Kodak has a new 35mm film camera, and it strips away every decision a first-time film shooter has to make. The EC35 is made under license by Reto, the same company behind the Kodak Charmera. It went on sale this week at $34.99 in the US and £34.99 in the UK.
Price: $34.99
Where to Buy: Amazon
It’s the latest in a growing lineup of budget film cameras Reto has released under license from Kodak, and it leans on the same formula: strip away every setting a beginner could get wrong, then sell the result cheap. The EC35’s headline trick is a sliding lens cover that doubles as a shutter lock, so there’s nothing left to fumble before pressing the button.
The Specs
Numbers first: the EC35 weighs 102 grams, measures 119 by 65 by 41.5 millimeters, and pairs a fixed 25mm lens at f/10 with a shutter locked to 1/100 second. One AA battery powers the built-in flash.
Film loads with fully manual wind and rewind, and a simple optical viewfinder window sits above the lens for framing. There’s no autofocus, no light meter, and no exposure control to adjust. Point, then press.
The camera’s signature feature is a sliding lens cover. Closing it protects the acrylic lens and locks the shutter at the same time, so the EC35 won’t fire blank frames while it rides in a bag or pocket. Kodak says this single control tells a new shooter at a glance whether the camera is ready to shoot.
Seven Colors, Pricing, and What’s in the Box
Seven colorways ship at launch: midnight black, vanilla white, butter yellow, lavender, powder blue, blush pink, and avocado green. Kodak’s retail listing shows the lens covers in a slightly darker shade than each body, a small design detail carried over from the brand’s earlier Charmera line.
Two buying options are available at launch. The camera alone costs $34.99. A $45 bundle adds a camera strap and one roll of Kodak Ultramax 400, good for 24 shots.
EC35 vs Kodak Ektar H35
The EC35 shouldn’t be confused with the Kodak Ektar H35, Kodak’s earlier budget film camera. The H35 shoots half-frame, splitting a single frame of 35mm film into two images, uses a 22mm f9.5 lens, and runs on a single AAA battery. The EC35 shoots full-frame 35mm, uses a wider 25mm f10 lens, and takes a single AA battery instead.
Shoppers who want two frames per shot should look at the H35 line. Shoppers who want one full frame per shot and a slightly brighter lens should look at the EC35.
Where the EC35 Fits in Reto’s Kodak Lineup
Reto has built out a full budget lineup under license from Kodak over the past few years, and the EC35 slots in as the cheapest, simplest option yet. The $100 Snapic A1 sits at the top with a more complete feature set, the $50 Ektar H35 covers half-frame shooters who want double the exposures per roll, and the Charmera occupies the keychain-novelty end of the catalog on its own. At $34.99, the EC35 undercuts all three on price while asking for the least technical knowledge of the group.
That positioning matters more than the spec sheet suggests. Reto’s other Kodak-branded cameras ask a buyer to already know what half-frame means or why $100 buys a sharper lens. The EC35 skips that conversation entirely and sells on price and simplicity alone.
What You Won’t Get for $35
A single fixed shutter speed and a single fixed aperture mean the EC35 exposes every frame the same way, regardless of the light in front of it. That puts real weight on film choice, since a faster stock like the bundled Kodak Ultramax 400 has more exposure latitude in mixed or overcast light than a slower film would. Shoot indoors without the flash, and the fixed exposure setup will likely underexpose the frame.
The 2-element acrylic lens is built for cost, not sharpness, and the plastic body has no weather sealing or drop protection beyond the sliding cover. None of that is a surprise at this price. It means the EC35 competes with disposable cameras on image quality, not with anything built to last.
Why Film Cameras Keep Selling in 2026
This camera arrives into a market that keeps rewarding cheap, limited cameras. Kodak’s Charmera turned a blind-box keychain gimmick into a repeat sales hit earlier this year, and other brands have kept finding shelf space with their own disposable-style shooters alongside it. Film photography’s pull for younger shooters has less to do with image quality than with the experience of not being able to check a shot, delete it, or retake it on the spot.
Price: $34.99
Where to Buy: Amazon
A camera with no autofocus, no light meter, and no exposure dial removes the temptation to fuss over settings, which is exactly the pitch Reto is making with the EC35. Whether that novelty turns into repeat purchases the way the Charmera did will depend on how well Kodak and Reto keep feeding the lineup with new colorways and bundles like this one.
Where to Buy
The EC35 is available now on Amazon in the US. Film and the AA battery aren’t included with the camera-only listing.
Anyone shopping for a first film camera, a low-stakes gift for a teenager, or a backup body that can survive getting tossed in a bag without much care should find the EC35’s total lack of settings freeing rather than limiting. Anyone chasing sharper images or manual control over exposure should look further up Reto’s own lineup, or toward a used mechanical body instead.
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(as of July 20, 2026 09:27 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
