Pentax PC35AF – Shoulder Padded

Pentax PC35AF

A few years ago, I went through a period where I was fascinated with early autofocus compact cameras.  The Pentax PC35AF is a camera almost built to fit within that description by design.  From the sliding cover to open it and turn it on through to the way Pentax introduced a power grip (its shoulder pads) to give it automatic film advance, just all scream 1980s.

My copy is a Pentax PC35AF Date which I purchased a few years ago.  For about six months it was my daily carry camera, but I did then get distracted with some other cameras after a few mishaps with it.  As it turns out they were user errors.  I picked it up again more recently and reminded myself how much I enjoy it.

One of the reasons the Pentax PC35AF remains popular today is that it sits in an interesting middle ground between fully manual cameras and later electronic point-and-shoots. It is automatic enough to be effortless to use, but still early enough in autofocus camera development to retain a very mechanical and tactile shooting experience. Combined with the quality of the Pentax lens, it has become a bit of an underrated classic among 1980s compact cameras.

The fact that it has a fast 35mm lens with a f/2.8 aperture obviously makes it attractive.  For me, that it has a manual selection for the film speed is also a benefit, allowing me to set the speed to effectively compensate for films which I prefer shooting at different speeds.

The Pentax PC35AF is a camera I cannot understand on why it does not have a cult following like the Olympus mju.  It ticks many of the same boxes, apart from the manual advance when it is without the power winder.  While not as slick as the mju, it is small, has a great lens on it, and unlike the Olympus, you are not forced into having to cancel the flash every time you turn it on, it is up to the user.

On the plus side, it does mean it is well priced and easily obtainable.  Most importantly it is one that I have come back to and find that I really enjoy using it.  It is a very easy decision to put some film into the back and stick it into a small bag or into a coat pocket where the climate requires one.

Let us find out a little bit more about the Pentax PC35AF and then I will describe my experience with it.

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History

The Pentax PC35AF was introduced in 1982 as Pentax’s first autofocus compact camera, arriving during a period when every major camera manufacturer was racing to develop practical autofocus technology for the consumer market.  The late 1970s and early 1980s saw autofocus move from an experimental novelty into a serious and viable commercial offering, particularly after the success of other compact cameras demonstrated that everyday photographers were eager for cameras that simplified focusing and exposure.

Until this point, Pentax had built much of its reputation around high quality manual focus SLR cameras such as the Pentax K1000 and earlier with the Spotmatic range.  The company had produced compact cameras before, but the PC35AF represented Pentax fully embracing the growing point-and-shoot market while still trying to retain some of the tactile feel of a traditional camera.  Rather than creating a tiny fully electronic compact immediately, Pentax designed a camera with manual film advance, a manually raised pop-up flash and an optional external motor drive accessory.  In many ways it felt like a transitional design sitting between classic mechanical cameras and the fully automated compact cameras that would dominate later in the decade.

The original PC35AF features a 35mm f/2.8 Pentax lens, active infrared autofocus and programmed automatic exposure.  The autofocus system uses a sensor positioned beneath the lens and displays focus distance information through a moving needle inside the viewfinder.  Film advance remained manual unless the optional screw-in motor drive attachment is fitted to the side of the camera.  The camera quickly developed a reputation for having a particularly good lens compared with many early autofocus compacts.

Soon after the original release, Pentax expanded the range with several closely related variants.  The Pentax PC35AF-M added an integrated motor drive for automatic film advance and rewind, eliminating the need for the external accessory.  This version is also the source of much of the naming confusion surrounding the series, as the AF35M name is used interchangeably.

Pentax also released the Pentax PC35AF-Date (this camera), which incorporates an electronic quartz date imprinting back.  This allows the photographer to expose the date directly onto the film image, a hugely fashionable feature during the 1980s.  Aside from the date mechanism and revised back design, the camera remained largely identical to the standard PC35AF in operation and specifications.

As the decade progressed, Pentax rapidly evolved its autofocus compact line into smaller, lighter and more electronically integrated cameras.  Later models moved toward fully motorised operation, more compact body designs and increasingly automated shooting systems.  The original PC35AF series therefore occupies an interesting place in the Pentax story. It is not a fully modern point-and-shoot, but rather a bridge between Pentax’s mechanical camera heritage and the electronic compact cameras that would follow.

Camera Specifics

The Pentax PC35AF-Date (and most of this applies to the PC35AF), is a 35mm autofocus compact camera released in 1982. The camera has a chunky design compared to later compact cameras of the 1990s. It is built primarily from plastic, but underneath there is a metal chassis which gives it a solid feel in the hand. 

At the front is the fixed Pentax 35mm f/2.8 lens. The lens uses five elements in five groups and is regarded as one of the better autofocus compact lenses from the early 1980s. 

Focusing is fully automatic using an active infrared autofocus system. The autofocus sensor sits below the lens and measures subject distance electronically. A half press of the shutter release activates the focus system and exposure metering before taking the photograph. Closest focus distance is approximately 0.7 metres (about 2.3 feet). 

Exposure is fully automatic with programmed auto exposure. The electronic leaf shutter operates stepless from approximately 1/8^th second through to 1/430^th second depending on the available light. Metering is handled automatically via a CdS metering system and film speed is set manually through an ISO selection. Later variants included DX coding.  Available film speeds range from ISO 25 through to ISO 400.

The electronic flash is housed within a pop-up unit on the top left of the camera. Once raised, the flash begins charging automatically and a ready light appears in the viewfinder when it is prepared to fire. Guide number is modest at 11 for ISO 100, but perfectly adequate for snapshots, indoor photography and casual fill flash. 

Film advance on the standard camera is manual. After each exposure, you advance the film using the thumb wheel on the top plate while the frame counter increments automatically. Rewinding at the end of the roll is also manual using the folding rewind crank on the bottom of the camera. 

The top plate contains the shutter release, frame counter and several other functions. The shutter release has a very distinct half press point for focus lock.  Alongside the shutter release and film advance thumb wheel are dedicated buttons for both backlight compensation and the self-timer.

The backlight button allows the photographer to intentionally override the automatic exposure system when shooting strongly backlit subjects. Pressing the button increases exposure compensation by 1.5 stops to help prevent subjects from becoming silhouettes against bright windows, sunsets or harsh daylight backgrounds. 

The viewfinder is a bright albada style finder providing a surprisingly sophisticated amount of information for an early autofocus compact camera. In addition to the bright frame lines, the finder includes an autofocus frame in the centre along with a moving distance needle indicator that physically shifts position when the shutter release is partially depressed. As the autofocus system measures subject distance, the needle moves across a series of zone focus markers to indicate the approximate focusing distance selected by the camera.

The markers themselves represent three broad focus zones. The closest marker indicates a subject distance of approximately 0.8 metres, the middle marker represents around 1.5 metres, while the final position indicates longer distances approaching infinity focus. When the distance needle hovers within the closest focusing zone, compose the subject within the short distance compensation marks to correct for parallax error at closer distances.

Two coloured indicator lamps also appear in the upper section of the finder. A green lamp indicates that shutter speed is sufficiently fast for handheld photography, while an orange lamp accompanied by an audible beep warns that light levels are too low and camera shake may occur. In these situations, use the built-in flash or stabilise the camera before taking the photograph.

One unusual feature of the Pentax AF35M is the optional screw-in motor drive attachment. The attachment connects mechanically through the side of the camera and provides powered film transport while also improving the grip slightly. It is very much a product of the early 1980s, when manufacturers were experimenting with ways to add advanced automation and accessories to compact cameras before fully integrated designs became the norm. 

Another defining feature of the Pentax PC35AF-Date specifically, is the built-in quartz date imprinting system incorporated into the camera back. When enabled, the camera exposes the date directly onto the film in the lower corner of the image, a feature that was enormously popular during the 1980s for family photography, travel and casual snapshots. 

The display can be set to several formats including year-month-day or day-month-year depending on market version and can also be turned off entirely if the preference is a clean negative. 

The Experience

I’ve had the Pentax PC35AF Date now for about three to four years.  When I first got it, it quickly became my daily carry camera.  I had a couple of occasions after shooting close to twenty rolls of film, where the film did not catch, so I shot a bunch of nothing.  After putting it away for a year, I picked it up again more recently and it reminded me why I enjoyed using it.  I have never really worked out why I had that problem with it, as the camera works perfectly, so I just assume it must be me.

To start off, I used it with the beefy motor wind.  The film advance has that wonderfully mechanical 1980s motor-drive sound which is instantly recognisable to anyone who used autofocus compacts from this era.  That novelty of hearing it, though, soon dissipated to being a little annoying, so off it came.

What I had not realised was by taking it off, it totally transforms the camera to almost a pocket camera.  I guess if you lived in a cold climate, you would have pockets which are applicable, but in sunny Sydney, that is not usually the case all year round.  Having a sliding cover for the lens does make it very easy to carry without worrying that I would damage the lens.

Everything was designed to be easy, including the use of batteries you can get anywhere.  I found that the battery life was generally very good unless heavy flash use was involved.

Speaking of flash, unlike later compact cameras where the flash automatically deploys or fires whenever the camera thinks it is needed, the Pentax PC35AF requires the photographer to manually raise the flash before use. This gave me something I cannot find in a lot of compact cameras, a little more control over the shooting process and helps avoid the all-too-common harsh flash photography associated with later point-and-shoot cameras.  This is a winning goal in my book.

When using flash though, recycling is not particularly fast by modern standards, but it is typical for cameras from this period running on AA batteries.

Using the camera and looking through the viewfinder, coverage is not exact but is close enough for general photography.  The symbols at the bottom are clear and you can easily see where the camera is focusing, in terms of distance zones.

Autofocus is reasonably fast but reflective surfaces, glass and strong backlighting can occasionally confuse the autofocus system, though in normal shooting it performs reliably.  I did not experience a lot of missed focus.

The automatic exposure is another feature that performs well, and the hit rate for most rolls of film was pretty high.  I do enjoy receiving my negatives back from the lab and seeing the right density, and this camera has always provided that satisfaction.

We should now talk about the lens.  The 35mm f/2.8 is a wonderful and fast little lens. The results have a slightly classic rendering, with decent sharpness in the centre and a medium level of contrast.  It does have the vignetting that all tiny lenses have on 35mm film, but it is not intrusive, if anything, it adds to the charm.

The centre sharpness is what helps the picture hit the spot.  Subjects do stand out and the metering does seem to favour the right things, in terms of choosing the right aperture.  That is assuming there is enough light to have some options.

The 35mm focal length works well as an all-purpose field of view for travel, street photography and general day-to-day use.  It was a very good choice by Pentax.

I carried the camera everywhere, including to an AFL football game.  Our seats were about three rows in, and even in the challenging light I am happy with the results considering no zoom or telephoto.

The PC35AF Date does have what the label says, a date feature.  Today the bright orange date stamps instantly reminds me of the era in which these cameras were used, though thankfully Pentax allowed the function to be disabled.  I did use it a few times, but nothing really to note on that feature.

Having had the Pentax PC35AF for a few years, I can honestly say that for the price you can get a copy of this camera, it is worth it.  The results are very good, it is easy to carry around, uses easily obtainable batteries, and does not force you to use the flash.  With the incorporated fast lens, at a very usable focal length there is not much more you could ask for.  Maybe for auto wind, but it can do that too, though I personally prefer it without.

If you are looking for a compact camera and come across the PC35AF, it is working and reasonably priced, it is worth the purchase, you’ll unlikely be regretting it.

Related Links

Alex Luyckx Blog: Camera Review Blog No. 128 – Pentax PC35AF

Mike Eckman: Pentax PC35AF (1982)

Camera Go Camera: PC35AF

Casual Photophile: Lemons and Lemonade – a review of the Pentax PC35AF

35mmc: Pentax PC35AF Review – A camera with a certain charm