Kodak has announced the new Kodak EKTAR H35N (buy here) half-frame film camera. It’s a reusable camera, not disposable like Ilford’s recently released Ilfocolor Rapid half-frame black & white camera. It’s also available in more of the world.
The original Ektar half-frame film camera was released only last year, but the new H35N adds some great new features. These include a built-in star filter, bulb mode (with release cable), a 1/4″-20 tripod mount and an improved lens.
Kodak Ektar H35N – An advanced H35
The new Kodak Ektar H35N builds on its popular older sibling, the Kodak Ektar H35 (buy here). It adds a new built-in star filter that can be withdrawn or placed in front of the lens as required. When in place in front of the lens, it turns point light sources into 4-pointed stars.
It features a threaded socket for an old-school mechanical shutter release cable. This lets you use the camera in bulb mode. If you don’t already own a mechanical shutter release cable, then be sure to buy one that lets you lock it in the open position!
To further aid in capturing long exposure shots with bulb mode, the Kodak Ektar H35N now also sports a 1/4″-20 socket underneath, letting you mount it to a tripod. So, whether your exposures are half a second long or half an hour long, your camera won’t budge.
For those who are just walking around, pointing and shooting, you can shoot at 1/100th of a second.
A new 2-element lens containing glass!
The Kodak Ektar H25N features a new lens over its predecessor. It’s a 22mm f/8 containing prime two elements. One is made from actual glass and features numerous coatings to improve image quality. It also contains an aspherical acrylic element to help reduce aberrations.
As 35mm film cameras go, particularly ones as basic as this, it’s had a lot of thought put into it. Film might be more popular now than it’s been in a long time, but it’s still not back to its former glory. It’ll never go back to its former glory.
Considering that it’s 2023 and film is long past its prime, it’s nice to see that there are some companies out there still catering to a film audience with new and interesting cameras. And yes, it’s Kodak, so you’d expect them to keep supporting film, but it’s not really Kodak, is it?
Kodak Ektar H35N – Produced under license
The Kodak Ektar H35N is being made by a company called RetoPro. This is the same company that released the original Kodak Ektar H35 last year, as well as the Kodak-branded film cases in 2020 and the Reto3D camera, released under their own name in 2019.
The Kodak name is obviously licensed, but it looks like RetoPro definitely has a passion for film and making cameras that shoot it. They might be a little more specialised and quirky than most, but they sure look fun to use.
Hopefully, there’s still a big enough market out there for this kind of camera that we see a lot more in the near future.
Price and Availability
The Kodak Ektar H35N is available to pre-order now for $64.99 from the RetoPro Kodak website. It’s available in six colours, including Glazed Pink, Glazed Orange, Glazed Blue, Striped Green, Striped Silver and Striped Black.
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