It has been a long time coming, but analog photography enthusiasts can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel for MiNT’s premium compact Rollei 35AF camera.
A year and a half after announcing the development of a brand-new 35mm camera, MiNT has officially said that the Rollei35 AF is coming this year, and prospective customers can join the preorder waitlist now on a dedicated website. Per Kosmo Foto and MiNT itself, the camera will cost between $650 and $800 at launch.
The new teaser site does more than notify film shooters about the Rollei35 AF’s availability; it also includes some photos actually captured with the upcoming 35mm camera. These images have also been featured in MiNT’s most recent blog post about the 35mm camera and are featured throughout this article.
Prior blog entries also include some interesting details about the Rollei 35AF. For example, concerning the Rollei 35AF’s built-in lens, MiNT explains that it is a 35mm f/2.8 prime lens. The lens has five glass elements, each with coatings on both sides. MiNT adds that the aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/16.
MiNT has also said that, unlike all its other cameras, which are instant cameras, the Rollei 35AF will feature a fully-metal construction.
“However, since the Rollei 35AF is much smaller, using a metal body doesn’t make it much heavier. You’d actually be able to feel the coolness of metal on your fingertips this time,” MiNT says.
A focus for the MiNT team is making 35mm analog photography accessible without robbing it of its tactile, manual charm. As for automatic features, the Rollei 35AF includes autofocus — as evidenced by its name — and has a built-in light meter and automatic exposure modes. It will be interesting to see just how much control analog photographers will have if they don’t want to use the automatic modes.
A lot is riding on MiNT’s Rollei 35AF camera project. In a blog post last November, MiNT describes the research and development costs of the camera as “sky high” and says that MiNT is “risking the whole company to get this project off the ground.”
That’s a big gamble, but photographers seem excited about the Rollei 35AF so far. It also appears that the long wait for the brand-new full-frame film camera is nearing its conclusion. With Pentax poised to release its brand-new half-frame film camera soon, 2024 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting for analog photographers in a very long time.
Image credits: MiNT Camera
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