Kodak’s new point-and-shoot 35mm film camera comes in 7 vibrant colors, costs just $35, and brings back one of my favorite pieces of camera design

Reto Project has released a new Kodak-branded film camera, the Kodak EC35
It’s a total point-and-shoot, with focus and all settings fixed
However, it does have a stylish sliding lens cover in the style of the Olympus Mju from the early 1990s

A new Kodak film point-and-shoot camera has just been announced. And the reason for the tortured use of the passive voice in the previous sentence is that it wasn’t actually made by Kodak.

The Kodak EC35 is a 35mm film camera made by Reto Project, a company that licenses the Kodak name to produce a range of both analogue and digital cameras. While my personal favorite is the Kodak Snapic A1, a slim little 35mm film, its most popular release by a significant margin has been the tiny digital key ring camera, the Kodak Charmera.

Reto generally produces simple point-and-shoots, and the Kodak EC35 is exactly that. It takes 35mm film and all its settings are fixed, with a shutter speed of 1/100 sec. and f/10 aperture. The lens has fixed focus — there is not even the possibility to switch from near to far focus, as there was on the Snapic A1 — and is a 25 mm optic. The camera also has a built-in flash.

All style, some substance

While I tend to associate the sliding lens hood with the Olympus XA2 sitting on my desk as I write this with the curved design of its plastic body, the Kodak EC35 is pretty clearly meant to evoke the look and feel of the Mju.

And I also like the idea of having a lens cap in a practical sense – not just aesthetically! Many of these cheap film compacts, like the Snapic A1, Ektar H35N, etc., don’t have a lens cap or lens protector of any kind, meaning it’s easy for the lens to get dirty, dusty, or bumped around. The case also doubles as a shutter lock, meaning the camera won’t end up firing shots by accident while in your bag.

The EC35 comes in an attractive range of colours: Midnight Black, Vanilla White, Butter Yellow, Lavender, Powder Blue, Blush Pink and Avocado Green. I’m usually ‘give me black or give me dead’ when it comes to cameras, but I’ll admit that the yellow version is pretty striking.

The EC35 is powered by a single AA battery (required only for the flash), and weighs a pleasantly slim 102g. It’s available on its own for $34.99 / £35.99 (about AU$50) or in a bundle with a 24-shot roll of bright and colorful Kodak Ultramax 400 for $44.99 / £45.99 (about AU$65).

Photograph of the Kodak EC35 film camera in white on a table next to a burger and a can of coke