Nikon's Fantastic Plastic Point & Shoot: Reviewing The Nikon L35AF aka "Pikaichi"

[@StephenB_IndependentThought]

Great review, very informative, thanks. I have one on order. Also, a quick comment and that is to increase the volume on your mic. At 100% volume on my laptop you were audible but low volume.

[@clafphotography]

Hi, thanx for this cool review ! Very complete !

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

My pleasure! Thanks for stopping by.

[@drdufault]

Just picked up a whole box of old photo gear from an estate, and lo and behold, there was a Nikon L35AF2 inside. The batteries had been left inside, and were quite corroded, but after some vinegar treatment (and luck) I got the camera to turn on. Am presently shooting the first roll of film through it now.

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

Awesome! There’s nothing like finding a nice jewel like that.

[@bluebiegrace1828]

Sir, I enjoy your reviews, a request though, please use a microphone. You have a soft voice even I turn up the volume. Thank you for your informative reviews!!

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

Hi thanks for stopping by the channel. I’ve always used a microphone. This older video has a low sound level as is the case with a couple more of them. I improved the sound on my other videos moving forward so the vast majority have good sound. Thanks for the feedback though, sincerely.

[@bluebiegrace1828]

@@FilmPhotographyChannel More power to you, sir. I’ll watch out for your next review. Stay safe!

[@Camaro-it8ht]

Testing without a roll of film, does the film rewind function works or it has to have a film loaded? Asking because the film advance motor works after each shot without any film inside.

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

I wish I could answer that question but I no longer have the camera and I’ve never tried. Try finding a pdf of the owners manual at Butkus.com (or google Butkus). There’s tons of owners manuals for film cameras there. Good luck!

[@sminhle]

Sir do you encounter the loose battery cover problem? Any suggestion to fix it? Thank you!

[@AI-Hallucination]

Tape

[@victorvannatter312]

It's actually metal under the plastic apparently. I love mine even though it isn't a minolta😁

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

Yes that’s true of all of them. They have a metal frame with a plastic skin that dominates the design. Thus the nickname “fantastic plastic”.

[@zippiizhappy]

Hi Eric. I would like to ask if this camera is better for an amateur than the Olympus 35DC? I’m new to shooting film but I would like to have a camera that I can use for a long term. Thank you in advance!

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

The L35AF has a reputation as a very durable camera with a great lens. The 35DC has a better and faster f1.7 lens and has a classic rangefinder aesthetic. The Nikon is a typical 90’s “fantastic plastic” but has a sophisticated fill flash, metering and autofocus. The Olympus has a good dedicated flash if you can find one. All that being said, I prefer the Olympus because of the lens. It gives great bokeh because of the fast aperture and the photos come out beautiful.

[@zippiizhappy]

@@FilmPhotographyChannel thank you Eric. I did buy an Olympus 35DC today! I watched your review about it and i decided to get one.

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

Cool. The lens on this camera is incredible. Enjoy!

[@vangstr]

Alright, I have sub'd. This is a great little camera if you can find one that still works. I have gone thru 4 of these, however the electronics will start to fail when they've reached their user mileage. I have found Minolta and Canon versions are better for color than this L35AF. However for BW, I think this one has a slight edge over those other two.

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

I have the Canon AF35M coming soon. I thought it would be to compare the two since they're so similar.

[@vangstr]

@@FilmPhotographyChannel Actually the AF35Mii is much better. It has the improved autofocus and the electronics were a bit more refined. My previous AF35M experience was pretty bad, poor focusing and motor was prone to fail (had too many ones that simply just died). The original AF35ML had the best glass but I felt it also had poor AF abilities and a poor & loud motor. The only drawbacks to the AF35Mii is it's lack of high iso and no threads for filters.

[@kev229]

I agree. I've gone through 2 of these myself. Kind of annoying so I just called it quits with these. These cameras are not worth the $ in 2019, they're bound to die sooner than later. I personally shoot with my Leica Z2X as my compact every day carry. Similar results, some might even say the Leica renders sharper images. The Z2X is wildly underrated and even unheard of but it's about as good as it gets for a point and shoot from my experience. Even better than Stylus Epic & XA too.

[@martymcgill1312]

I just bought one of these. Will they turn on without film in them? I put new batteries in the camera and it does nothing, and I don't want to waste a roll of film on a dead camera.

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

They definitely turn on without film in them. Focusing should be active, flash etc.

[@ramonsaturnino1992]

Hi do you have any updates? I recently bought one and it haves the same problem

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

Check for rust inside the battery chamber. There’s no trick to it. If you have good batteries and a functioning camera it should power up right away.

[@blackcrane1084]

Put some bicarbonate soda mixed with vinegar on the battery contact points in side the camera with a q-tip and clean it regardless if there is erosion or not and you may find it comes to life

[@melvinch]

It produces great pictures if it nailed focus.... AF is its Archille's heel.

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

That's true. I was surprised how good the photos were from the "Pikaichi"

[@nikita2560]

panasonic super mini or this nikon?

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

Definitely this Nikon. It's a higher-level camera than the Panasonic Super Mini and it does everything better. The Nikon is a slightly larger, bulkier camera which would be the only downside. If you didn't already watch it, here's my Panasonic Super-Mini review. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppuyoGulYrGsqLc

[@nikita2560]

@@FilmPhotographyChannel Thanks for the fast reply! I am new to photography and assumed this was better because it is a "leica clone"

[@FilmPhotographyChannel]

@@nikita2560 A valid assumption but the Nikon is a higher-level model with more features and a great lens in its own right.