INTRODUCTION

The Graflex 35 Jet is a 35mm film viewfinder camera, it is a weird thing. It was briefly made between 1961 and 62 by Kowa in Japan for Graflex of USA.

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Fun!

PERSONAL NOTES

The most noticeable thing about this camera, is the advance mechanism. When you take a photo, it makes a weird sound, because it is pneumatic, it uses compressed air cartridges ! Many of these cameras were converted to use a regular advance lever.

The shutter button is on the front of the camera, it is actually a lever and not a button, so taking a photo requires a bit of force, to the point that you can shake a bit the camera while the photo is taken... Very bad design !

The finish is Kowa-like, not great, functionnal, but not the best design. It's bulky and heavy for what it is.

To focus the lens, there are 2 buttons on the front of the camera, right on top of the lens. Pressing these actually do not move the lens, but instead, it moves the film plane inside the camera, hence focussing. But, on the top of the camera, you can see the film place pictogram, so I ask myself : "how can they put this pictogram, if the film plane is moving ?" Sorry, but this is just a bad design...

CONCLUSION

This camera is a collectable item because of its rarity, but if you really want to take pictures with it, the experience is not worth it !

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