C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →rangefinder-35mm
The Walz Electric 35 (~1958) is a 35mm fixed-lens coupled-rangefinder camera produced by Walz Co., Ltd. of Japan. Its distinguishing feature is a selenium-cell exposure automation system that sets shutter speed or aperture automatically based on ambient light -- an "electric" mechanism that gave the camera its name and positioned it as a modern convenience product rather than a traditional fully manual rangefinder.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
A 1958 Japanese fixed-lens rangefinder with selenium-cell automatic exposure control -- among the early Japanese AE compacts.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm (24x36 mm) |
| Mount | Fixed (non-interchangeable) |
| Lens | ~45mm or ~40mm, f/2.8 -- f/1.9 range |
| Years | ~1958 -- c. 1962 |
| Shutter | Leaf, ~1s -- 1/300s, B |
| Meter | Selenium, automatic exposure |
| Exposure | Automatic (AE) |
| Viewfinder | Bright-line with coupled RF patch |
| Focus | Coupled rangefinder |
| Battery | None (selenium powered) |
Walz Co., Ltd. traced its origins to camera distribution and accessories in postwar Japan before beginning to market cameras under the Walz name in the 1950s. The company's rangefinder line included the Walz Envoy 35 and the Walz Automat alongside the Electric 35, with each model occupying a slightly different position in the market.
The "Electric 35" name was a deliberate marketing choice in an era when "electric" implied technological sophistication. The late 1950s saw a wave of Japanese camera makers experimenting with selenium-cell automatic exposure systems -- Olympus, Minolta, Yashica, and others all launched AE cameras in the 1957-1960 window. Walz's entry into this segment reflected the competitive pressure to match whatever features the larger manufacturers were offering.
The camera was sold in Japanese domestic and export markets, though Walz lacked the distribution networks of Canon or Minolta and export volumes appear to have been limited. Documentation of the Electric 35's production run, exact specifications, and discontinuation date is sparse.
The Walz Electric 35 is a minor representative of one of the more consequential trends in postwar camera development: the move toward automatic exposure as a convenience feature for serious amateur photographers. The selenium-cell AE cameras of the late 1950s were the direct ancestors of the aperture-priority and program-mode cameras that would dominate the 1970s and 1980s.
For a camera from a small manufacturer, the Electric 35 was technically credible at the time of its introduction. Its obscurity today is largely a function of Walz's limited production volumes and the subsequent overshadowing of all the minor Japanese RF makers by Canon, Nikon, and Minolta.
Collectors encounter the Walz Electric 35 as an unusual find rather than a sought-after target. Its interest is primarily historical -- as a data point in the evolution of automatic exposure design -- rather than as a shooting camera, since the selenium AE system is unlikely to be functioning correctly on most surviving examples.
C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
View profile →C41
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
View profile →Walz Electric 35
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