I found this really clean Konica in the junk bin. The outside was perfect, but the seals had totally disintegrated. So after changing those I put in a battery and film. It uses the old mercury battery, but the hearing aid replacement worked well and the needle in the viewfinder responded immediately. So far so good. I remembered that this type of battery is rated at a higher voltage so I needed to set the film speed at one stop lower, so 200asa would mean the camera is set to 160ASA. The camera is always on so it does need a lens cap to save battery life. I don’t have one so I kept it in a bag and when not in use took the battery out.

The clean state of the outside made me think this camera was newer than it was. After looking at this website I realised it was from 1968, wow someone looked after it. The C35 is small, light and a pleasure to hold. It is a zone camera and you can clearly see the settings in the viewfinder.  Inside the viewfinder is a bright rectangle and this is the photo frame. There is space around the rectangle so don’t forget this section will not be in the photo. This website has a lot more technical information and a great review.

I would be really lucky to find a  working camera in such great condition, so did it work.

Yeap, it worked inside and outside even on dull days. The f2.8 aperture still managed to give speeds quick enough to freeze running children. I used a film that I had used in another camera, hence the low number of shots. All the ones I took were correctly exposed.

Keep or sell: I doubt I will find such a clean version of this camera again so I am inclined to keep it…but the same issues apply, I have too many keepers.