Kodak Ektar H35N evaluate: a glass lens makes all of the distinction

The unique Kodak Ektar H35 was a daring try at making movie pictures no less than considerably inexpensive. Costing simply $50 new, it allowed you to squeeze extra worth out of a roll of 35mm movie by dividing its frames in half. So, as an alternative of 36 photographs measuring 24x36mm from a regular roll, you’d get 72 photographs measuring 24x18mm. This was not a brand new idea, however it had fallen out of vogue, and the Kodak Ektar H35 proved a modest hit amongst cash-strapped analog fanatics.

An up to date model swiftly adopted: the Kodak Ektar H35N. At first look primarily an identical, the H35N however comes with a number of further options, in all probability probably the most attention-grabbing of which is the upgraded two-element lens, together with a glass ingredient and an aspherical acrylic ingredient. Elsewhere, we get a tripod socket, a bulb mode for the shutter launch, and a brand new ‘star’ filter for creating dramatic factors from robust gentle sources.

I reviewed the unique Kodak Ektar H35 in 2023, and have stored it in occasional rotation since then. My opinion hasn’t modified massively since (although I do suppose that 3.5-star ranking was maybe just a little beneficiant) – it’s a enjoyable and simple digicam to make use of, however the picture high quality is fairly common. So, I’m to see if the brand new lens means the Kodak Ektar H35N is a noticeably higher performer.