Vivitar 35 EE - The Perfect Backup

The Vivitar 35EE is a 35mm rangefinder camera with automatic exposure from the 1970s. It is a pretty compact and perfect to shoot rapidly and discrete.

During my holydays my camera broke down and left me with a big hole in my hand. I was then looking for a place to repair it in the Netherlands but nobody could help me. I even heard a photographer telling me to throw this thing in the canal of Amsterdam. I thought that wasn’t the best idea and decided to send it back to be repaired. In the meantime I realized that I needed a real backup automatic compact camera ready to shoot rapidly and discrete. Luckily I found a Vivitar 35EE for 7.5 euros at a fair last fall!

The Vivitar 35EE is a 35mm rangefinder camera with automatic exposure, made for Vivitar in the later 1970s. It is a pretty compact camera, slightly bigger and heavier than the LOMO LC-A. On the other it requires only one mercury battery. It possess a rapid film loading system and a build-in 10sec delay self timer. However, there is no B function for long exposure and shutter speed is compromised between 1/30 and 1/650 sec. It is then a good camera for cloudy days and for bright interiors. It is possible to combine with a colorsplash for darker environments.

The double exposure can be done manually even if you have to trick the single stroke system which is not always convenient. I really like this camera for its similarities with the LC-A on broad daylight and I realized that it gives a particular vintage look to my pictures. Is shutter system is pretty nice and can be reloaded in an instant with a freaky sound. Now the Vivitar 35EE has taken place next to my LC-A in my camera bag ready to shoot the fun.

written by fancholland2 on 2010-02-26 #gear #review #redscale #vintage #double-exposure #cross-process #automatic #vivitar-35ee