Synthesized in the Bonn Republic: Hanimex M35

Bronson Dugnutt · Feb 15, 2021

I recently acquired this model at toy camera prices and there seems to be a dearth of info available on the internet so I thought I'd post some photos and a description for comparison & discussion.

Hanimex M35 w/ a 40mm f2.8 Color-Isconar and EV coupled 4-bladed leaf shutter/aperture (EV 14-8 @ ISO 100; 1/300s @ f16 ... 1/30s @ f2.8)

Fully-manual, scale focusing 35mm camera with brightline viewfinder, hot-shoe (X, M adjustable), threaded cable release for shutter and optional bulb mode.

No meter, but there's a plasticky indication of one on the front next to the viewfinder. Add a shoe-mount rangefinder for critical focus.

Shaka, When the Walls Fell

Super lightweight and reasonably durable. I expect the images to be somewhere around 35mm holga. A slimmer profile for pocketing would be the only improvement I can think of. Scans forthcoming!

Nicholas Lindan · Feb 15, 2021

Hanimex was an importer/rebrander. I thought they mostly imported Pentacon/Praktica cameras from East Germany, but it seems they rebranded a whole bunch of makes: http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Hanimex

Finding the original maker of the camera may dredge up more information. WMMV.

AgX · Feb 16, 2021

Hanimex im- and exported a great varierty of products. Some were stated to have been unique to them.

Hanimex had a sale dependency in West-Germany and a service workshop too, but I better look up on the latter.
I have never seen this model. And I was not yet aware they marketed a west-german model.

Made by King Regula. I could not even find the original model. Likely it is even a custom made model, based on their Picca C.
A camera that is very well known.

Bronson Dugnutt said:
Shaka, When the Walls Fell

You are mislead, this camera is in no way related to East-Germany.

Donald Qualls · Feb 16, 2021

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the image results. That's probably at least a triplet lens, and you've got effectively a Trip 35 with the simpler lens and manual coupled exposure. If you're expecting "Holga 135" you'll probably be disappointed.

AgX · Feb 16, 2021

A Cook triplet or Tessar type, one would have to check the lens itself.

Bronson Dugnutt · Feb 17, 2021

Tri-X 400 @1600 w/ 3 stop compensation for a red filter (metering 200 iso) in 1+50 homebrew rodinal 18:00. There was heavy corner vignette due to the filter I taped to the lens. Every shot was ~f11 1/125s which seemed to provide an overexposure even with the filter in place. Nifty camera and fun to shoot.

100% crop

fabulousrice · Mar 16, 2021

Bronson Dugnutt said:
Tri-X 400 @1600 w/ 3 stop compensation for a red filter (metering 200 iso) in 1+50 homebrew rodinal 18:00. There was heavy corner vignette due to the filter I taped to the lens. Every shot was ~f11 1/125s which seemed to provide an overexposure even with the filter in place. Nifty camera and fun to shoot.

View attachment 266782 View attachment 266783 View attachment 266784

100% crop

View attachment 266785

These are fun! I have a bunch of these plasticky cameras but I'm always a bit afraid that crap photos will come out of them, you've made me want to give them a shot! (Pun intended)

Bronson Dugnutt · Jul 7, 2021

16mm Double-X, Xtol stock 8'

Bronson Dugnutt · Oct 1, 2021

Amaranth w/ Polaroid close-up filter #3
135 Tri-X 400 HC-110 H

Bronson Dugnutt · Nov 8, 2021

Some more from the plastic fantastic M35 -- Kodak TMax 100 in TMax developer.

17x12mm equivalent crop

Bronson Dugnutt · Nov 16, 2021

I exposed a test roll in a recently acquired Hanimex Reflex Flash 35. Like the M35, it's another odd duck representing a re-brand of another major manufacturer's design; the Fujica ST-F in this case (http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Fujica_ST-F).

The RF35 is a fixed-lens SLR sporting a 41mm f2.8 glass lens with a single, mechanical shutter speed but adding 2 AA batteries can activate the aperture-coupled meter and built-in flash. Advance and rewind are fully manual but despite the simple shutter, the results probably don't qualify as 'lo-fi'. The two notches in the film gate are a distinguishing characteristic of exposures from this camera.

Abuse of converter lenses can Lomo-ize things in a pinch though

Edit: I think it's possible that the RF35 may have an EV-coupling system shutter akin to the M35 but the physical implementation of the shutter (an attenuated mirror/shutter combo) makes it harder to inspect what's happening compared to the leaf shutter in the M35.

AgX · Nov 17, 2021

What a great find. I did not even know of the orginal.

What purpose serve this holes?

Bronson Dugnutt · Nov 17, 2021

AgX said:
What purpose serve this holes?

The film gate notches? Practically, the only things I can think of are easily recognizing film shot in this camera and determining camera orientation. My M35 has a similar behavior; there's a minor light leak along the top rebate due to the advance lever. It never effects the actual image frame, but it's very obvious what camera was used when I'm looking at the exposed film. Also, I suppose the presence of the notches when scanning (or enlarging) produce an area of pure black that can be used to calibrate the print; they were automatically included in the frame by the scanner in this case.

Visually, they're a reminder (to me at least) that the photo is from a film gate; slightly more subtle than going all-out and including the sprockets/rebate.

Bronson Dugnutt · May 23, 2022

M35 Kentmere 100

Huss · May 26, 2022

Excellent results from such a 'basic' camera! If anyone is wondering about Rally's - think McDonalds, but even worse.

AgX · May 26, 2022

It even got 2 synch speeds. Which other lower end camera from that period had such?

And a bright-line finder already put it up the ladder.

AgX · May 26, 2022

And the camera plant was closed at production only in 1984, remarkable for a west-german manufacturer, they even survived the Agfa german camera works which had been making losses for a decade.

To be fair, I could not find out when their last cameras were manufactured... in any case those were type 110 cameras which may have stopped already in about 1980.
In their last period they were most successful here with electronic flashes. It is said that a project of a Disc camera broke their neck, but I could not find anything substantial on this.

Bronson Dugnutt · May 26, 2022

It's an excellent minimalist, yet capable camera. Here's two more frames from the same roll; low-light and close-focus/detail.

Synthesized in the Bonn Republic: Hanimex M35

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