YashicaPartner AF

The Yashica Partner AF comes out of the late 1980s, the golden age of the autofocus point-and-shoot. Catalogued as a autofocus compact, it pairs the Yashica 35mm f/3.5 with a 35mm film path. A bit of background: an entry-level AF compact positioned below the T-series.

Format

35mm

Year

1985

Lens

Yashica 35mm f/3.5

Min. focus

1.0 m

Flash

Built-in auto

Battery

2× AA

The Yashica 35mm f/3.5 sits in the daylight sweet spot: sharp wide open, well-corrected against flare, and small enough to disappear in a jacket pocket. 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 1.0 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. One thing worth knowing before you load a roll: also sold simply as the Yashica Partner in some markets. Best for street, travel and environmental portraits — 35mm is the all-rounder documentary photographers default to.

The Yashica Partner AF 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 entry-level AF compact positioned below the T-series.
• §2Also sold simply as the Yashica Partner in some markets.