YashicaMF-3 Super

Place the Yashica MF-3 Super in context and you land in the late 1980s, the golden age of the autofocus point-and-shoot. Catalogued as a compact, it pairs the Yashica 35mm f/3.8 with a 35mm film path. Worth knowing up front: an evolution of the MF-2 line with a brighter f/3.8 lens and auto flash.

Format

35mm

Year

1986

Lens

Yashica 35mm f/3.8

Min. focus

1.4 m

Flash

Built-in auto

Battery

2× AA

Don't expect heroics in low light from the Yashica 35mm f/3.8; 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. 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 1.4 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. Worth knowing in the field: cheap, cheerful and produced in massive numbers for the entry-level market. Best for street, travel and environmental portraits — 35mm is the all-rounder documentary photographers default to.

The Yashica MF-3 Super hasn't been swept up by the algorithm yet, which is the entire window — get one before the rest of the internet catches up.

• §1An evolution of the MF-2 line with a brighter f/3.8 lens and auto flash.
• §2Cheap, cheerful and produced in massive numbers for the entry-level market.