Canon AF35ML

[FrankS]

I actually walked away from a camera deal! I'm not completely cured, but I'm getting better. At a local thrift shop there was a Canon ML with 40mmf1.9 lens, pristine and protected with a Toshiba skylihgt filter (48mm) for $7.99. I've read that the camera is very noisy and that the lens is very good but perhaps not great. I may go back with a couple of AA batteries to see if it works. Nice loking camera. Does anyone here have one? It is interesting in that the autofocus uses a triangulation rangefinder system.

 

[btgc]

I passed one specially while on "camera celebate" and another when my bid were rejected as seller has put some country-based restrictions invisible before. Noisy operation, autofocus, no slow times and hard-to-disable flash (about flash as per dr. Strangelove) makes it "nice-to-have-because-of-lens".

And don't listen to me, go back to store with batteries ! 🙂

 

[PhotoJim]

I used to have one. I sold it a year or so ago.

It's a decent camera. The lens is reasonably sharp, but not stunning.

Autofocus isn't that noisy, but it is not horribly accurate either. It is acceptable, but not much more.

The film transport is pretty loud. However, the built-in flash is pretty convenient. Also, the fact that the camera takes common AA batteries is quite nice.

I rarely used the camera and ended up putting it on eBay. (A local fellow ended up buying it.)

For the price, it's worth playing with for awhile, but I didn't find that it was a camera that I absolutely had to have.

One thing to watch - the original version's ISO setting only went up to 400. The later version (which I had) went up to 400 but also had a click stop for 1000. (Unfortunately it didn't have any of the ISOs in between. This was in the days of Kodak VR1000 film.) Since you can use the 1000 setting easily enough on ISO 800 film (the exposure is close enough), you're better to have the option if you can get away with it.

 

[btgc]

I edited my post to differentiate AF from noise which is said to be property of transport. For ISO1000 I'd reserve some 1600 film and ISO800 film put through at ISO400.

 

[cbass]

Had one and sold it in 2005. The unpredictable auto-focus struggled in all but the best light, rendering the fast lens moot. I did not find the lens to be particularly sharp, either. Perhaps I had a bad sample.

I had much better results with a Nikon L35AF but I ultimately sold that camera, too (for much more than I paid for it).

One thing to watch out for on these 1980s-era compacts is battery compartment corrosion. An otherwise clean-looking camera might have been stored for 10 years with two AAs inside. Another weak point is the battery compartment door which is very flimsy and often will not stay closed.

For eight bucks you can afford to try the Canon and arrive at your own conclusion.