Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review

If you’re looking for one of the best cheap cameras for film photography, there’s none better than the Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame. Film photography has become popular over the last few years, and what’s better than a film camera, you ask? A half frame film camera that doubles the shot count, lowering film costs, of course.

The Ektar H35 should be in every film photographer’s arsenal. This reusable camera is easy to use and isn’t very expensive, which means if you do lose or break it by any chance, it’s easily replaceable. As a half frame camera, you essentially get double the shots (24 exposures become 48, 36 become 72) and the photos turn out fantastic with a lovely vintage aesthetic. It’s easy to use and portable, and it can be great for diptychs. It has a couple of flaws though.

For the complete breakdown, read my full Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review.

Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review: Specs

Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A reusable film camera that uses just half of a frame, essentially doubling the shot-count
• Who is it for? For fans of film photography
• How much does it cost? The Kodak Ektar H35 is available for $49 / £42
• What do we like? It’s easy to use and looks aesthetically pleasing, it takes lovely photos and can be great for diptychs, and you get double the shot-count
• What don’t we like? The winder is slightly flimsy, and low-light performance may be hit-or-miss

Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review: Price & availability

The Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame is a reusable camera and it has a retail price of $49 at Amazon U.S. / £42 at Amazon U.K. and its low price makes film photography very accessible. We’ve also seen it drop to $37 at Amazon U.S. The camera is available in four colorways: black, brown, sage and sand.

The Ektar H35 is cheaper than its sibling, the Ektar H35N, which costs $59. It’s also similarly priced to full frame film cameras, such as the Kodak Ultra F9 ($49) and the AgfaPhoto Analogue 35mm ($44).

Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review: Design & build quality

The Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame is a very good looking camera thanks to the faux-leather-like material adorning the front. So while the body is made of ABS plastic, the camera doesn’t look or feel cheap. I tested the sage colorway (grey and light green) which looks lovely.

Compact in size, measuring just 4.3 x 2.4 x 1.5 inches, I could easily carry the Ektar H35 in my jeans’ pocket. It’s also comfortable to hold with either one or both hands. The camera is lightweight, weighing 3.52oz without film and battery, and it’s lighter than the Kodak Ultra F9 (5.99oz) and the Novocolor Swiss+Go (5.29oz). Even though it’s light, I didn’t find its build too fragile — except for the film winder which I’ll get to soon.

Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review: Lens & viewfinder

The Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame is fitted with a 22mm fixed-focus optical grade acrylic lens and has a shooting range of 1m-∞. You don’t get manual control over any of its settings as exposure is adjusted automatically and shutter speed clocks in at 1/100s.

Simply look through the viewfinder, point and shoot. The viewfinder is quite small though, so if you wear glasses (like me), you may find it a little uncomfortable. It’s also important to note that the camera, by default, shoots vertically, so remember to turn it on its side if you want a landscape shot. If you want a film camera with lots of manual control, you’d have to spend a lot more on the likes of the Pentax 17 ($499).

The Ektar H35 has a fixed aperture of f/9.5 which means its low-light performance is nothing to write home about, as the lens aperture can’t be widened to let more light through. It does come with a built-in flash, though, which can be enabled to aid you in dimly lit environments.

Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review: Controls

With a fairly straightforward control scheme, the Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame is perfect for those either starting out in film photography or looking to switch from a full frame camera to make their 35mm rolls last longer. As soon as I picked up the camera, I knew exactly how to use it — it’s foolproof! To get started, pop open the film compartment door on the back. Pop the roll in and pull a bit of the film out, hook the sprocket holes onto the teeth, then turn the film winder until the camera takes up a bit of the film (here’s a handy tutorial in case you’re struggling). Once you’ve mastered that, you’re all set.

When you’ve taken a shot, don’t forget to use the film winder on the bottom left on the back to advance the film. While this is easily done, there were a few instances where I felt the winder get stuck which led me to applying a little force. This isn’t a massive issue, but the winding mechanism is far from perfect. This wasn’t an issue I had with either the Kodak Ultra F9 nor the Novocolor Swiss+Go.

The only button the top plate houses is the shutter button which gives good tactile feedback when pressed. Instead of having a physical button that toggles the flash, all you need to do is rotate the dial around the lens to switch on the flash. While it’s easy to use, I did end up leaving the flash on a few times.

Both the film rewind crank and button are located on the camera’s underside and you’ll need to use these to rewind the film back into the canister when you’re ready to get it developed.

Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review: Image quality

Since the Kodak Ektar H35 is a half frame camera, it’s important to remember that photos will have more grain than those taken on full frame cameras. This is because enlarging the negative to a usable size is going to make the grain more pronounced, as I’ve seen in some of the photos. This doesn’t mean the photos are terrible, though, and I’m actually very happy with the results.

(Image credit: Nikita Achanta / Future)

(Image credit: Nikita Achanta / Future)

(Image credit: Nikita Achanta / Future)

Photos taken during the day come out great with plenty of detail, as you can see in the examples above. You can see some noise in the first slide and there is some color fringing — also known as chromatic aberration — caused by the optics, which is visible in the scalloped edge of the roof. I love the photo of the church and tree in the second slide as the Ektar H35 has captured the shadows and the sun really well. The photos in the third slide are a little dull as they were taken on an overcast day but this is a good example of how half frame cameras can be used for diptychs: a pair of photos (or any other media) that tells a story. This way, you can get really creative.

(Image credit: Nikita Achanta / Future)

(Image credit: Nikita Achanta / Future)

Like other fixed-focus film cameras I’ve tested, the Ektar H35’s low-light performance is just good enough, as you can see above. The photos on the first slide were taken indoors with the flash on and the camera has been able to capture the mural and my partner as both subjects were within range. You can also see a comparison of using the camera with the flash on and off in the second slide.

(Image credit: Nikita Achanta / Future)

(Image credit: Nikita Achanta / Future)

Taking photos in the dark outdoors is a different story. In the first slide, you can just about make out the lights on the Christmas tree, but the second photo has turned out nicely. Similarly, the second slide consists of two photos where all you can really see is the tree and street decked up in festive lighting.

Overall, the Ektar H35 performs excellently and I’m very happy with it. I opted to get two photos developed on one 6x4 sheet but you can also get them developed individually which will cost you more money and make the grain more pronounced.

Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review: Film cost & yield

Similar to full frame 35mm cameras, the Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame uses 35mm film which is usually easy to procure. I used Kodak Gold 200 35mm film, a roll (36 exposures) of which cost me $11 / £11. Remember, this is a half frame camera so you’re getting double the shot-count, which means I had 72 shots at my disposal — and that’s fantastic.

Developing film costs $20 / £17 on average which, in the long run, can become expensive. You could always develop film yourself which will be cheaper but that requires skill and investment.

Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review: Battery life

The Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame utilizes a single AAA battery which isn’t hard to procure — and it’s possible that you have a couple spares lying around your house or office. Disposable batteries aren’t great for the environment, though, as they aren’t easily recyclable, but you can always invest in rechargeable batteries if that’s a concern. I used a Duracell AAA battery which lasted me an entire roll of film (72 exposures).

Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame review: Verdict

The Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame is a near perfect camera. Available in four colorways, it looks fantastic, and it’s extremely easy to use and very portable. It doubles the shot-count so, for example, a 24-exposure roll yields 48 exposures instead. And the photos? They’re awesome with a lovely lo-fi aesthetic. You can choose to get two frames developed on one sheet which can be great for telling stories in two parts.

This isn’t to say the camera is flawless (near perfect, remember?). The film winder is flimsy while low-light performance takes some trial and error.

Regardless, the Ektar H35 is a fantastic camera that rarely let me down during testing — and I absolutely adore the photos I captured with it.