Kodak Automatic 35 (1959–1964)

The Kodak Automatic 35 was Kodak's first automatic-exposure 35mm camera, along with its spring-driven sibling, the Motormatic 35. It was also the last American-made 35mm camera Kodak would produce. Introduced in 1959 at a list price of $84.50, it was a viewfinder camera built on the Signet 50 platform. It had a fixed Kodak Ektanar 44mm f/2.8 lens and a two-speed Synchro 80 shutter with 1/40 and 1/80 second. A selenium cell meter drove the automatic exposure system for daylight shooting. It needed no battery and accepted film speeds from 10 to 160.

Surviving documentation on the Automatic 35 is thin. Historic Camera notes the camera's "electric eye" automatic exposure correction, and the Science Museum Group Collection records the Ektanar lens and Synchro 80 shutter in its holdings. One physical example carries a body label reading "Synchro 8." No located source explains it. It may relate to flash sync, but that is unconfirmed. One for-sale unit was noted as having a brown leather case, and the meter's 160 maximum film speed is sometimes noted as being forgiving with 200-speed film. Collectors generally describe it as a rugged, reliable performer for simple outdoor photography. The usual catch is finding one with a working selenium meter today.

Sources disagree on production dates. Most place the run from 1959 to 1964, though at least one reference extends it to 1969, and the Archive has not been able to fully resolve that. The Automatic 35 was followed by several variants, including the 35B and the 35F. The 35F added a battery compartment to power a built-in flash unit.