Konica AA-35 (1984–1985)
The Konica AA-35 - sold in some markets as the Konica Recorder - is one of the last half-frame compact cameras from a major manufacturer. It was produced in 1984-85. It's a pocketable point-and-shoot that fits 72 frames on a standard 36-exposure roll of 35mm film. It brought genuinely modern automation to a format that had largely been left behind by the mid-1980s.
The sliding telescoping body is the feature everyone remembers. You pull the two halves apart to power it on, which reveals the 24mm f/4 Hexanon lens (about a 36mm full-frame equivalent) and an ISO dial on the back. Film speed is set manually to 100, 200, or 400 ISO. Some copies also read DX codes, which override the manual dial. Everything else is automatic: autofocus, exposure, motorized film transport, and a built-in flash with a guide number of 12. The electronic shutter runs from 1/60 to 1/250 second. A lamp on top shows when the flash is charged, and an orange light in the viewfinder warns of low light. The viewfinder is basic, with no parallax marks and no frame info, but it's comfortable enough to use with glasses. The camera measures 112 × 77 × 30.5mm and weighs 250g without battery.
Konica offered the AA-35 in solid red, gold, and black. It came to market when half-frame was considered a dead format, and it didn't sell especially well. One surviving store tag shows an original price of $79.94, and a Caldor store in New York sold it at a discounted $59 in November 1985. Analog.cafe (accessed 2024) notes that the AA-35 and its only real competitor, the Yashica Samurai, were the only true point-and-shoot half-frame cameras ever made, and that the AA-35 was the pocketable one. The ergonomics are good. It's easy to shoot in both landscape and portrait orientation, and the automated transport makes quick sequences painless.
The half-frame format has trade-offs. Scans show more grain and less resolution than a full 35mm frame. Depth of field at a given aperture is deeper, so background separation is harder to get. The format does make shooting multiples affordable, since you get two shots for the price of one frame of film.
Today the AA-35 is a collector's item, fetching roughly $200-300 in good condition, well above its original price.
Known specs:
- Format: 35mm half-frame, 72 exposures per 36-exposure roll
- Lens: Konica 24mm f/4 Hexanon (4 elements, 4 groups)
- Shutter: electronic, 1/60–1/250 sec
- Focus: autofocus, minimum distance 0.9m
- Film speeds: manual 100/200/400 ISO (DX reader on some copies)
- Flash: built-in, guide number 12 at ISO 100
- Dimensions: 112 × 77 × 30.5 mm; 250g
- Colors: red, gold, black
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