NikonL35 AW-AF (Action Touch)

Released into 1987-89, when plastic bodies got better lenses than the metal ones they replaced, the Nikon L35 AW-AF (Action Touch) is a weatherproof autofocus compact built around a Nikon 35mm f/2.8. For context, Nikon's beach-friendly cousin to the Pikaichi L35AF.

Format

35mm

Year

1986

Lens

Nikon 35mm f/2.8

Shutter

1/8s – 1/430s

Min. focus

1.0 m

Flash

Built-in pop-up

Battery

2× AA

The Nikon 35mm f/2.8 doesn't chase exotic specifications; it just renders cleanly, focuses predictably, and gets out of the photograph's way. 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: sold in the US as the Nikon Action Touch. Pair it with HP5 or Portra and you have a general-purpose travel camera that handles 80% of what you'll point it at.

Reputation is doing a lot of the price work on the Nikon L35 AW-AF (Action Touch); the camera is good, but pay for the camera, not the legend. One last detail: that same legendary 35/2.8 lens — but ready for the rain.

• §1Nikon's beach-friendly cousin to the Pikaichi L35AF.
• §2Sold in the US as the Nikon Action Touch.
• §3That same legendary 35/2.8 lens — but ready for the rain.