SamsungAF Slim

Released into the late 1990s — panorama switches, dated LCDs, and a few genuinely brilliant lenses hiding inside plastic shells, the Samsung AF Slim is a compact built around a Samsung 34mm f/4.5. For context, a super-cheap Korean point-and-shoot that's become a budget-friendly cult pick.

Format

35mm

Year

1995

Lens

Samsung 34mm f/4.5

Min. focus

1.0 m

Flash

Built-in

Battery

1× CR123A

Don't expect heroics in low light from the Samsung 34mm f/4.5; expect a tiny camera that drops into a coat pocket and never argues about it. Standard 35mm keeps it compatible with whatever Kodak, Ilford, Fuji or CineStill stock you find on the shelf today. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. 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. Best for street, travel and environmental portraits — 35mm is the all-rounder documentary photographers default to.

Reputation is doing a lot of the price work on the Samsung AF Slim; the camera is good, but pay for the camera, not the legend.

• §1A super-cheap Korean point-and-shoot that's become a budget-friendly cult pick.