KodakKD60 Auto Focus

Released into 1996-99, when the spec wars had cooled and manufacturers were quietly perfecting what they already had, the Kodak KD60 Auto Focus is a autofocus compact built around a Ektanar 28mm f/4.5. For context, one of the few sub-$100 90s compacts with a genuine 28mm wide lens — most rivals stopped at 35mm.

Format

35mm

Year

1996

Lens

Ektanar 28mm f/4.5

Min. focus

1.0 m

Flash

Built-in with red-eye reduction

Battery

2× AA

Don't expect heroics in low light from the Ektanar 28mm f/4.5; expect a tiny camera that drops into a coat pocket and never argues about it. On the film-availability spectrum, plain 35mm is as easy as it gets in 2026. It runs on common AA batteries — you can resurrect one on a Sunday afternoon with whatever the corner shop has in stock. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 1.0 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. A quirk worth flagging up front: the panorama switch just masks the negative top and bottom; you lose resolution but the prints look wide. Strong choice for architecture, interiors and crowds — the wider angle keeps context in the frame.

The Kodak KD60 Auto Focus sits exactly where you want a sleeper to sit: low prices, working examples plentiful, and a spec sheet that holds up against far pricier rivals. One last detail: Kodak sold these by the pallet through drugstore chains; survivors are cheap and plentiful.

• §1One of the few sub-$100 90s compacts with a genuine 28mm wide lens — most rivals stopped at 35mm.
• §2The panorama switch just masks the negative top and bottom; you lose resolution but the prints look wide.
• §3Kodak sold these by the pallet through drugstore chains; survivors are cheap and plentiful.