C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Konica C35 MFD (Motor Flash Date, 1980) is a feature-augmented variant of the long-running C35 compact series, adding motorized film advance and a date-imprint function to the established C35 platform. The core camera remains a fixed-focus 35mm compact with programmed automatic exposure and built-in flash, but the motorized advance and date back address two specific consumer demands of the era: convenience (no manual film wind lever) and personal documentation (embedding date information directly onto the negative).
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Kodak UltraMax 400 is a versatile consumer-grade ISO 400 daylight-balanced color negative film with T-grain emulsion, delivering warm Kodak colors, fine-for-speed grain (PGI 46), and wide exposure latitude. Currently in production and available globally as a single-roll and multi-pack.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
Motorized film advance and date imprinting added to the C35 fixed-focus formula, 1980.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Lens | ~38mm f/2.8 Hexanon |
| Year | ~1980 |
| Shutter | Electronic leaf, ~1/30s - 1/500s |
| Meter | CdS, programmed auto |
| Modes | Program only |
| Focus | Fixed focus |
| Motor | Built-in motorized advance |
| Date back | Yes, date imprinting |
| Battery | ~2x AA |
| Flash | Built-in auto |
The Konica C35 series had one of the longest variant chains in Japanese compact camera history, spanning from 1968 through the early 1980s. The original C35 earned a reputation for its Hexanon 38mm lens and its price-to-performance ratio, and Konica iterated the platform repeatedly to incorporate new consumer-demanded features: auto exposure (EE Matic), integrated flash (Flash), autofocus (AF), and eventually motor drive and date imprinting.
By 1980, motorized film advance had moved from a professional SLR feature to a consumer compact expectation. Japanese manufacturers including Canon, Minolta, and Olympus were all incorporating motors into their compact lines. The MFD suffix - Motor Flash Date - packages three features in sequence, each of which had been added to the C35 family in prior variants.
The date-imprint function was a significant consumer appeal in the family photography market: embedding the date of shooting onto the print eliminated the need to annotate photographs, a real friction point before the era of digital metadata. Date-back cameras commanded a small premium at retail.
After the MFD, Konica shifted its compact line toward autofocus cameras and later the premium Big Mini and Hexar series. The C35 platform was retired as autofocus compacts became affordable at the entry level.
The C35 MFD is historically interesting primarily as a terminal point in the C35 evolution. The original 1968 C35 is frequently cited as an influential camera - compact, affordable, with optical quality above its class. The MFD shows where that lineage ended: a fully automated, motorized, date-stamping consumer product that retains the C35 chassis identity but no longer prioritizes the optical simplicity that made the original notable.
For collectors of the C35 family, the MFD is a natural capstone acquisition. It is not especially rare but is less commonly seen than the original C35 or the EF/Flash variants, which had longer production runs and wider export distribution.
For practical shooters, the motorized advance is a genuine convenience for rapid casual shooting. The fixed-focus Hexanon (if the MFD retains the Hexanon designation) delivers the optical quality the C35 name implies.
C41
Kodak ColorPlus 200 is an affordable, consumer-oriented daylight-balanced color negative film at ISO 200. Known for warm, slightly muted color rendition, fine grain, and wide exposure latitude, it is currently in production and widely available in Asia and select global markets.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Konica C35 MFD
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