A rare pictorial review of the Nikon 35Ti, the gem hiding in plain sight.

In the past year, I have been dabbling in film photography along with a few classics like the Leica M6, Ricoh GR1v, Yashica T4 and each and each of these ‘cult status’ cameras has shown me their unique characteristics and the reasons behind their longevity in this current world where a new digital camera gets outdated within 12 to 15 months or so.

And now, enter the Nikon 35Ti.

The Nikon 35Ti is a classic film camera that (thankfully) has not had its selling price explode beyond common sense like the Contax T2 and T3. As the name-sake suggests, the Nikon 35Ti was born in an era where high-end film cameras were fashioned out of real titanium bodies. 

**Disclaimer:
1. All samples here were indeed all truly shot on the Nikon 35Ti using either Fujifilm Industrial 400, Fujifilm Superia 400 or Kodak Portra 400 film and were developed and scanned at the neighbourhood shop.

2. I am not going to dive deep into the camera specs and tech details here as that’s kinda overwritten to death by many other reviewers and prefer to show more of real life samples from the camera. 

Like all impressive film cameras, the Nikon 35Ti comes equipped with an impressively sharp 35mm F2.8 lens that goes all the way to F22, which renders beautifully with its own character.

The physical design is beautiful and stands out as unique with its old-school analogue display, a feature that, in some instances, was the only reason collectors bought this camera.

The analogue display lets one quickly glance at aperture value and exposure compensation, not forgetting a fuel-gauge-influenced ‘no of shots’ left meter and a focusing distance meter. Frankly, it’s not the most useful when one is out pounding the streets due to its diminutive size, but heck – its old school beauty at its best. 

The next killer move was Nikon’s impressive matrix meter. Never once outdoors did the matrix meter give me an underexposed or overexposed shot.

The Nikon 35Ti is a fully automatic capable camera with Program and Aperture Priority modes, and it is as good as simply popping in a roll, switching the camera on, and that’s it – one is ready to go. 

The Nikon 35Ti has a good-sized viewfinder that will put Leica’s Minilux to shame.  The middle circle flashes if the focus is incorrect (which rarely happens unless you’re too close to your subject). A scale focus option also corrects the parallax while you focus based on the subject’s distance. Seriously, you don’t need anything else; remember, this is an autofocus camera. 

An LCD at the side shows one the number of shots one has made and a few useful buttons, all that is necessary and never a waste of space. To the right side, a generously sized dial for aperture adjustment (I am mostly an aperture priority user) and the on/off switch below the shutter button complete the plethora of buttons on this camera. 

There were so many times I tested the metering of the Nikon 35Ti in various light conditions and every single time it simply worked the way it is supposed to, that’s how good the metering of this camera is. 

Focus was snappy, and of course, not every shot was perfectly focused, but I had enough keepers per roll to be more than proud. 

The GR1v and Yashica T4 are pretty fast-focusing cameras once one has gotten used to working with them, and the Nikon 35Ti is no slouch either, focusing accurately and fast enough for most street shots and candid moments. 

The compact size of this camera also proved valuable in getting up close to subjects without compromise. 

The 35mm focal length was perfect for me, too, with distortions not very noticeable and suitable for daily life shots with the flexibility to take in wider views of architecture or landscape when the need arose. 

Conclusion. 

The Nikon 35Ti stands proud as a competent all-in-one camera at a price that’s at least not as illogical as other models. There is a lot to like about this film camera and very little to dislike (but using its menu system can be pretty complex if you decide to go this deep, down to pressing a specific sequence of buttons for certain functions) 

If you are interested in a higher-quality film camera, I will gladly recommend the Nikon 35Ti to novices, enthusiasts, or experts. It is a camera that is as good as the Ricoh GR1v, but do note that, unlike the GR1v, which suffers from the dreaded LCD-bleeding issue or the Contax T2 or T3, which is irreparable once damaged (both models due to a lack of spare parts), the Nikon 35Ti is a better-built camera that will likely last long enough.

Beyond classic film cameras, Custom Keychains also offer a fun and unique way to celebrate your passion for photography.

Picture transforming the beautiful moments you’ve captured or the vintage silhouette of your favourite camera into a one-of-a-kind keychain. Whether as a personalized accessory to showcase your love for photography or a thoughtful gift for a fellow photographer, it’s a creative way to cherish shared memories with a customised design. 

Thank you for reading.

Disclaimers:

1. The Nikon 35Ti is my personal set, with all the expenses of the film, development and scanning all borne by me. 
2. All product photos and samples were photographed by me. 
3. I was not paid for this article. I write as a passion and as a hobby. 
4. The best way to support me is to help share the article, or you can always help support me by contributing to my fees to WordPress for the domain using the ‘Buy me a Coffee’ button at the bottom of the page.