogopolsky (who later changed his name to Jacques Bolsey) is also famous for having founded the cinema camera manufacturer Bolex while living in Switzerland. Once he moved to the United States at the beginning of World War II, Mr. Bolsey produced a series of conventional and aerial cameras for the federal government.
The Kiev-4A is one of several professional grade 35mm “Kiev” rangefinders produced by the Arsenal Factory, one of the oldest and most famous industrial factories in the former Soviet Union and modern day Ukraine. After the defeat of Germany in World War II, most of the surviving equipment and schematics from the Zeiss factory were removed from Dresden and taken to the newly reestablished Arsenal Factory in Kiev. Although primarily a military factory, Arsenal also produced civilian products including copies of cameras made by other manufacturers such as Zeiss Ikon, Hasselblad, and Nikon.
The Nishika 3-D N8000 is a lenticular stereo camera produced by Nishika Optical Systems based in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, Nevada. The N8000 is heavily based on the tongue twisted Nimstec Nimslo which was developed and produced in the 1980s by Nimstec until it went bankrupt and was bought out by Nishika. Nishika itself went belly up in the 1990s when it was investigated by the United States Federal Trade Commission for using a telemarketing scam to unload cameras on a gullible American public.
The FED-5B is an interchangeable lens rangefinder introduced in 1977 by FED, a state-run optical manufacturer named after Felix E. Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet secret police. The FED-5B and its siblings (including the FED-2) were all manufactured in what is now the Ukrainian city of Kharkov in an orphanage turned labor commune.
The Nikon Nikkorex 35 II is the second of a new series of affordable, fixed-lens SLRs introduced in the 1960s and marketed as a budget alternative to Nippon Kogaku’s flagship camera: the legendary Nikon F. While the F was quickly gaining popularity for SLRs among photojournalists and other professional photographers, the Nikkorex line was designed to offer TTL (through-the-lens) capabilities to the general public at a much lower cost.
The Konica FC-1 is the motorless sibling to the FS-1, the very first 35mm SLR to feature a built-in motor drive. The FC-1 belongs to Konica’s second attempt at an SLR system which was based around the AR lens mount and continued until the company ceased production of SLRs entirely in 1987.
The Balda Super Baldina name has actually been used on two different cameras, one is a folding rangefinder introduced by Balda Kamera-Werk in 1938 and the other is the one pictured above: a fixed-lens rangefinder from the mid 1950s. Both incarnations of the Super Baldina have been released alongside view-finder only “normal” Baldinas.
The KMZ F-21 Ajax is a subminiature spy camera produced during the Cold War by the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Works just outside Moscow. The F-21 was designed and manufactured specifically for the KGB and was highly favored by Soviet intelligence for its diminutive size and ease of use. During covert operations, the Ajax could be surreptitiously operated with a remote shutter cable and concealed within a number of specially made disguises including coat buttons, belt buckles, purses, and even full-sized camera cases. The F-21 Ajax is still illegal to own in some places due to its role as an espionage tool. In 2013, Ukrainian camera collector Alexandr Komarov was arrested for owning two of these and faced up to seven years in prison.
The Canon AE-1 was one of the very first affordable SLRs with automatic exposure available to the public. During the ’70s and ’80s, competition in the SLR market among Japanese manufacturers was intense and, having lost considerable market share to its biggest rival Nikon, Canon decided to overhaul their entire line of single lens reflex cameras. Nikon more or less had complete control over the professional SLR market at the time so Canon decided to launch its A-series of consumer cameras, the most popular of which was the AE-1. By cleverly simplifying the design and using cheaper materials, Canon were able to keep their costs low and ship out over one million units during its eight year production run to amateur photographers across the globe. Due to its ubiquity, simple construction, and reliability, the AE-1 remains one of the most common manual focus SLRs still in use today.
The Konica Auto S is the first ever automatic exposure 35mm camera to be powered by a cadmium sulfide meter. Introduced by Konishiroku Shashin Kogyo K.K. in 1963, decades before it became officially known as Konica, the Auto S is also the first automatic exposure model in the “S” line of classically designed compact rangefinders.
The LOMO Smena-8M was introduced in 1970 by the Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Union. The Russian term “smena” translates into “young generation” or “relay” which is interesting because the 8M’s 25 year production outlasted the Soviet Union itself. The Smena name has existed since 1939 when the original Smena, a 35mm folding camera, was introduced by GOMZ, one of the state-run optics factories that eventually merged to become LOMO. Smenas are made almost exclusively from plastic and were designed to be inexpensive. As a testament to its success, there have been roughly 25 camera models bearing the Smena name starting from before WWII to the mid ’90s.
The Kuribayashi Petri 2.8 Color Super is a fixed-lens rangefinder produced by Kuribayashi Shashin Kogyo K.K.. Confusingly, there doesn’t seem to be an “official” model number for this camera as it’s just one of many ambiguously named fixed-lens rangefinders made by Kuribayashi in the late ’50s and early ’60s. However, the well-known McKeown’s Price Guide To Antique & Classic Cameras identifies this particular model as the “Petri 2.8 Color Super” so, for simplicity’s sake, that’s what I’m going to call it here.
The Revere Stereo 33 is a 3-D stereo rangefinder camera produced in the 1950s by the Revere Camera Co. of Chicago, Ilinois. Sadly, Revere only made three still cameras and two of them are stereo rangefinders (the other one was released under the Wollensak brand and is basically the same camera with different lenses and shutters), the third one being a plastic automatic camera that takes 127 film. There were a number of 126 film cameras sold under the Revere name in the ’60s but they were produced by Minolta under license.
The KMZ Zorki 10 is a fixed-lens rangefinder produced during the Cold War by the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Works in the city of Krasnogorsk just outside Moscow. The Zorki 10 is recognized for being the very first camera with automatic exposure ever produced in the USSR as well as the first Soviet camera to disregard the government-established GOST scale by indicating film speeds with the American/German ASA/DIN systems that would eventually become ISO, the current international standard. There is also a Zorki 11 which is basically the same camera minus the rangefinder assembly.
The Nikon F was Nikon’s very first single-lens reflex camera which, arguably, single-handedly ushered in a golden age for Japanese camera manufacturers and SLRs in general. The legendary F was the first SLR system to gain widespread popularity among professional photographers who in turn used it to document everything from armed conflicts to rocket launches. Its modular design mean that there were a multitude of different viewfinders (mine has a black Photomic FTn meter finder installed), backs, grips, and, of course, lenses available. The F is also extremely well-built and incredibly durable, attributes that helped it become the first 35mm SLR to go into lunar orbit aboard the Apollo 15 space capsule and gave rise to a long line of tough, space-faring professional-grade Nikons that continues to this very day.
The Balda Super Baldinette is a folding rangefinder and became Balda’s flagship camera in the early 1950s. Shortly after World War II, Balda moved from the eastern city of Dresden to B ünde in West Germany where founder Max Baldeweg opened a new factory and began manufacturing modified versions of existing models. Along with the Super Baldinette, there is also a “normal” Baldinette which has no rangefinder assembly.
The Agfa Optima 500 is the second-to-last model in Agfa‘s Optima line and is the direct descendant of the very first mass-produced camera ever to feature automatic exposure: the original Agfa Optima. The Optima 500 is also unique because it was released in 1964 during the corporate merger of Belgium’s Gevaert Photo-Producten N.V. and Germany’s Agfa AG. At the time, Agfa AG was owned by pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG which eventually upped it’s 50% stake in Agfa-Gevaert N.V. to 100% and controlled the company until 1999.
The Ricoh AF-60D is the data back equipped variant of the AF-60, one of half a dozen or so consumer grade autofocus point-and-shoot cameras introduced by Ricoh in the mid to late 1980s. This particular AF-60D—which was purchased by my father when I was a kid—has the distinction of being the first camera I have ever used. I remember going into my parents’ bedroom and digging the Ricoh out of my dad’s sock drawer. I remember looking through its viewfinder at the mirror and putting my finger on the shutter button like I had seen my dad do so many times. A click and whirr later, I ran away giggling.
The Spartus 35F and its twin, the Spartus 35 are simple 35mm cameras made of Bakelite, an early plastic. Modeled after the highly successful and massively influential Argus A, the 35F features a classic shape very common to 35mm cameras of its era. The 35F was manufactured in Chicago by the aptly named Spartus Corp. before it became the Herold Manufacturing Co. which is why the lens of this particular specimen bears the Herold name. Spartus Corp. and its incarnations produced a great multitude of Bakelite cameras (many of which are practically identical to each other) under a wide variety of different brand names such as Utility, Falcon, Monarch and, of course, Spartus.
Quite simply, the Argus C3 is one of the best-selling 35mm cameras in history. Aptly nicknamed “The Brick” for its size, shape, and weight, the C3 was wildly popular for much of its 27 year production run due to its simplicity, rugged dependability, and relatively low price. The C3 is the third C-series camera from Argus and the three of them are very similar. Argus’s original C features an uncoupled lens while the C2 and C3 are identical apart from the newer model having two holes on the side for the bespoke external flash unit.
I received this Konica MT-9 by mistake a few days after winning an auction for a Konica C35 EF. I opened up the package expecting a superb Hexanon-flexing wonder but was met with an unexceptional plastic compact camera instead. The seller (a charity shop) didn’t believe my story until they attempted to put this very MT-9 up for auction and included a photo of the serial number which I quickly matched to the camera I had erroneously received. Story proven, they quickly took down the auction for the MT-9 and immediately sent me my C35 along with a hastily worded but very sincere apology.
The Olympus Pen EED is a direct descendant of Japan’s very first half-frame camera: the original Olympus Pen. As it was one of the smallest available 35mm cameras at the time, the Pen was named as such because its portability could be compared to that of a (very oddly shaped, large, metal) pen. Seven years after the Olympus Pen debuted, the Germans launched the hallowed Rollei 35 which was just as small but could make normal 35mm frames and effectively heralded the end of Japanese half-frames. In defiance, this EED variant was released one year after that supposed end and, quite stubbornly, Olympus continued making Pens well into the 1980s and then revived the name in 2009 for its line of Micro Four Thirds cameras.
The Kodak 35 RF was rushed to production in Kodak’s attempt to catch up with Argus who, at the time, were having great success with their C series of consumer-friendly rangefinder cameras. Unfortunately, their entire strategy revolved around simply taking the Kodak 35 and slapping on a rangefinder assembly. However, despite their seemingly simple and cost-effective solution, the 35 RF still cost well over twice as much as the ubiquitous Argus C3 and therefore remained eating its proverbial dust until Kodak finally stopped production in 1948.
