The folding compact 35mm camera is the forerunner of today's point-and-shoot 35.The goal of the designers was to create a relatively inexpensive 35mm camera that would produce excellent photos while being simple to operate and as compact as cameras of the period that used the "drop-in" 126 film cartridge. One of the first such cameras was the Minox 35. When folded it is hardly larger than a cigarette pack but capable of taking excellent photos. Most of these cameras are equipped with a fixed 35mm f 2.8 lens which under normal conditions has enough depth of field that the operator doesn't need a rangefinder and can zone focus. The Soviets mad an almost exact duplicate of the Minox 35--the Kiev 35. The Japanese also got into the game with the Ricoh FF1 and FF1-s, which has a self timer.
Kiev
35
The Kiev 35
compact folding camera is a direct copy of the Minox 35. Like the Minox
the Kiev doesn't have a rangefinder. The 35mm f2.8 lens has zone focusing.
The Kiev is made almost entirely of plastic. Some owners have complained
their cameras suffer from light leaks--light actually comes through
thin spots in the plastic case or shutter blades. The camera show here
does not have those problems and the lens is excellent.
