A while ago I wrote that I had never found a Samsung film camera that worked. Well, I am happy to say I have finally found one…and it was a BARGAIN.
I literally got this camera, and 3 others, for 99p on eBay. I put the minimum bid on the job lot and forgot about it. When I got the notification saying I had won, I was VERY surprised. It turned out that 3 of the cameras worked perfectly, including this one. I got it so cheaply, that I decided to buy the manual as well. In total, the total cost for this camera was around £5.
There isn’t much about this camera online, most of the posts I found were for people selling the camera. That’s a shame, it’s a fantastic point-and-shoot. I did find this post which states the camera was produced around 1993. Luckily, I have the camera and the manual so I can tell you all you need to know 🙂
- The camera accepts DX-coded 35mm film between 50-3200asa. Non-dx-coded film is rated at 100asa, which is a pretty useful speed.
- The minimum focusing distance is 55cm
- Shutter speeds from 1/3rd sec to 1/400th, with a bulb mode
- Zoom 35-70mm
- Built-in flash with auto, fill-in, off, and red-eye reduction modes
- Self-timer which can also be set to take 2 shots with a 2-second interval
- There is a whole host of settings – SNAP shooting, fuzzy zoom, portrait zoom, step zoom, continuous shooting, multiple exposures, interval shooting, bulb, landscape, automatic macro,back-light control
With all those settings and modes, you can see why I bought the manual. Saying that I do tend to keep cameras on the fully automatic mode when trying them out for the first time. This camera had a dizzying number of settings and it was easy to become overwhelmed when trying to use them. You might think fitting all that into a point-and-shoot might be a huge camera, but it is surprisingly ‘slim’ as mentioned in the name. Not as small as the Olympus Panorama though.
My first impressions of this camera were great. I loved the size, the modes, how responsive it was. What a bargain of a camera. I just did a search for it on eBay and you can still buy it for around £20, it is certainly going under the radar.
Here are some of the photos from the Fuji 400 xtra I loaded. I took the camera to Formby and Liverpool Pride March.
So, if you are looking for a cheap point-and-shoot, this is a great one to try. The only fault or issue I could find was that it uses a CR123 battery rather than an off-the-shelf size, but that is a minor inconvenience in reality.
Agreed – Samsung made some great cameras, and some exceptional ones too. Have a late-model Samsung as a keeper – that lens works miracles w colour film lol.
PS Also have the mju-I panorama model – does yours have a rough edged finish too to the two crop blades? It kinda ruins the cinematic letter-boxing effect for me.
I just ran my finger along the edge and it does feel rough. I looked back at my last post and you are right, it does show up in the photos. That is annoying.
I’ve had a few Samsung AF p&s pass through my hands. They were all dirt cheap, I’m guessing because Samsung has 0% reputation when it comes to film photography. I couldn’t stand all the modes, though.
https://www.35mmc.com/22/10/2021/samsung-slim-zoom-1150-review/
I am trying the ecx1 as well, yes too many modes…Nice the option is there, but it should work in auto mode really well and this one does.
Yeah, I basically left the Samsungs in Auto and it was fine. I really hated that on the particular one I reviewed above it took six presses of the flash button to deactivate it.
and it probably didn’t remember your choice either.
I’ve had a sampling of Samsung’s p&s digicams, and they’ve been the equal of the other marques in the same price ranges. It’s odd, Samsung’s camera reputation, considering they are one of the globe’s two makers of top-gear smartphones. Samsung’s camera efforts are likely a victim of poor (or invisible) marketing.
Apart from the ecx1, I doubt many people could name one, so I think you are right.
Pretty sure all the lenses on Samsung cameras were made by Schneider-Kreuznach as am sure I read they had a partnership. So optically should be pretty good.
Think the better cameras Samsung made the lenses labelled with Schneider-Kreuznach.
It doesn’t say anything on the camera or in the manual. I would have to research that a bit more. It does say, 7 elements in 7 groups which is high for a point and shoot.
I really like your posts. This is the first time I write a comment (apologies for my English). I have seen this Samsung camera for sale at a very cheap price, I did not buy it because the seller did not guarantee that it would work. When I see it, I am surprised that it is the same in design, functions and battery as the Rollei X115, which has a Rolleigon lens. I think they were made in Singapore. On the other hand, beautiful photos!
Hi Juan, I have seen you liking things for a while, i am so happy you have commented. Your English is fantastic.
I have a feeling the rollei might be the same camera?? If not the are very very similar.