smallest 35mm camera?

<p>hi all,<br>

what is the smallest 35mm film camera?. For now I have in mind the Rollei 35S.<br>

thanks</p>

<p>I have a Kodak Signet 35 that's quite small.</p>

<p>It's probably not the smallest, but certainly the Tessina (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessina">link</a> ) was one of the smallest production models. It is smaller than the Rollei 35 models, but the 35mm film has to be reloaded into a special cassette for it.</p>

<p>So maybe the Rollei 35 was the smallest to use a regular 35mm cassette?</p><div></div>

<p>I have got a Minox EL, it is a shade under 4 inches wide. There is a picture of a fag packet on the box suggesting it's no bigger than one of these politically incorrect containers.</p>

<p>I'm not 100% sure but I believe the Minox ML was the smallest full-frame (24x36mm using 8 sprocket holes worth of film from a standard issue 135 cartridge) 35mm camera.</p>

<p>How about the Ansco Memo <a href="http://www.subclub.org/shop/ansco3.htm">http://www.subclub.org/shop/ansco3.htm</a></p>

<p>How about a matchbox pinhole camera. Take a matchbox, put a pinhole on the side and load with a single frame of 35mm film. It should come about to be just slightly larger than the film, or a little bigger than 1 x 1/2 x 1/4 inch. Of course, you will have to change the film in the dark between exposures. This assumes you want to shoot full frame.</p>

<p>The Minox EL and the Olympus XA (and their variations -- similar sizes but different proportions) for 24x36mm negatives.</p>

Olympus Pen was a bit smaller than the Rollei I think. Agfa, Fuji and several others made 35mm half-frame cameras in the 1960's that were in the same league.

<p>The Pen was bigger than the Rollei 35. The Petri Color 35 is about the same size at the Rollei. The Memo is a giant compared to the Rollei. It's probably a toss-up between the Minox 35 and the Rollei. The XA is close-behind, without the flash unit.</p>

<p>The Petri Color 35 is also quite small, as Mark stated above, and it has a surprisingly good lens. I also think the layout of the Petri is nicer than the Rollei.</p>

The Olympus Stylus Epic is quite small and its smooth tapered shape and light weight make it easy to put in a shirt pocket if general portability is important to you.

<p>The Olympus Pen is a little larger than the Rollei 35S but is thinner when ready to shoot without pulling out the lens. Of course it's only half frame but is good up to 8 X 10. I have both, the Sonnar on the Rollei is better that the Oly lens but a Pen S 3.5 is the camera I'm never without.</p>

<p>I have a Minox 35 GT that used to belong to my father-in-law.<br>

He used to brag it was the smallest full 35mm available.<br>

It may not be true but it is pretty close.</p>

 

<p>According to Wikipedia the Rollei 35s is the smallest full frame non electronic shutter 35mm camera ever made. Not sure how much stock I put in Wikipedia but: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rollei_35_S.jpg">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rollei_35_S.jpg</a></p>

<p>Minion made in Japan 24x32 format 1950's<br>

Photavit uses special cassettes possibly 24X26 format? West Germany? 1950's<br>

Kodak 35 simple box camera 30X40 paperback film ca 1910 without sprocket holes<br>

all of above are 35mm film cameras but none accept standard 35mm cartridge</p>

<p>My Minox 35 GTE is in the same size class as the Rollei TE (like the SE) and also has the f2.8 lens. I think it is also lighter than the Rollei. Both are great performers for simple scale-focus cameras</p>

<p>Photographs don't lie. ;)</p>

<p>http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?PetriColor35.html~mainFrame</p>

<p>It didn't take a standard 35mm cartridge, but the Univex AF was substantially smaller than the Minox 35 and had a larger-than-full-frame format ....</p>

<p><img src="http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/af2.jpg" alt="" width="435" height="557" /></p>

<p>Some of it depends on how you define "small." The Rollei 35, for example, is shorter than an Olympus XA. and may count as smaller when folded up, but the XA beats it by far on depth when opened for action, and it has a rangefinder too. I managed to lose (car roof, or something!) my fixed lens Stylus Epic, but I think that one may be a winner on features stuffed in, having auto focus and flash. Even the Stylus Epic zoom compares pretty well.</p><div></div>

<p>Matthew, put all those together and you would have one Nikon F4! There was the Chinon Bellami, may not be the smallest, but would have to close.....clamshell design.</p>

<p>Don't recall the name of the camera, but it was a single frame 35mm camera, with rangefinder that was a little bigger then two matchboxes put together. I believe it was a 1930s or 40s French design.</p>

<p>I have a Ducati half-frame rangefinder that's very small, but it's longer than the smallest of the full-frame models. It may be the smallest one with interchangeable lenses though.<br>

<a href="http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-17.html">http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-17.html</a></p>

<p>I know it's not mechanical, but my Fuji Natura Black is probably the smallest film camera I have ever seen. This includes the Rolleis.</p>

<p>Plus it has a 24mm f/1.9 lens. It's really neat.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Photographs don't lie. ;)</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That's got to be news to anyone with Photoshop. I once saw an ad which proclaimed "Altering reality since we found out it was possible" in <em>Paranoia</em> magazine. It was the proximate cause of my learning to use Photoshop 2.5 in the way back days.</p>

<p>:)</p>