I bought this camera for a reason, the date back. Usually I ignore this function if it is present on cameras, why burn the date into the negative. Then I decided to complete a one photo a day challenge and thought the date back would add to the project. I looked through all my point and shoot cameras and not one had a date back. So I search eBay for the cheapest, cleanest one I could find and this was it.

It was originally released around 2003 and is exactly the same as the Chinon M-6200. It has a 35-80mm f/5.6-12 zoom lens, hence the name KV3580. It seemed to be a little bit up from a cheap point and shoot with a few modes including red-eye, night, and landscape.

The main camera is powered by one CR2 battery and the date back has a separate ???? Well, I opened it up expecting to see a battery to replace, but there was nothing.

It looks like it uses the CR2 battery power and can store some for a while. As you can see this one looked like it worked.

When using the camera, the focus seems to rely on power to the flash. If the camera was in a recycle mode, the autofocus didn’t activate and therefore didn’t fire. It could also have been a lack of light or contrast, but there was definitely an issue of a slight delay between one shot and then the next.

Other than that the camera seemed to work well. It was small and easy to carry and the brushed metallic look felt nice in the hand.

I started the project once the school summer holidays had begun. That way I had a chance to get photos of more than my drive to work. In order to make sure I didn’t forget to take a photo each day, I set an alarm on my watch. If I hadn’t taken a photo by then, the alarm would remind me to do so. I loaded my last Fuji Industrial 100 and carried the camera with me for 24+ days. I ended up with 26 shots.

I like how the very last shot, a tail end one with fogging, is at John O’Groats. The tail end of the roll matched the tail end of the UK mainland. If I didn’t go anywhere that day, I took a photo around the house. Sometimes it is packing for a trip, sometimes simply baking.

I really enjoyed the project and will do it again. I am a little disappointed with the date stamp. On some photos it is barely visible. So I might look through my cameras for another date back camera. Other than the stamp the camera worked well.