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.
View profile →compact-35mm
The Pentax PC35AF is a compact 35mm autofocus camera introduced in 1982, marking Pentax's first entry into the consumer autofocus compact segment. It is fitted with a fixed SMC Pentax 35mm f/2.8 lens, Pentax's own multi-coated optic distinguishing it from competitors whose compacts carried unbranded or lightly-specified glass. Exposure is fully programmed; the user has no manual control over aperture or shutter speed. The PC35AF targets the same non-enthusiast consumer that Konica, Canon, and Olympus had already begun serving with AF point-and-shoots earlier in the decade. The successor PC35AF-M arrived two years later as a refined variant.
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.
View profile →C41
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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Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
Pentax's inaugural autofocus compact: the 35mm point-and-shoot that put SMC glass in a pocket-sized body.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Lens | SMC Pentax 35mm f/2.8 (fixed) |
| Year introduced | 1982 |
| Focus | Autofocus |
| Exposure | Program auto only |
| Flash | Built-in |
| Mount | Fixed (non-interchangeable) |
The autofocus compact camera category was established in the late 1970s with Konica's C35 AF (1977) and Canon's Sure Shot AF35M (1979). By the early 1980s every major Japanese camera manufacturer felt commercial pressure to field an AF compact. Pentax, whose reputation rested on its SLR line - the K-series, ME Super, and LX - was relatively late to the category. The PC35AF appeared in 1982 as the company's answer, following Olympus's AF-1 and contemporaneous with similar offerings from Nikon and Minolta.
The PC35AF's distinction over cheaper competitors was the application of Pentax's SMC (Super Multi Coating) technology to the fixed lens. Pentax had developed SMC for its SLR lenses in the early 1970s and the coating reduced flare and improved contrast meaningfully. Carrying that reputation into a consumer compact was a deliberate positioning choice.
The camera was superseded by the PC35AF-M in 1984 and the line subsequently evolved into the Espio / IQZoom zoom-lens compacts of the late 1980s and 1990s.
The PC35AF is primarily a historical marker: the moment Pentax committed to the consumer AF compact segment. It did not pioneer autofocus - that credit belongs to Konica and Canon - but it demonstrates how quickly the technology spread across the industry in the early 1980s. For Pentax specifically, it was the start of a product category that would grow to dominate the company's consumer revenue by the early 1990s.
The SMC 35/2.8 lens is optically solid for the format and category. Results on color negative film are clean and contrasty. The 35mm focal length was the near-universal choice for compacts of this generation - practical for indoor and outdoor shots without extreme distortion.
For contemporary film shooters the PC35AF is a minor curiosity. It is not sought-after; later Pentax compacts (Espio Mini, IQZoom 928) offer more capable zoom lenses and better build quality. Its interest is almost entirely historical.
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.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Pentax PC35AF
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