Halina Autoflash 35 Review : Farewell my Flimsy Friend

This weekend my Halina Autoflash 35 gave up the ghost. I’ve only shot a roll or 2 through it but have a sense of how this rather flimsy zone focus with compact flash worked.

Halina Autoflash 35
Halina Autoflash 35 Compact 35mm Camera from Haking

The Autoflash was one of a long line of zone focus compacts produced by Haking  dating back to the Halina 500 and sizewise this wasn’t much bigger than the 500 or the 35-600. In fact I suspect it is the bridge between these and the later motorised flash model like the MW35E.

Shadow shoes
October 2014. Halina Autoflash 35 with Agfaphoto Vista Plus 400 at Box Speed.

Halina Autoflash 35  Specs

  • Lens:  Halinar 38mm
  • Focus : Zone (4)
  • Metering: CdS
  • Aperture: f/2.8- ?
  • Shutter: Unknown
  • Batteries : 2AA + ?PX675
  • Filter-Thread: 46mm

However this comes across as a much more flimsy model compared to its predecessors and the MW series. My one didn’t help as it had obviously come to grief at some point a the lens barrel felt loose and the AA battery compartment kept falling open.  Even for Haking, this seemed pretty ropey. The camera uses 2 AA batteries to power the flash and a separate button cell for the metering. I suspect this was the now defunct PX675 as it worked with zinc air  t675 well but others have used a LR44/SR44.

I have no idea of speeds and aperture ranges. The camera has a low light warning LED but this doesn’t lock the shutter. The flash is manually operated and is a slightly faffy 2 steps (press button front  to make pop up and then slide switch to turn on)

At Rest
Dumfries 2014. Autoflash 35 with Agfaphoto Vista Plus 400

The camera is zone focus with markings on the barrel both in pictograms and also distance. Even cooler is the distance icon are also displayed in the viewfinder in a LC-A or FED 50 fashion

Lochside sunset
Lochside 2014. Halina Autoflash 35 with Agfaphoto Vista Plus 400 at Box Speed.

The 4 element lens seemed reasonable for the one roll  I shot ( I actually got 2 done but made the mistake of taking the second to tescos in Dumfries who managed to stuff up the scanning or processing). I noted a bit of vignetting with these bright light and focus is a wee bit soft at edges although sharp in centre.  Flare didn’t seem to bad as  you can see.

The flash when used works well enough when used. The camera is cable threaded but has no timer. Has a standard tripod mount.

Is it any good ? well it seemed to shoot okay but was pretty flimsy and died on me. That said one in better condition might be a fine  and the zone markings in the viewfinder was nice. It doesn’t have the best lens and I never really got a chance to push it. I still wouldn’t trade my MW 35E for one

Alternatives

  • Halina MW 35E – A better motorised Haking flash compact
  • Konica C35 EF – The classic zone focus flash compact
  • Pentax Pino 35 – Fixed focus and Manual but good flash shooter

Helpful links

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