THE CAMERAS
Halina 35X
35mm fully manual compact ● No battery needed ● £10
Introduced in 1959, this is a particularly cheap and cheerful introduction to film photography. The Halina 35X is a very basic camera that manages to look much more sophisticated and expensive than it really is. It employs a simple, uncoated 45mm f/3.5 Halina Anastigmat lens which stops down to f/16, scale focusing to 3ft, and four timed shutter speeds from 1/200 to 1/25sec, along with a Bulb setting. There's a tiny direct-vision viewfinder, but no meter or focusing aid. The film is advanced using a large knob on the top plate.
When shooting, it's crucial to remember to reset the shutter using a lever on its side, as otherwise it won't fire when you press the button. However the double-exposure prevention mechanism will still activate, meaning you'll get a blank frame.
Canonet QL19
35mm compact rangefinder ● PX625 battery ● £70
The 1960s and '70s saw a proliferation of high-quality 35mm compact rangefinders, with perhaps the finest being made by Canon and Olympus. The Canonet range progressed through multiple generations, each with three different lens speeds (f/2.8, f/1.9 and f/1.7). The third-generation QL17 GIII is a classic
