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NONS has launched its latest camera, the NONS SL660. The SL660 is an interchangeable lens SLR analog instant camera. The camera has a passive EF mount and records images to the widely-available Instax Square film, which retails for around $20 for 20 exposures.
If the ‘NONS’ brand sounds familiar, you may recall the company’s first camera, the SL42, which was the first instant camera to utilize an M42 lens mount. And like the SL42, the SL660 is launching on Kickstarter, where the campaign has already exceeded its modest $6,400 goal by over $40,000, as of the time of writing. The campaign still has 24 days left, but it has thus far proven popular with analog photography enthusiasts.
The NONS SL660 natively accepts EF lenses, but with an adapter, you can easily shoot with M42, Nikon F, PK, CY and medium-format lenses. The SL660’s main body is constructed using CNC anodized aluminum alloy. The camera offers full manual control and includes a hot shoe for external flash.
The camera includes a roof pentaprism optical viewfinder, and it promises a ‘natural and intuitive manual focus experience.’ The viewfinder system incorporates a focal reduce, offering larger viewfinder coverage and better quality than the SL42’s viewfinder. Further, another improvement compared to the SL42 is a redesigned, smaller reflex mirror unit that achieves a shorter shutter delay.
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| Image courtesy of NONS |
The NONS SL660 includes a built-in optical system that includes three multi-coating optical glasses to extend 35mm lenses to cover 645 medium format instant film. Since the optical system is built into the camera itself, you don’t need an adapter for EF lenses – although you do still need to use an adapter to use non-EF mount lenses.
The SL660 weighs 850 g (30 oz.) and its dimensions (W x H x D) are 135 x 131 x 92 mm (5.3″ x 5.2″ x 3.6″). The camera includes a built-in lithium-ion battery that is rated for about 100 captures. The battery is charged via USB-C.
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| Image courtesy of NONS |
NONS offers a lens of its own, the NONS 50mm F1.8. The lens has six elements across five groups, weighs 203 g (7.1 oz.) and has an aperture range of F1.8 to F22. Speaking of lenses, while you can use many different lenses with the SL660, based on testing, NONS recommends lenses between 28-58mm work better. NONS writes, ‘Lenses with longer back focal length (such as telephoto lens and medium format lens) tend to get smaller image field and might have a square shape vignetting.’
As of now, the remaining Early Bird backing offer is HK$ 3,939, which is about $505 USD. This is 15% less than the SL660’s final retail price. The NONS SL660 is expected to ship to backers this July. For additional information, visit Kickstarter.
Note/disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project before backing it. Pledges to crowdfunding campaigns are not pre-orders. DPReview does not have a relationship with this, or any such campaign, and we publicize only projects that appear legitimate, and which we consider will be of genuine interest to our readers. You can read more about the safeguards Kickstarter has in place on its ‘Trust & Safety’ page.
Author:
Jeremy Gray
Source: Dpreview
