The Film Retriever

The L35AF was Nikon's first AF camera. This camera has a cult following in photography forums but honestly after being disappointed with my Olympus XA2 i though i should hold my breath until i got my films back from developing. There are something like 3-4 models which look quite similar to this one but without the 35mm f/2.8 Nikon lens which is supposed to be a special piece of glass. You can find here a page with the history of this lens, it is a sonar design semi wide angled and very nicely coated. If you are into lens designing (and not only) check this page out.  By the moment you pick this camera up, you can understand that it is a well build camera. A bit heavy but it balances nicely into your hands, it has a nice heft to it. Back in the 80's it was an expensive camera to buy and the main selling point was of course the lens. What Nikon should have thought better are the ergonomics. This might sound weird since the L35AF has only one button but try to take ...

As always a bit of a history first. In the early '90s when Minolta 9xi took the world by storm, i started thinking that one day I would buy a Minolta. Then the Canon came and I forgot all about it. Some years ago i had the chance to meet a fellow photographer who was carrying a Minolta 700si. We swapped cameras and I was pleasantly surprised by Minolta's quality.It was then when i remember that one day I would like to have one. Well, the 500si is by no means a 700si but when i saw it, i thought that i had to have it. Now that i gave it a cool off period i think it would be a good idea to write a small review about it. I've read theothermartintaylor's review about this camera and i would have to agree with it but I think it is a bit better camera than that.The Minolta has a decent AF speed-wise. It cannot compare with Canon's but it is fairly quick although a bit noisy. Sometimes it gives the impression that it's not sure if it has focused - you will he...