Kodak Disc 3500 (1983–1985)

The Kodak Disc 3500 is a point-and-shoot camera from the early 1980s, built for Kodak's short-lived HR-disc format film. It was on the market from 1983 until 1985, with an original price of £57. The disc format outlasted the cameras. Kodak withdrew the film from production in 1998, and no one manufactures it today.

Documentation on this specific model is thin. The most detailed surviving record comes from a UK prop-hire company (tvfilmprops.co.uk). Its listing notes the camera was sold with its original case and manual, and describes the physical condition as good. Museums Victoria holds a copy of the instruction manual, a booklet with a black and yellow cover, translated into ten languages. That at least confirms the camera saw wide international distribution as an export model.

The record does not contain lens specifications, shutter or flash details, battery type, dimensions or weight. The fact sheet also flags a few conflicts. One source dates the camera to "c1980," but the 1983-1985 window is corroborated by multiple independent listings, including a Flickr post identifying it as "#425 Kodak disc 3500 (1983-84)." A single source claims the camera dates to "the early 1900s." That is simply wrong, a misidentification, and should not be repeated.

Collector interest in the Disc 3500 exists but is modest. Examples surface on eBay and European auction sites, with prices ranging from about €20 to AU $40 depending on condition. One Catawiki lot grouped the Disc 3500 with the 3600, 4000, 6000, and 8000, but no source establishes any hierarchy or relationship between those models.

If you own a Disc 3500 and can fill in the technical blanks - lens focal length, flash range, film capacity - the archive would welcome the details.